Wyomissing knocks off Schuylkill Valley, keeps league playoff hopes alive
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Wyomissing kept its feint Berks Conference playoff hopes alive and dampened Schuylkill Valley’s division title chances with a huge finish and 57-49 win Tuesday over the visiting Panthers in a Division III game.
The Spartans (5-3, 8-7) scored 30 fourth-quarter points – more than they mustered through the first three quarters – and put the Panthers (6-2, 12-4) away at the free throw line. Schuylkill Valley allowed just 29 points in its most recent win, last week against Oley Valley.
Wyomissing knocked down 15-of-16 shots from the foul line in the final quarter Tuesday after making just two through three quarters.
Aiden Schippers scored 11 fourth-quarter points to spark the rally. He finished with a team-high 13 points and extended his team’s lead to four points with a 3-pointer in the final minute.
Wyomissing’s Dylan Latourelle scored six of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, hitting four straight free throws. Birkley Ziegler also hit four straight free throws in the final quarter and finished with 12 points.
Wyomissing trailed by 11 at one point.
Dominic Giuffre led Schuylkill Valley with 12 points and Jacob Zimmerman had 10.
With a win Schuylkill Valley would’ve headed to Fleetwood Friday with a chance to tie for first place. Now it trails the Tigers (8-0, 14-2) by two full games and will have to concern itself with holding off the Spartans for second place.
If Wyomissing wins its final three league games, against Hamburg, Brandywine Heights and Fleetwood, it could tie Schuylkill Valley for second place should the Panthers drop one of their final three games (against Fleetwood, Kutztown and Hamburg).
The second-place tie would be broken by virtue of power rating; Schuylkill Valley currently holds more than a 100-point lead over Wyomissing.
The Spartans, who have won four straight, would essentially need to win out, which will be difficult with non-league games against Berks Catholic, Ephrata, and Trinity.
Wyomissing has gone 7-4 since a 1-3 start.
The Spartans’ league playoff chances were put in jeopardy due to a pair of overtime losses, to Fleetwood and at Antietam.
