Muhlenberg snaps losing skid, beats Manheim Central in seventh-place game
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Muhlenberg used a balanced scoring attack to bounce back from a pair of losses in the District 3 Tournament and beat Manheim Central 62-58 Wednesday night in the Class 5A seventh-place game at Manheim.
The 11th-seeded Muhls (16-11) avoided the dreaded eighth seed and going into the PIAA Tournament with a three-game losing streak by rallying in the fourth quarter, when they outscored the fifth-seeded Barons (20-8) by 10 points.
Muhlenberg will open the state tournament Friday, March 8, against Central Mountain, the District 4/6 subregional champ. Site and time for the game won’t be announced until next week.
Manheim Central led 18-9 after one quarter and took a six-point lead into the final quarter before the Muhls hit 7-of-9 free throws and outscored them 17-7. Senior Kyle Archie scored five of his team-high 14 points in the final quarter; freshman Eli Hemmings scored five of his eight points in the final quarter.
Sherman Killen finished with 13 points for the Muhls, Alex Collado had 11 and freshman Justin Armstrong nine.
Two Manheim Central starters fouled out and the Muhls took advantage, hitting 18-of-23 free throws. The Barons went to the foul line just six times.
The Muhls took out two higher-seeded teams in the tournament; they opened with a 42-37 win at No. 6 West York. They were bumped into the playback bracket with a 53-39 loss at York Suburban, the No. 3 seed.
Muhlenberg reached the state tournament last year, winning at Unionville in the opening round before running into eventual state champ Imhotep Charter.
Manheim Central is coached by Reading High grad Charlie Fisher and finished second in Section 2 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, behind Warwick.
