Big second quarter sends Archbishop Wood past Chambersburg in PIAA-6A second round

LEBANON >> On a telling sequence in the third quarter, Josh Reed finished on a difficult layup then went sliding to the floor.

Before fully regaining his feet, the Archbishop Wood junior guard reached high in the air and made a steal, then dished to a spinning Jalil Bethea for two and the foul.

The Vikings had everything working in an entertaining 72-45 victory over the Trojans in the Second Round of the PIAA-6A Tournament out at Cedar Crest High School.

“We played together,” said Bethea, who poured in a game-high 24 points, including the impressive three-point play in the third. “Once we play together, we can’t be stopped.”

Wood advances to Saturday’s quarterfinals, to take on Coatesville. A tremendous season came to a close for Chambersburg, which was led by Kelly Jaitavius’ 20 points.

The Vikings led 18-12 after one but then turned it up, outscoring the Trojans 24-5 in a pivotal second quarter. Bethea, Green and Reed all had threes in the second as the Vikings built a comfortable pad by the break.

“It was real big. We just had to finish what we did in the first half,” said Bethea.

Wood’s momentum rolled into the third, with Bethea (6-foot-4 guard) hitting another three in the opening stages to widen the margin.

Reed (13 points) hit a jumper and Carson Howard added a bucket as the Vikings put the game out of reach.

And then there was the other aspect to Wood’s success.

“We had to show that we can play defense,” Bethea said.

The Vikings disrupted the Trojans’ flow, jumping into the passing lanes and allowing little space for the Trojans to operate. Wood allowed just six field goals in the second and third quarters, as the Viking offense began to roll.

Wood took another collective step.

“I’m real excited,” said Bethea. “We’re just onto the next game now.”

Archbishop Wood 72, Chambersburg 45
3-6 Chambersburg 12 5 13 15 – 45
12-3 Archbishop Wood 18 24 16 14 – 72
Chambersburg: 0 Jacob Bassham 3 0-0 7, 3 Carter Fogal 0 2-2 2, 5 Stanley Lozius 1 0-0 2, 12 Kelly Jaitavius 6 6-8 20, 11 Colton Cornwell 2 0-0 5, 23 Treyton Sarvis 2 0-0 5, 42 Jermere Jones 2 0-0 4. Totals 16 8-10 45.
Archbishop Wood: 1 Jalil Bethea 9 3-3 24, 2 Mike Green 1 0-0 3, 4 Deuce Maxey 3 0-0 7, 5 Josh Reed 5 2-4 13, 11 Marcus Dixon 4 0-0 8, 13 Ihsan Beyah 1 4-4 7, 22 Carson Howard 1 2-4 4, 23 Gus Salem 1 0-0 3, 20 Eric Garner 0 1-2 1, 12 Tahir Howell 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 12-17 72.
3-pointers: C-Bassham, Jaitavius 2, Connell, Sarvis.