REVENGE AGAINST HEMPFIELS

After losing to Reading, the Herd set their next goal to be the fifth seed in the district and enter the PIAA tournament in the western bracket against the winner of District 6.

They succeeded and beat Hempfield, 57-40, by outscoring the Knights 19-3 in the final quarter on Thursday at Central Dauphin East High School.

Leading 38-37 after three quarters, the Herd turned up the defensive intensity and allowed the Black Knights only one shot and turned the fast break loose. The Thundering Herd finished the game on an 11-0 run.

Hempfield had beaten the Herd in the second game of the season in the Carlisle Classic.

This was completely different and confident Herd. Jordan Purcell went scoreless in the first half, but came alive in the second half to score all of his 11 points.

“We just needed to step up our defense tonight,” Purcell said. “They didn’t do anything different on me defensively I just didn’t hit my shots early. I still was able to do all of the other things — play defense, get rebounds and get the ball to my teammates in position to make a play. My shots fell in the second half when we were really able to get out on the break.”

““Hempfield is a tough team because they are so patient,” Herd head coach Andre Anderson said. “They work the ball and one little slip up and they are shooting a layup. Fortunately, they missed some shots down the stretch and allowed us to open up the game a bit.”

Carlisle jumped out quickly as they got a 3-pointer from Ki Barnes and two buckets from Tyler Greene and Deshawn Millington and took a 7-2 lead.

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Bryan Karl canned a 3 for Hempfield but Ki Barnes matched that with his second 3-ball.

A 7-2 run to start the second quarter gave the Herd a 17-7 lead, but the Black Knights used a 13-7 run behind Connor Moffatt to get within 24-20. But Nate Barnes gave the Herd a 26-20 halftime lead with a put-back at the buzzer.

The Black Knights made their run as the Herd started to settle for jumpers since they were falling early.

Purcell scored out of the half but the Black Knights went on a 12-3 run to take a 32-31 lead. A late Nate Barnes drive and one gave the Herd a 38-37 lead after three quarters. Hempfield fans were screaming for a charge but Barnes actually went right over top of the defender.

Millington led the Herd with 17 points and Ki Barnes added nine with seven rebounds. Nate and Gavyn Barnes split 10 points but added numerous rug burns from the defensive stops and intensity level they brought to the floor.

“Playmakers make the plays down the stretch and Deshawn and Jordan did that,” Anderson said. “We got great intensity form Gavyn and Nate Barnes and a big shooting night from Ki Barnes.”

Hempfield was led by Connor Moffatt with 18 points and eight rebounds. Bryan Karl added nine, with two 3-pointers. No other player scored more than five points. Hempfield will take on the second place team in District 1 which would be either Chester or Plymouth-Whitemarsh. The PIAA Class AAAA tournament starts March 5

“We wanted to go into the tournament as the fifth seed to go west and our first game could be either Altoona or State College,” Anderson said.