Shorthanded Exeter has little trouble with Shippensburg in District 3 opener
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details, postgame reaction.)
Exeter didn’t show any signs of a championship hangover in its District 3 Class 5A opener Monday, breezing past 14th-seeded Shippensburg 72-47 despite missing one of its top players.
The third-seeded Eagles (20-6) were without injured junior forward Reece Garvin but got big performances from Teddy Snyder and All-Berks guard Zyion Paschall in advancing to the quarterfinals and clinching a PIAA berth.
Snyder knocked down three first-quarter 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 18 points, one short of his career high. His 3-pointer 2 ½ minutes into the game snapped a 2-2 tie and gave the Eagles the lead for good.
Paschall scored 15 points and was tremendous distributing the ball, finishing with 11 assists. He saw that the Greyhounds (12-9) left the corners open in their 2-3 zone and he repeatedly found Snyder and Kevin Saenz for open 3’s.
Saenz scored 14 points and Anthony Caccese had 11 points and nine rebounds. Alex Kelsey, starting in place of Garvin, scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds.
The Eagles topped 70 points for just the fourth time this season.
Garvin suffered a sprained ankle Friday night in the Berks championship game loss to Reading High and is out indefinitely. He’s unlikely to play Thursday when the Eagles are back home to play sixth-seeded Milton Hershey, a 75-48 winner over No. 11 Red Land. Exeter won its district opener at Milton Hershey last season 62-49.
The Berks II champion Eagles reached the 20-win mark for the first time in 39 years and clinched back-to-back PIAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1983 and 1984. The top eight teams in Class 5A advance to the state tournament.
Shippensburg had won eight of its last 10 games before seeing its season end.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Shippensburg | 11 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 47 |
| Exeter | 18 | 20 | 19 | 13 | 72 |
| Greyhounds (12-9) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Trn | 3-7 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Kater | 2-7 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Stought | 2-10 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Fogelsonger | 3-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Michajluk | 3-8 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Chamberlain | 4-7 | 0-0 | 4-7 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
| Kelso | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Getic | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Stine | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 17-48 | 4-6 | 7-17 | 5 | 23-23 | 47 |
| Eagles (20-6) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Paschall | 7-12 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 11 | 4 | 15 |
| Kelsey | 3-5 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| Saenz | 5-9 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Snyder | 7-14 | 0-0 | 4-9 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| Cacchese | 5-7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 9 | 11 |
| Dauble | 1-2 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Turman | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Nester | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ware | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bauer | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orbe Ochoa | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 28-54 | 7-7 | 9-21 | 18 | 29-34 | 72 |
Turnovers: Shippensburg 12, Exeter 12.