Exeter fouled up by Lower Dauphin in district playback

There’s no defense against free throws, especially when they come in waves.

The Exeter Eagles found that out the hard way Monday, falling to Lower Dauphin 66-60 in a District 3 Class 5A playback game at Reiffton.

The 11th-seeded Falcons (13-12) hit 21-of-26 free throws, including 12-of-14 in the final quarter to pull away.

The 10th-seeded Eagles (12-14) were within 49-48 heading into the final before fouls got to them. Center Anthony Caccese scored a team-high 13 points, including six in the final quarter before fouling out; Reece Garvin also fouled out for Exeter.

Exeter will play at No. 9 Northeastern, a 66-64 loser to Susquehannock, Wednesday at 7. The winner will be District 3’s No. 7 seed heading into the PIAA Tournament; the loser will be the No. 8 seed.

Senior guard Cody Rosati scored a game-high 19 points and hit four straight free throws in the fourth quarter for the Falcons. Junior Charlie Fortney scored six of his 16 points in the final quarter, including four free throws.

Colin Payne had 11 points but didn’t score for Exeter in the fourth quarter. Alex Kelsey had 10 points for the Eagles.

Exeter had eight 3-pointers, including three from Teddy Snyder.

Elsewhere in Class 5A, each of the semifinals was decided in triple-overtime. Top-seeded and unbeaten Lampeter-Strasburg survived No. 4 Hershey 87-82. No. 3 Shippensburg edged No. 2 West York 51-49. The winners will meet Thursday at 7:45 at Giant Center in the championship game.

Hershey and West York will play for third place.