Abington staged a heroic comeback but fell 58-54 in a District One Class AAAA semifinal game at Chambersburg High School on Tuesday night.
By Mary Jane Souder
CHAMBERSBURG – Fight.
It was a word that came up often in Abington’s postgame comments, and with good reason. The Ghosts lived out the definition of the word in Tuesday night’s PIAA Class AAAA semifinal game against New Castle, rallying from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to take a one-point lead in the final minute only to come out on the short end of a 58-54 score.
“Our kids fight – we knew that,” coach Charles Grasty said. “They’re never going to give up. Our guys aren’t going to give up. That’s not what this (team) is made up of.
“They really wanted it. They came in and fought, and that’s what they have done this all year. They have a never-die attitude, and that fourth quarter showed it.”
For a while, it looked like Abington’s magic carpet ride through the state tournament might continue. The Ghosts were down for the count against a New Castle team that had not lost in 29 games, or at least so it seemed when they found themselves staring at a 13-point deficit a minute into the fourth quarter after back-to-back three-pointers by Anthony Richards. They still trailed by 11 with 3:08 remaining after Richards buried both ends of a one-and-one (51-40).
But this Ghost squad doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit, and a bucket by Anthony Lee seconds later sparked a you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it 10-0 Abington run in a span of just 40 seconds. The run – which included Matt Penecale burying 3-of-3 at the foul line and Lee connecting on a trey - was capped by an Amir Hinton bucket after a Lee rebound on the defensive end.
Suddenly, it was a 51-50 game with 2:16 remaining, and the Ghosts weren’t finished yet.
“We wanted to get some stops and get some baskets,” Grasty said. “I thought some of our guys made some incredible shots down the stretch. It was fun.
“Even though we were down 13, they’re not going to quit. They’re going to try and make a game of it. I thought our guys did a good job.”
The Ghosts took a 54-53 lead when Lee turned a Penecale deflection into a steal and bucket, but that lead was short-lived as Stew Allen answered with a fastbreak bucket on the other end.
The game was still far from over, and with 19.9 seconds, the Ghosts – trailing by just one - had the ball.
A happy ending was within their grasp.
But on this night, things didn't go the Ghosts' way, and a charging call with 10.6 seconds gave the Hurricanes the ball. Richards, the 'Canes long-range sharpshooter, was fouled on the inbounds, and he buried a pair, giving New Castle a three-point lead.
As time was about to expire, the Ghosts got the open look they wanted, but the shot for the tie rimmed out. The 'Canes rebounded, buried one-of-two from the foul line and escaped with a 58-54 win in front of a packed house at Chambersburg High School.
“We said we were going to keep going and keep fighting,” Hinton said. “I know some of our shots weren’t falling, but we just came on in the fourth quarter and tried to at least tie the ballgame up, but that last three didn’t fall.”
Hinton finished with 12 points while Lee led all scorers with 20 points – 16 in the fourth quarter.
“Anthony Lee – that’s all I can pretty much say,” Grasty said. “He’s battled back from a broken fibula. He rehabbed, he was in the gym shooting around with a cast on. He really wanted to be with his guys, his teammates, and that fourth quarter just showed his resiliency.”
Lee took no solace from his team’s heroic rally.
“We fought hard,” the senior captain said. “We tried to come back. It was just hard. It was a good game. It was a hard-fought game.
“We had a great run. It was a horrible finish.”
The Ghosts – after opening up a quick 6-0 lead - trailed for the better part of Tuesday’s game. They found themselves on the short end of an 11-8 score at the end of one quarter and trailed 21-19 at the intermission. They knotted the scored on their opening possession of the second half and led 24-23 after Penecale (11 points) buried a three from the top of the circle, but that’s when the points stopped coming for the Ghosts.
The Hurricanes closed out the quarter with a 16-6 tear to go into the final quarter with a nine-point lead (39-30). Things got worse before they got better as Richards took advantage of a turnover to drain a trey that put the ‘Canes on top 42-31. They led 45-32 after another Richards trey, but the Ghosts came roaring back.
“New Castle is a good team,” Grasty said. “We didn’t intentionally turn the ball over. They forced us into some bad spots, took us out of our flow, trapped us a little bit, and we turned the ball over some.
“We didn’t box out well in the first half, but I thought our guys rebounded extremely well.”
The Ghosts (25-6, 14-0 SOL) closed out the season with an SOL National Conference title and their first trip to the Final Four since Abington won a state title in 1974.
“This is my first experience to come this far,” Hinton said. “This will definitely (motivate) us.”
“It was great to be part of this team,” Lee said. “They’re like my family. I love them. It’s very hard (to see it end).”
EXTRA SHOTS: The game was played in front of a standing room only crowd, and the gym was rocking from the opening tap. Despite the three-hour drive, Abington brought a large contingent of fans. New Castle had to travel four-plus hours to Chambersburg, and its diehard fans filled 10 charter buses. While there may have been more Hurricane than Ghost fans, the Ghost fans more than held their own.
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