The State High Boys Basketball Team (9-11) took on Central Dauphin (17-4) on Jan. 5 in its senior night game. State High came into this game hot off of a win over the defending state champions of Central York, while Central Dauphin has been hot all year.
State High is led by seniors Reed Melvin and Charlie Yartz. Central Dauphin is led by senior Wayne Fletcher II, who is committed to play basketball at Navy.
Prior to the game, seniors were honored with their families by their side. Another celebration was held after the game, giving the seniors a chance to take in their final game together with some cake and friends.
State High started five of its seven seniors, Yartz, Melvin, Oskar Williams, Carter Weight and Deondre Sheffey. Ty Salazer was the lone senior on the bench and he came into the game almost as soon as it started.
Williams assisted Sheffey for the first bucket of the game as State High took a short-lived lead. Central Dauphin went on a 8-0 run after that bucket, but State High pushed back behind a few Yartz buckets to tie the game at 15 to end the first quarter.
Melvin hit two nice floaters early in the second quarter to trade buckets and keep it close with Central Dauphin. Junior guard Michael Powell hit a go-ahead three late in the second quarter to put State High ahead 26-24.
There was late drama at the end of the second quarter as Fletcher tied the game with a dunk before Melvin got an offensive rebound and scored to take the lead back. Fletcher hit a deep buzzer-beater three to give Central Dauphin the lead by one, 29-28 going into halftime.
State High started the second half with a different lineup giving Powell, Yartz, sophomore Nick Carr, Melvin and Salazer the start.
Melvin hit another long range shot to give State High an early lead to start the third quarter. The crowd started to get into the game in the third quarter as Fletcher got rim stuffed on a dunk attempt. A few minutes later, Yartz slammed home a putback dunk and the crowd hit a new high.
With just under two minutes to go in the third quarter, Fletcher caused two straight turnovers and got easy fastbreak points to grow the lead to 38-54 for Central Dauphin.
State High came out with a lot of energy in the final quarter, starting off with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to single digits. Central Dauphin then went on a run of its own to grow the lead back to 14 with just over three minutes left.
Melvin and Powell caught fire in the last three minutes combining for 14 points, but ultimately came short, losing the game 70-64. Central Dauphin was led by Fletcher’s 19 points and Jelani Easter’s 18 points. The Little Lions had four scorers in double figures, Melvin with 23, Yartz with 13, Powell with 11 and Salazer with 10.
Yartz hit a special accomplishment on senior night, surpassing 1000 career points.
“It was an awesome feeling, having everybody there to support and I am just happy I hit it,” Yartz said.
The home court advantage was key for the Little Lions in their last two games. “I think more people came to the game [and] supported us,” Melvin said. “It was a good atmosphere, good energy.”
Head Coach Brian Scholly commented on his senior class after the game. “The goal for every group is just to make the program a little bit better, because they were a part of it, and these guys definitely did,” he said. “I mean, just kind of their work ethic every day, especially as a group that became seniors as soon as last year’s seniors ended, they grabbed the baton from last year’s group and have done a really good job of moving us in the right direction.”
The Little Lions may have dropped this game, but the important part is honoring this senior class in the best way possible. These seniors are looking to rebound from this loss with a District VI Championship and a state playoff run.
