Anthony Smith’s windmill dunk was a fitting way for Shippensburg to end a fun-filled evening of basketball. Teammate Jeremy Thomas scored it “a 13 out of 10.”
That’s because the business end of Tuesday’s Mid-Penn Conference semifinal was handled roughly an hour earlier when the Greyhounds went on the attack.
Smith was the biggest thorn in Trinity’s side, scoring 29 points, and Shippensburg got more pace and production throughout its line-up in a 75-60 triumph in Mechanicsburg.
Forward Jeremy Thomas added 19 points, and point man Jayden Statum dropped in 12, for the Colonial Division rep, now aiming for the conference title in Thursday’s finale.
The Hounds (17-2) will play Keystone champ Cedar Cliff at 7:30 p.m. at Spartans’ Arena at Milton Hershey School.
Yes, momentum stuck to Ray Staver’s upstart from the beginning.
Despite 17 second-half points from Shamrocks’ guard Julian Gabbidon, who paced his club with 25 in all, Trinity could wiggle no closer than 7 points (67-60) after falling behind 30-17 at halftime.
STARS
Digging in early defensively vs. Gabbidon and a few more of Trinity’s scoring threats, Shippensburg got moving for a handful of easy buckets. Carter Funk and Graison Michaluk were also key contributors on the defensive side.
Despite Gabbidon’s work after the break, Smith and Thomas helped Shippensburg counter in the big way. Thomas had 14 in the second half, with Davis pouring in 21 of his total in the final 16 minutes.
Freshman Owen Schlager added 13 points for Trinity (16-5), which lost for the first time in nine games.
GAME-WINNING MOMENT
Gabbidon’s putback and pair of free throws closed the third quarter and had Trinity within 46-32. The deficit went to 12 on two Trey Weiand free throws early in the fourth. However, Smith converted a Thomas assist at the other end, and Thomas added another bucket off a Trinity turnover on the ensuing possession.
THEY SAID IT
“That was fun. Coming into this game, we knew that if we played like we can, this would be the result. We shut them down defensively and make big stops. We got a lot of momentum going and got a lot of big plays. Getting the ball inside to the big man and getting those buckets was huge for us.” -- Shippensburg’s Jeremy Thomas
“We got it inside the paint. That’s the best thing that we needed to do to win this game. We also needed to play defense in the first half and we did that. We had Jayden and Graison, they did a great job on Gabbidon. And, and we did well rebounding on offense and defense.” -- Shippensburg’s Anthony Smith
Trinity 5-12-15-28 -- 60
Shippensburg 19-11-16-29 -- 75
SHAMROCKS (60) -- Cooper Manley 0-0-0, Amil Way 0-0-0, Bryan Skurcenski 1-3-6, Julian Gabbidon 9-6-25, Owen Schlager 3-5-13, Trey Weiand 2-2-8, Wyatt Cooper 2-0-4. 3-point goals: Skurcenski, Gabbidon, Schlager 2, Weiand 2. Totals: 19-16-60.
GREYHOUNDS (75) -- Jayden Statum 5-2-12, Traevon Kater 2-0-5, Erby Weller 1-3-6
Carter Funk 1-0-2, Jeremy Thomas 9-1-19, Graison Michajluk 1-0-2, Anthony Smith 10-9-29, Tyler Hall 0-0-0. 3-point goals: Kater, Weller. Totals: 29-15-75.
Follow Eric Epler on Twitter -- @threejacker
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