Hill tops Mercersburg to set up MAPL title-game rematch with Blair

POTTSTOWN >> It wasn’t the prettiest 32 minutes of basketball, but the Hill School boys basketball team completed its mission Saturday.

Despite being plagued by turnovers and point-blank misses throughout Saturday’s contest, the top-seeded Blues defeated fifth-seeded Mercersburg Academy, 59-46, in a Mid-Atlantic Prep League semifinal at the Hill School.

Daniel Nixon led Hill with 15 points, Gabe Dorsey had 13 and Caleb Dorsey had nine in the win as the Blues advanced to their third straight MAPL championship game. 

Hill, which finished the regular season 5-0 in MAPL play, will host second-seeded Blair Academy (86-71 winners over Peddie School) on Sunday at 2 p.m. It will be the two teams’ third straight meeting in the league championship game after Blair defeated Hill both of the past two seasons.

“We just want to get a good night’s sleep because tomorrow is going to be a big game against Blair,” Nixon said. “I just can’t wait for that. Last year, they beat us at Peddie, so that’s all we really want is the dub.”

The Blues needed a buzzer beater to make last year’s championship game. There was no such drama in Saturday’s semifinal.

Hill led 28-25 at halftime before a 7-3 run to close the third quarter gave them a 39-33 advantage heading to the fourth.

Nixon started the fourth with a three and helped Hill maintain control throughout the final quarter with seven fourth-quarter points. Zach Lezanic went 6-for-8 from the line in the fourth to close out the win.

“That got us riled up,” Nixon said of his three. “That was exactly what we needed just to get things going. I feel like we had a slow start.”

The Blues dropped into a zone for a good chunk of the second half and held Mercersburg to just 21 points after halftime, including an eight-point third quarter. Kaylen Oweh had 11 and AJ Gray had 10 for Mercersburg.

With the length of Caleb Dorsey (6-8), Gabe Dorsey (6-6), Nixon (6-7) and either Gabe Moss (6-8) or Toni Buchmann (6-9) manning the middle, the Blues’ zone can be tough to penetrate.

The group also limited second-chance opportunities for Mercersburg and gave the Blues a few extra possessions by crashing the glass.

“We didn’t play our best tonight,” Hill School coach Seth Eilberg said. “I think maybe sometimes you try too hard, and we definitely are exerting a lot of energy, effort and emotion on the defensive end and on the glass. 

“We’re getting it done at that end, we’re playing well defensively…That may be part of it, but we’ve gotta play both ends of the floor with that chip on our shoulder.”

Even with Virginia commit and Top 50 recruit Jabri Abur-Rahim sidelined throughout the season, Blair has posted a 21-2 record as junior guard Jaylen Blakes and junior forward Akoldah Gak (6-10) are high-level recruits in their own right.

One of Blair’s two losses came in a 63-57 defeat against Hill on Jan. 17. The Blues will need to replicate that result on Sunday to win their first first MAPL championship since 2014. 

“You’ve gotta play really well to beat them,” Eilberg said. “They’re a special team having a special season…It’s hard to beat anybody let alone a team of their caliber twice.”