Gov. Mifflin goes to playbacks
Loss to Hempfield denies Mustangs place in district semifinals; GM still alive for states
SHILLINGTON >> There’s an old motivational saying in sports regarding the hard work required to reach a higher level: “What do you do when no one’s watching?”
That means during practice. But Governor Mifflin’s current seniors remember well when virtually no one, outside of immediate family members and maybe some friends, were watching their home basketball games.
“Our main goal since we were freshmen was to get these people coming out,” Mustangs senior guard Isiah Tisdale said. “I remember freshman year, there would be like eight people at the varsity games. We never wanted that. We always said that when we’re seniors, this place is going to be packed.”
Bingo. Tisdale and his fellow seniors were greeted by a jammed house Friday night at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School, a testament to the monster improvement in the program under third-year coach Dan Haughney, and a reverberating reflection of the potential history-making magic at hand. The Mustangs, a losing program for so long, now astonishingly having risen to being seeded No. 2 in District 3, 6A, and were hosting No. 7 Hempfield in the quarterfinals. A win would put Governor Mifflin in the state playoffs for the first time in the school’s boys basketball history.
A flawed beginning for the Mustangs almost … almost turned into a perfect ending. The crowd noise crescendo was off the charts as they made a furious fourth quarter comeback. But a well-contested three-pointer by resilient, gifted senior guard Jared Peters, who sparked the rally, banged off the rim with 2 seconds left, and Hempfield hung on for a 49-46 victory.
Reaching states is still doable for the Mustangs, it’s
just a longer road. They moved to the loser’s bracket and a consolation semifinal at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Milton Hershey High School against Central Dauphin East. While hitting the reset button that quickly may be a challenge for the Mustangs, all that they invested in the long and winding road of the past three years to this exciting point could serve them well.
They put in a lot of sweat when no one was watching, and now it’s paying off.
“We worked hard for it,” Tisdale said. “We’re having a great season, we had a letdown tonight, but we’re going to keep going. We believe we can play with the best people. It’s real now. It’s important to not let this get us sidetracked.”
“It’s still history on the line for the school,” said Haughney, whose club went 12-12 last year but is now 18-5. “We have to reset the gear and try to get in. These kids are great and they’re so fun to be around. We’re not going to overwhelm teams, we’re methodical, and a lot of our games are close, but we’ll always fight to the end.”
Which was exactly what the Mustangs did in the district quarterfinal, roaring back from a 12-point deficit and outscoring Hempfield 20-12 in the fourth, with the hard-driving and deep-shooting Peters scoring 14 of his gamehigh 24.
“He’s a rock,” Haughney said. “A great player and a great kid. He’s been easy to coach. But one of the things that hurts us sometimes in some of the bigger games is we stand around some and watch him. We’ve had good balance most of the year.”
Against well- crafted Hempfield defense, all the Mustangs struggled offensively through the game’s middle stages, including Peters, who had a 1-for-10 stretch at one point. But he simply took over when he had to and it was a treat to watch.
Free-throw shooting, though, was fatal for the Mustangs this night as they hit just 6- of-16, including 3-for-10 in the fourth quarter. Peters missed three during the period as did hard-working boardman Rece Harman.
Governor Mifflin ultimately was held 13 points under its season scoring average. On the other end Hempfield forward Bryan Karl was the primary problem, showing a deft touch from various angles and scoring 16.
A 3-for-18 second quarter for the Mustangs led to a 28-18 halftime deficit. It was 37-26 after three. Governor Mifflin was mindful that just three weeks prior, it had overcome a 16-point deficit to the Knights and defeated them 49-43.
“We started out really slow,” Tisdale said. “Coach had been harping on it; we couldn’t afford a slow start against these teams in districts. Our shots weren’t falling and we let that affect our defense.”
But then some desperation defense brought the Mustangs back. They trapped all over the floor, forced turnovers, and Peters began filling it up. In succession, he scored on a drive and nailed two treys as the Mustangs whittled away. Tisdale’s only bucket of the night, a 3-pointer, made it a two-point game with 2:29 left.
Hempfield missed two free throws, the second with a three-point lead at the 29-second mark, and the Mustangs got two more chances on their final possession, but three times Peters missed threes on closely guarded attempts.
“Our trap was great, but we spent so much energy coming back,” Haughney said.
The same can be said for what they’ve put into the program. But as Tisdale said and the Mustangs showed throughout the frantic finish, there’s probably still a lot left in the tank, especially after the long road to this. Just about everybody in Shillington is now watching.