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Free throws save the day for Peters Township

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ALTOONA – The first half hinted that the Peters Township High School boys basketball team would not be able to beat Lampeter-Strasburg with its normally reliable long-range shooting. The Indians made only one of 14 shots from three-point range in the first 16 minutes of the PIAA Class 5A second round playoff game.

That’s alright, the Indians said, we’ll just get to the free-throw line.

Peters Township made 19 of 26 free throws, including three in the final 2:18 to beat Lampeter-Strasburg, 58-56, Tuesday night at Altoona High School.

The outcome wasn’t decided until Lampeter-Strasburg missed two shots in the final four seconds. The Pioneers (20-8) had an off-balance three-pointer by Dean Herr bounce off the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

“That last shot looked kind of good. Then it hit the front of the rim, so we’re all good now,” said Peters Township’s Jack Dunbar, who led the Indians with 14 points.

The win advances PT (24-4) to the quarterfinals Friday against Exeter, the District 3 champion. It is the first time since 1997 that the Indians reached the state quarterfinals.

“Survive and advance,” said Peters Township head coach Joe Urmann. “Survive is the key word. We’re happy to get the win.”

None of PT’s free throws were bigger than the one made by sophomore Mickey Vaccarello with 2:18 remaining. It gave the Indians a 52-51 lead.

“He has been really good lately,” Urmann said of his young forward. “He had 15 points against Milton Hershey (in the first round) and his play has been on the rise. He’s not afraid of the moment or competition.”

Vaccarello’s free throw came after Lampeter-Strasburg’s Luke Hines committed his fifth foul. Hines had been the Pioneers’ big offensive threat after standout guard Ben Wertz (24 points per game) suffered a season ending knee injury in January. Hines battled foul trouble the entire game and played about 15 minutes, scoring only six points.

Vaccarello scored off an offensive rebound to give PT a 54-51 lead and with the Indians in a stall, Brenndan McCullough was fouled and sank two free throws, making it 56-52 with 49 seconds to play.

The Pioneers pulled to within 58-56 on a basket by Chase Smucker with 29 seconds remaining.

Them the Indians, working against full-court pressure, inexplicably threw the ball backward and out of bounds, giving the Pioneers, the seventh-place team from District 3, the ball on the baseline under the basket they were shooting at, setting up the wild finish.

Jake Ziegler scored all of his 11 points for the Indians during the second half. PT had eight players in the scoring column.

The Indians finished 5-for-23 from three-point range.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well,” Urmann said. “We were getting the shots we expected. They were packing in their defense, mixing up their defenses, giving us some crazy looks.”

Herr led Lampeter-Strasburg with 16 points and helped the Pioneers erase a 10-point first half deficit.

“We’re just trying to find a way to win,” Urmann said. “What I like is our kids are not nervous. I’m not going to say we’re playing with house money but those guys don’t blink. Somebody is going to have to play well to beat us.”

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