Playing for district title ‘exactly what we wanted’ says Eagles’ Anthony Caccese
Teddy Snyder scored 18 points in Exeter’s opening-round win over Shippensburg and 19 in the district quarterfinals against Milton Hershey.
Monday, in a District 3 Class 5A semifinal – the biggest basketball game of his life – Snyder found himself stuck on the bench for most of the second half.
No matter: The senior guard ended up making what his coach called the Eagles’ biggest shot of the season.
With his team badly leaking oil, with All-Berks point guard Zyion Paschall fouled out and all-division forward Reece Garvin on the bench next to him, Snyder got back on the game.
He didn’t wait long to make an impact, either. The first time he touched the ball he drove the baseline, looked inside for Anthony Caccese, couldn’t find him, then continued toward the basket, hoping to draw a foul.
He did . . . after making the shot. His three-point play with 1:12 left gave the Eagles the working margin they needed to hold off Hershey for a 50-46 victory that clinched a spot in Thursday’s district championship game.
“It’s tough when I’m on the bench that long to make a really big impact,” said Snyder, a two-year starter, “(but) I tried.”
Those were Snyder’s only points of the game but they were critical to help turn back a late charge by the seventh-seeded Trojans (18-6).
Instead of it being a one- or two-possession game the Eagles had a seven-point leading heading into the final minute. And they needed it.
Alex Kelsey went out with his fifth foul with 39 seconds left and Exeter leading 47-44. Caccese, the 6-6 anchor in the middle, was playing with four fouls.
The Eagles, facing a well-conceived trap that forced three turnovers in the previous two minutes, ended the game with a pair of freshmen, Aidan Dauble and Jayden Ware – who spent most of the season on the JV roster — on the floor.
It’s not exactly the lineup Matt Ashcroft envisioned when he began dreaming of a run to the district championship game.
“I’m just so proud of these kids,” said Ashcroft, who has taken Exeter to its first district title appearance since 1983, before anyone on the team bus was born – except for maybe the bus driver.
“To finish the game with two freshmen on the court? We’re without (injured No. 2 scorer) Reece Garvin. Your two primary ballhandlers are out of the game?’ I’m so happy for these kids. I think it comes down to how hard they prepare.”
The third-seeded Eagles (22-5) will face top-seeded Manheim Central Thursday at 4:15 at Giant Center. The win also assured that Exeter will open the PIAA Tournament with a March 10 home game – a first for the program.
The Eagles got another huge game from Caccese, who had a game-high 11 rebounds and 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting despite facing Hershey’s three-man center rotation, including Isaiah Danner, who had an inch and a couple pounds the Delaware-bound lineman.
Paschall again was a rock for Exeter, scoring 16 points. His jumper wasn’t falling in the first half – he was 2-for-9 from the field – so he decided to attack the rim. He hit four straight baskets in the third quarter, the third giving Exeter the lead for good at 32-30 with 1:04 left in the third quarter. He followed with a one-handed buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to make it 34-30.
Paschall also made a key defensive adjustment on senior guard Marcus Sweeney, who scored eight points on drives to the basket in the first half. Paschall sagged off, tempting Sweeney to shoot from the outside. He didn’t score again until the final minutes, one basket off a steal, the other off a rebound; Sweeney finished with a team-high 16 points.
Hershey, an excellent defensive team, led for most of the first 23 minutes, twice pushing the lead to eight points.
“When we get down in games, I don’t think it really concerns anyone,” said Caccese. “Their defense is probably some of the best we’ve seen. In the first half they were shutting us down; it was really hard to get me the ball. Once we got it figured out we got it going.”
A Caccese putback pushed Exeter’s lead to 45-36 with 3:48 to go, its biggest of the game. Hershey got as close as 49-46 with 16 seconds left before Ware hit the second of a two-shot foul with 13 seconds left.
Snyder’s clutch three-point made those final seconds a little less anxious for Ashcroft.
“I don’t know how many kids can do that, sit on the bench that long and be ready when their number’s called,” Ashcroft said. “He’s one of the toughest kids we’ve ever had physically, mentally. He’s just a tough customer. He hit the biggest shot of our season, far and away.”
The Eagles suffered through all kinds of ups and downs last season. They made it to the state tournament but finished with a losing record. This season has been a much smoother ride.
“This was the goal,” Caccese said of playing for a championship. “This is exactly what we wanted. I can’t wait to get up there and feel the energy in that (arena).”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Hershey | 10 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 46 |
| Exeter | 8 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 50 |
| Trojans (18-7) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| M. Sweeney | 6-9 | 4-9 | 0-2 | 1 | 4 | 16 |
| Dedonatis | 2-12 | 2-2 | 1-4 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Moyer | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Alander | 3-7 | 4-4 | 3-4 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Slamans | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C. Sweeney | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Danner | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Richards | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Callahan | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 15-42 | 11-17 | 5-14 | 5 | 24-25 | 46 |
| Eagles (21-6) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Paschall | 6-14 | 3-6 | 1-3 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| Kelsey | 1-1 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Saenz | 1-7 | 1-2 | 1-5 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Snyder | 1-4 | 1-1 | 0-3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Caccese | 8-9 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 11 | 16 |
| Dauble | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Ware | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Turman | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 19-40 | 10-19 | 2-14 | 8 | 27-31 | 50 |
Turnovers: Hershey 16, Exeter 14.
