Rustin falls short against hot-shooting Milton Hershey

HARRISBURG » West Chester Rustin’s first trip to the PIAA tournament in five seasons had the misfortune of running into a 5-foot-8 weather system raining shots all over the floor.

Milton Hershey’s Donyae Baylor-Carroll dropped 35 points Friday night, an unstoppable force for which Rustin had no answer, to usher the Knights out of the PIAA Class 5A tournament, 75-52, in the nightcap of a tripleheader of state scholastic basketball action at Central Dauphin East High School.

“He was in a zone, he didn’t miss many and he felt comfortable,” Rustin head coach Kevin Cochran said of Baylor-Carroll. “As a fan it was great to see, but as an opposing coach it was tough.”

The sparkplug from his guard spot for the newlyminted District 3 champions, Baylor-Carroll missed just a handful of shots but drained many more — 12 in all, of which seven were 3-pointers — to propel the Spartans to victory after a wildly uneven first quarter opened the affair.

“Donyae’s the most talented player I’ve ever coached,” veteran head man Mark Zerbe said. “We’ve had some good ones, but BaylorCarroll’s ability to take guys off the dribble, to knock down 3-pointers, foul shots, team leader. He’s a terrific young man and he’s been our leader all year and he is the reason we are where we are, along with some great personnel alongside him.”

Milton Hershey opened the game on a 14-2 run, which prompted Cochran to call his first time out. Out of the break, however, the Knights counterpunched with their best ball of the night, a 15-0 response to take a highly improbable 1714 lead early in the second quarter.

“For us, none of our guys had the experience in states,” Cochran explained. “But once they calmed down, my whole thing was not to let it get away from us early. Once they calmed down, they played better. They responded.

“These guys have given me everything they have. I expected it to be a fight. It was enjoyable. They fought hard all year. We had some ups and downs, but they wanted to get here, have a taste of it.”

Baylor-Carroll ended Rustin’s 15-0 run with a 3-ball to knot the game at 17, then Pedro Rodriguez hit a pair of shots on consecutive trips down court to give the lead back to the Spartans, an advantage they would not relinquish.

Frequent zone looks defensively from Milton Hershey seemed to stunt Rustin’s options, especially after the break. The Knights found it tough sledding to try and it break down with any consistency.

Rustin big Jake Nelson provided interior offense in the first half for the Knights; Bryce Barrouk warmed up after halftime from the perimeter, nailing a trio of threes during the third quarter to keep his club within hailing distance. Nelson led Rustin with 17 points; Barrouk had 15.

But the Spartans never let off the gas. An 18-point third quarter was followed with a 23-poin effort during the closing eight minutes, pushing what had been a 52-39 lead after three to the final prohibitive margin.