West York suffers 3-OT semifinal setback in 5-A; other Monday District 3 boys' basketball

• The West York boys' basketball team fell to Shippensburg on Monday night, 51-49.
• The triple-overtime contest came in a District 3 Class 5-A semifinal.
• West York will now play host to Hershey at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the district 5-A third-place game.

An offensive rebound is followed by a tip-in attempt, but it grazes off the rim into the hands of another West York Bulldog.

Adjusting his body for contact, another Bulldog attempts to put in the game-winning tip, but the ball hits the back of the rim and slides to the right.

Another offensive rebound means still more hope for the home team — another chance at a game-winning bucket in double overtime.

Still, the result is the same as before. Both teams watch the ball bounce off the back of the rim.

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That was the story for much of overtime on Monday night for a West York program looking to win its first boys’ basketball district title since 2007.

The end result was a 51-49 triple-overtime loss to visiting Shippensburg in a District 3 Class 5-A semifinal — a contest that featured several potential game-winning shots that misfired.

Both teams had their chances, but a crucial turnaround jumper from the Greyhounds’ all-time leading scorer, Jayden Statum, in the third OT would prove to be the dagger.

West York did have a chance at a game-winning shot at the end. The Bulldogs inbounded the ball, and after several handoffs, they got a good look from the top of the key, but the 3-pointer fell short. Shippensburg rebounded the ball and held it until time ran out, clinching its spot in the district final.

West York head coach Garrett Bull knew the game came down to a few missed shots in the overtime periods.

“I thought defensively we did our game plan,” he said. “We struggled offensively a little more than we thought we would. We went dry from the perimeter in OT. In (the) overtimes we had so many offensive rebounds (tips) and I thought one would go in, but it didn’t happen.” 

A back-and-forth regulation battle: The game see-sawed back and forth through regulation, with third-seeded Shippensburg (20-3) jumping out to a 10-3 lead after one quarter.

A 13-8 West York surge in the second period cut the Greyhounds' lead to 18-16. The Bulldogs (24-3) then used an 18-13 third-quarter run to take a 34-31 edge into the final period, only to see Shippensburg use a 10-7 fourth-quarter advantage to send the game into overtime tied at 41-41.

The road team looked to be headed for victory in the first OT after clutch free throws gave the Greyhounds a 45-41 lead, but a step-back 3-pointer from West York’s Mark Walker would bring the Bulldogs within one. Statum would be sent to the line with 11 seconds left and made one foul shot. A tip-in from West York’s A.J. Willaims would send the game to double OT tied at 46-46.

That would prove to be the only successful tip-in for the home team, though, as they missed several in the first OT and more in the third. Each team managed just two points in the second OT, sending the game to a third OT tied at 48-48.

The only scoring in the final OT period would be West York hitting a free throw and Statum hitting the crucial jumper. Cody Wenner would add a clutch free throw for Shippensburg to seal the win.

“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” Greyhounds head coach Chris Fite said after the game.

Statum led all scorers with 22 points. Walker had 17 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead West York, while Williams added 10. Anthony Smith, a 6-foot, 8-inch Minnesota football recruit, added 11 points for Shippensburg.

Statum talked about taking on the scoring load and leading his team to the win.

“It’s the experience. I have been here, starting all four years,” he said. “All the big games I have played in the past and the humps we couldn’t get over those games got me here. I was comfortable.”

It was a tough loss for West York, but the Bulldogs have already clinched a state berth and will compete in the district 5-A third-place game, hosting the contest at 7 p.m. Wednesday against fourth-seeded Hershey (19-6).

Hershey lost its semifinal on Monday, also in triple overtime, 87-82, to top-seeded Lampeter-Strasburg (26-0).

OTHER DISTRICT 3 BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Susquehannock 66, Northeastern 64: At Manchester, the Warriors rallied from a 53-48 hole at the end of third quarter in the District 3 Class 5-A consolation semifinal. Jalen Franklin led the 12th-seeded Warriors by scoring a game-high 27 points, including a 7-for-8 night from the charity stripe. Teammate Joshua Franklin had 14 points. For the ninth-seeded Bobcats, Chase Kloster scored a team-high 20 points, while teammate Karron Mallory collected 14 points. Susquehannock (16-8) moves on to the fifth-place game at 7 p.m. Wednesday and will travel to 11th-seeded Lower Dauphin (13-12), which won its consolation game, 66-60, on Monday over 10th-seeded Exeter Township (12-14). Also at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Northeastern (16-11) will play host to Exeter in the seventh-place game.

ELCO 49, Eastern York 44: At Wrightsville, the fifth-seeded Golden Knights held a 34-31 lead at the end of three quarters of play but couldn’t hold on and dropped the District 3 Class 4-A consolation semifinal vs. eighth-seeded ELCO. Austin Bausman led the Golden Knights with 19 points. The loss ended Eastern York’s season at 16-11. ELCO moved to 15-11.

Berks Catholic 58, Littlestown 46: At Reading, the Thunderbolts dropped the District 3 Class 4-A semifinal contest. Zyan Herr (17 points), Christopher Meakin (14 points) and Jake Bosley (13 points) combined for 44 of Littlestown's 46 points. No. 4 seed Littlestown fell to 19-6. No. 1 seed Berks Catholic improved to 22-4. Littlestown drops into the third-place game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at No. 2 seed Trinity (17-6), which dropped its semifinal on Monday night vs. No. 3 seed Middletown, 63-46. Middletown is 20-3.

Reach Dante Green at dgreen@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @ydsports.