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Periods of rain. High 47F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%..
Periods of rain. Areas of dense fog. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Littlestown’s Christopher Meakin (30) defends as Middletown’s Mason Blazer attempts a shot during Saturday’s game in Littlestown. Blazer scored 29 points in Middletown’s 65-56 victory. (John Armstrong/Gettysburg Times)
Littlestown’s Christopher Meakin (30) defends as Middletown’s Mason Blazer attempts a shot during Saturday’s game in Littlestown. Blazer scored 29 points in Middletown’s 65-56 victory. (John Armstrong/Gettysburg Times)
As far as first game matchups go, it was a doozy on Saturday afternoon when Middletown visited Littlestown.
The Blue Raiders, with do-it-all senior Mason Blazer leading the way, showed why they are one of the top Class 4A teams in District 3 by defeating the Bolts, 65-56.
While Blazer was the dominant player, it was Tim Moore who got things started for Middletown. Moore drove for a layup with an and-one to start the scoring, then hit two free throws for the Raiders. Bolt senior Zyan Herr got a layup off a rebound, then Littlestown senior big man Christopher Meakin hit a long three to tie it up at five points apiece.
Sophomore Peyton Bossom, in his first varsity start, hit a three with just under three minutes left in the opening period for a 9-5 Bolt lead. But Blazer, who measures 6-foot-5, scored six of the next nine of the Raiders points as Middletown grabbed a 14-11 lead after one quarter.
“It’s tough to play Middletown in the first game of the season,” said Littlestown head coach John Forster. “They have had a good team over the years. Blazer is a heck of a ball player. We knew that going in, and we had a good game last year with him.”
To start the second period, Middletown built a 20-11 lead, and it looked like things might get away from the Bolts. But Brandon Claybaugh nailed a three that motivated the Bolts. Another three by Logan Smith and another driving and-one by Herr tied the game at 20-20.
The whole second stanza was a game of runs. A five-point run by Middletown, followed by an eight-point run by Littlestown; a six-point run by the Raiders was followed by a seven-point run by the Bolts. When Meakin drained another three with 15 seconds left in the half, Littlestown took the lead for the final time at 31-29. Two late free throws sent the teams to the locker room tied 31-31.
“You come into these first games, with such a trimmed pre-season, and you don’t always know what you are going to get when you come out here,” said Middletown head coach Chris Bradford. “You have to get used to the officiating, and the flow of the game. It really helps when we have someone like Mason to steady the troops.”
In the third quarter, the Blue Raiders figured a way to slow down the 6-foot-8 Meakin, who had 11 first half points: don’t let him get off a clean shot. Middletown resorted to tenacious, rough defense and forced the Bolts to get their points from the foul line. Indeed, seven of the Bolts’ 12 third quarter points were freebies.
Meanwhile, the Raiders had also found some gaps in Littlestown’s defense with crisp passing and backdoor plays, leaving some holes in the Bolt defense to be breached. With the guards penetrating with driving layups for eight points, that left Blazer open for some big threes, and the Raiders scored 19 third quarter points.
Blazer was also a force on the boards, collecting 10 of the Raiders 25 rebounds, to the Bolts’ 19 caroms.
“We are breaking in a lot of young guards, and this is a great starting point for us,” Bradford said. “I was super pleased at our ability to find the gaps and figure out what they were doing defensively. That is a team that, down the line, they will be a heck of a lot better than they were today. And we will too.”
With their 50-43 third quarter lead, the Blue Raiders kept the pressure on through the final period, mainly thanks to the efforts of Blazer, who led all scorers with 29 points. The lead grew to 11 points when guard Landon Keysar drove for a layup to make it 60-49 with 3:06 remaining.
Meakin spun for layup, then made two free throws to make it 60-53 with two to go, but Blazer hit two charity tosses and Keysar (10 points) drove for another layup to put the lead back at 12 at 65-53. Meakin, who led the Bolts with 24 points, hit a three as time ran out for the final margin. Herr had 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including four free throws and two three-pointers.
“Our guys put forth a lot of effort, and we battled and played hard,” Forster said. “We have played them for a while now, and we know what they are doing, and they know what we are doing. They are a great team. Maybe we’ll meet up with them again down the road. I’m hoping our guys can just get some good rest tomorrow, and come out Monday ready to get ready for Greencastle.”
The Bolts play next on Tuesday when they visit Greencastle-Antrim.
Middletown (65): Landon Keysar 4 2-2 10, Aleel Batts 2 1-1-7, Mason Blazer 10 5-6 29, Tim Moore 2 3-3 7, Max Dupes 3 1-4 7, Zach Burkholder 1 1-1 3, JP Horetsky 1 0-0 2. Non-scorers: Thear, Askins. Totals: 23 13-17 65.
Littlestown (56): Peyton Bossom 2 0-0 5, Nate Albert 1 0-0 2, Logan Smith 1 0-0 3, Brandon Claybaugh 3 1-1 8, Alex Popoff 0 0-2 0, Christopher Meakin 7 7-12 24, Zyan Herr 4 4-4 14, Bryson Lookingbill 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 12-19 56.
3-pointers: M- Blazer 4, Batts 2; L-Meakin 3, Herr 2, Claybaugh, Smith, Bossum .
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