Chester Clippers Advance to Final-Four

 By Terry Thomas

Chester (21-3) overcame a first half deficit and captured the schools PA Record 30^th Final-Four appearance with a 65-59 victory over the Shippensburg (22-5) Greyhounds. Chester will face District-12 Champion, Imhotep Charter, on Friday, March 18 at a site and time to be determined.

The fans in attendance at the Manheim Township High School were fully entertained and did not leave disappointed at the performance of both teams. It was a game where there were no regrets regarding the effort put forth during the entire 32 minutes. 

After going scoreless in their first four possessions, the Clippers found themselves in a 0-8 hole before sophomore Kevin Rucker knocked down a trey at 5:00 for a 3-8 score. The Clippers seemed to have no answer for the Greyhounds, 6'8"- 290 senior, Anthony Smith who is heading to Minnesota on a football scholarship. Smith scored 9 first quarter points and got the Clippers Larenzo Jerkins sent to the bench with two personal fouls. Chester answered with 6'5" - 290 sophomore Jerry Young to battle in the paint. And, it was Jerry birthday, what a way to celebrate. After falling behind by twelve, 7-19, Rucker connected on a free-throw and sophomore Kyree Womack added an And-1 to close the gap to 8, 11-19 with just under 10 15 seconds to play. Smith scored once again before the quarter ended putting the Clippers in a 10-point hole, 11-21. 

In the second quarter, the sophomore combo of Rucker and Womack to the helm of the Clipper ship scoring 6 and 7 points respectively as the Chester put the heat on the Greyhounds. Chester opened the quarter with a 6-1 to pull within 5, 17-22, with 5:45 to play. The lead stayed at five until Womack's steal and layup got Chester within three, 23-26, with 2:25 to play. After two Rucker free-throws followed by a steal and lay-up from Jerkins brought the Clippers one point away, 27-28 with just under a minute to play. Smith closed the quarter with an And-1 and Chester trailed 27-31 at intermission. Smith accounted for 17 of the Greyhounds 31 first half points.

The Clippers began the third quarter with one of their patented runs, this the 16-5 version, resulting in a 43-36 Chester lead with 2:40 to go. Rucker scored 8 of his 13 third quarter points during the run. Larenzo, senior Qadir Lowrie and junior Breilynd White combined to score the rest. After the team exchanged baskets, Lowrie's free throw gave the Clippers a 49-41 lead with 48.8 seconds to play. The quarter ended with Chester ahead 49-43. 

Larenzo Jerkins opened the fourth quarter with a steal and a bucket and later after his second steal of the quarter ended with Breilynd White's three-point play, the Chester lead was up to 9, 54-45. Senior Isaiah Freeman recorded 1 of his 7 rebounds which led to two free throws from Womack and the Clippers and their fans were rejoicing with an eleven-point lead, 56-45, with 5:10 left in the game. As the wind left the Clippers sails, the Greyhounds took advantage of the situation and drew within three points, 60-57 with 1:07 to go. The Clippers turned the ball over on their next possession and now the lead was down to one, 60-59 with under a minute to play. Chester tightened their defense and Jerkins scored on their next possession, 62-59. Rucker stole the ball and Lowrie scored the bucket for a 64-59 lead with 5.8 seconds to play. Rucker finished the game with a free throw bringing his point total to 26 and the final score of the game. Kevin Rucker's 26 points was one shy of his career high of 27. 

Kyree Womack and Larenzo Jerkins joined Kevin in double-digit scoring with 14 and 10 points respectively. Breilynd White and Qadir Lowrie each contributed 7 points and Isaiah Freeman completed the scoring with 1 point. Freeman led the team with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Rucker also contributed 4 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and 1 steal.