The Exeter boys basketball team went into Tuesday’s game hoping to go on a similar run as it did in 2022-23, the year the Eagles won PIAA District 3 Class 5A.
After a bad second quarter and going down 25-24 at the half to Middletown, the chances of that run were looking slim.
After a resilient third quarter from the Eagles, the chances of that title began to rise again. The matchup came down to the final seconds with Middletown holding a two-point lead.
With seven seconds left, Exeter called its final timeout in hopes of finding a play to tie or take the lead. They went to Braylon Reinart, who received the inbound under the basket and scored to force overtime.
Exeter seemed to find its shine in the odd numbered quarters Tuesday night as the Eagles pulled away with the extra four minutes for the victoryl.
Exeter (13-10) defeated Middletown (13-9) 60-53 at Exeter Township High School Gym in the first round of the PIAA District 3 Class 5A boys basketball championships.
Exeter started the game on a 15-6 run led by Aidan Dauble’s 11 first quarter points. Jayden Ware was getting the offense going with three first half assists.
The Eagles hit six of their first seven shots from the field and five of these buckets came in the paint. Their motion offense created mismatches on the post for easy points.
The man-to-man defense Exeter head coach John VanGorder opted for was keeping Middletown off the three point line and forcing them into tough shots. However, that aggressive defense can have a downside.
The momentum for the Eagles shifted when Carter Redding picked up his second foul in just the first quarter.
“We wanted to make sure we emphasize getting to the rim instead of settling,” VanGorder said.
From there, Exeter’s offense grew stagnant with less motion and more isolation. Middletown took advantage of the stagnant offense. The Eagles opted for a zone defense and they paid the price.
Middletown went on a 19-9 run to end the first half. The Blue Raiders were led by Landon Keyser and Alee Batts who combined for 18 of the 25 first half points.
Exeter opened the second half back in its man-to-man defense and it paid dividends as Middletown had only eight third quarter points. This and Dauble’s aggressive offensive approach helped the Eagles regain the lead.
Dauble’s rim pressure, which either resulted in points or a trip to the line, sparked the rest of the offense to do the same. The Eagles took a 38-33 lead heading into the final quarter.
“I noticed I had some smaller defenders on me so I wanted to take them to the post to get my inside game going,” said Dauble, who finished with 24 points. “That allowed me to get my outside game going and get open looks.”
Middletown took back the momentum in the fourth with a 8-1 run to take back the lead. Reinart’s crucial bucket to tie the game with 3:19 remaining forced Middletown to take a timeout and for Exeter to take a deep breath.
After going down two and having to play the foul game, Exeter lucked out when Keyser missed his second free throw. Reinart had one more big shot within him and with seven seconds left, he forced overtime.
After four points from Reinart in the extra period and a big three from Dauble, Middletown was left playing the foul game. Exeter would defend home court properly with a 60-53 victory to advance to the second round.
“The message was ‘you worked too hard and overcame too much adversity in this game alone to not finish the job.’” VanGorder told his team. “The guys were motivated off that.”
Exeter, the eighth seed in Class 5A, will take on the winner of Manheim Central (20-2) and Spring Grove (10-12) at the gym of the highest remaining seed at 7 p.m. Friday.
Source: Berkshire mont