Tulpehocken holds off Brandywine, records first district win in 15 years
Tulpehocken’s first district tournament victory in 15 years looked like it was going to be an easy one. The Trojans led by 11 points after one quarter and by as many as 15 points in the third quarter.
Then Brandywine Heights’ Jayden Kantner stepped up.
The freshman scored all of his career-high 21 points in the second half, pushing the third-seeded Trojans to the limit before they hit some late free throws to secure a 48-44 victory in a District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal at New Schaefferstown Monday.
The win was the first for the Trojans(18-5) in the postseason since 2007, when they reached the District 3 Class AA championship game. It’s the first home playoff win ever for the Trojans.
“To go out and actually get a district win is really nice,” said fourth-year coach J.D.Ricapito, whose team lost its opening-round game last season. “It’s been a while since our school has been talking up basketball. It’s nice to have the gym packed full of students and have everybody talking about basketball.”
The loss eliminates the sixth-seeded Bullets (7-16).
The Trojans advance to meet second-seeded York Catholic (16-7) in the semifinals Thursday on the Fighting Irish’s home court. York Catholic had an opening-round bye.
Tulpehocken needs one win, either against the Fighting Irish or in a third-place seeding game, to qualify for the PIAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. The top three Class 3A teams advance to states.
David Bednarczyk scored 16 points to lead the Trojans. Bryce Mellen had 11, five in the fourth quarter.
Mellen hit a pair of free throws with 34.4 seconds left to extend Tulpehocken’s lead to 47-42 after the Bullets had made it a one-possession game.
Tulpehocken held Brandywine without a field goal in the first quarter and led 12-1.
“Our press was really effective against them,” Ricapito said. “They made some adjustments. We definitely had a lull in our offense (with just six second-quarter points); that got the best of us for a while. We just weren’t able to put the ball in the basket.”
Kantner, who had never scored more than 13 points in a game, had eight points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth, including a 3-pointer that cut Tulpehocken’s lead to 41-40.
“I kept saying to the guys: ‘Don’t make this come down to the wire; don’t make this a game,’ ” Ricapito said. “We ended up pulling it out.”
Tulpehocken beat Brandywine 46-34 in New Schaefferstown Jan. 11 but needed overtime to survive 60-59 Jan. 25 at Mertztown.
“It’s always tough to beat a team three times,” Ricapito said. “Obviously, both teams knew each other very well. So it’s hard to plan something new for a team that you’ve seen so many times.”
Tulpehocken’s 18 wins are the most since 2007, when Dan Haughney’s team won 25 times. Ricapito isn’t surprised to be in this position. All five starters returned from a team that went 7-15 last season.
“We knew we would be in a situation like this,” he said. “We’ve had a great year. I’m glad it’s not over yet and we’re still pushing through.”