Memorable season comes to an end for Fleetwood

Fleetwood’s best basketball season in over 30 years came to an end Thursday.

The 13th-seeded Tigers were eliminated by fifth-seeded Palmyra 67-46 in a District 3 Class 5A playback game at Palmyra. The loss was the second straight for the Tigers in the tournament.

All-Berks junior Jake Karnish led the Tigers (16-8) with 13 points. Nate Herb scored 12, Aiden Gorman 10 and Aiden Soumas nine.

Gaven Bean hit four 3-pointers for the Cougars (18-6) in the first half, staking them to a 38-16 lead at intermission. Bean finished with 12 points. Christopher Edwards led Palmyra with 15.

The Berks III champion Tigers won a division title for the first time since 1961, reached the Berks Conference playoffs for the first time since 2003 and reached the district playoffs for the first time since 2000. Their 16 wins were the most since 1990, when they went 18-9 and won a district title.

Palmyra needs to win its next two games to qualify for the PIAA Tournament as District 3’s No. 9 seed. It plays No. 8 Manheim Central Monday at Palmyra. No. 7 Milton Hershey and No. 6 Elizabethtown are also battling for that spot.

Exeter, which lost in the quarterfinals Thursday, remains alive in the playback round. It could finish as high as No. 5 or as low as No. 8.