"We stopped playing," said Shippensburg coach Ray Staver. "We stopped being aggressive. They took the game by its throat. They got the steals, they got the loose balls, they got the rebounds, they got the open shots, and they knocked them down. They wanted it more than we did."
With the Greyhounds (9-3, 5-2) seemingly in control, 39-26, with two minutes left in the third quarter on the strength of Stum's eight-point second quarter, the Rockets scored nine of the period's final 10 points for a five-point deficit entering the final eight minutes.
And while the James Buchanan defense held Shippensburg scoreless for nearly three minutes to open the fourth quarter (more than four minutes total, including the last 88 seconds of the third period), the Rockets continued to effectively run its half-court offense for a 44-40 advantage.
Two buckets from Matt Vaughn tied the score at the 4:39 mark, but John Sheppard responded with a short jumper for James Buchanan. After a Greyhounds turnover, the Rockets held the ball for more than a minute before Tony Diehl stole an errant pass and fed Vaughn for an easy layup to knot things at 46 apiece.
Micah Hawbaker missed an opportunity to regain the lead for James Buchanan, but after a steal by Justin Ayers, Piper found Kaltreider in the paint for the game-winning bucket with 38 seconds remaining.
Diehl misfired a three-pointer with seven seconds left, but Piper missed the front end of a one-and-one to give Stum an opportunity at the buzzer.
"I'm at a loss for words," said Strawoet. "We were down on ourselves. I saw their heads down when we were down by 13. But we called a time out try to get things together. The kids just wanted it more."
JB 48, Shippensburg 46
SHIPPENSBURG (46)
Stum 12, Diehl 4, Staver 4, Vaughn 19, Kerch 4, Booz 3. Totals 20 4-7 46.
JAMES BUCHANAN (48)
Hawbaker 2, Ayers 4, Gehr 4, Piper 13, Kaltreider 11, Sheppard 8, Ryder 6. Totals 19 9-11 48.
Shippensburg717166-46
J. Buchanan1091613-48
Three-point goals-Shippensburg 2 (Stum, Booz). JB 1 (Piper).
MERCERSBURG, Pa. - The term "blowout" is apparently not in the vocabulary of the James Buchanan boys basketball team, as six of its seven wins have come by a combined 12 points.
