PIAA Class A Boys Basketball: Ice cold early, Chester Charter keeps pounding, breaks through for win

HAMBURG – Kevin Miller is quick to offer a qualifier.

Yes, the first quarter from Chester Charter Scholars Academy in Tuesday night’s PIAA Class A second-round game with Northumberland Christian was pretty bad. One point and 0-for-12 shooting is kind of hard to argue against. But then again …

“Defensively,” the senior point guard said, “we played pretty good.”

Good enough that they could weather nine minutes without a bucket and end up in control by the third quarter. Good enough to create 18 turnovers and hold their opponents to 2-for-18 from 3-point range.

And good enough to be back where they were three years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic brought an end to the state tournament – the PIAA quarterfinals, via a 56-38 win at Hamburg Area High School.

The less said about the start, the better for the Sabers (21-5). They allowed Northumberland Christian’s zone defense to bait them into 3-pointers. When NC went fast with the pace, CCSA went faster. The result was car-wreck basketball, the Warriors on top by a 9-1 score after eight minutes.

But the Sabers adjusted. They turned Norry Christian over 10 times before the break. Down 13-4, they rattled off 10 straight points, six of them by Jabryl Bennett in effectively attacking the middle of the zone. Miller had the other nine in the quarter to send the Sabers into the locker room down just 17-16.

Out of the break, they remembered they had the best big man in the building, Azarhis Smith. Thanks to the pace and the ill-conceived shot selection, he was a passenger in the first half, not attempting a shot. With a concerted effort to pound the ball into him, though, he scored all 13 of his points after the break on 6-for-7 shooting, plus six of his team-high seven boards.

“When adversity comes to us and shots aren’t falling, we look to our big man because he’s a real key factor to the team,” Miller said of Smith. “If we didn’t have him, I don’t think we’d be in this position today.”

Miller added four 3-pointers (plus three from the line when he was fouled on a long ball) to his game-high tally of 22 points. On a night when everyone else in the building shot 2-for-25, Miller shot his way out of trouble. That included more intentional catch-and-shoot looks, but also a second-quarter 29-footer from near the logo.

“I was just feeling it,” Miller said. That’s what I do. I just shoot.”

Bennett added 10 points. Jayden Williams contributed six points to seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Northumberland Christian never got going. It worked hard on the boards and slowed Chester Charter with zone looks, but it was for naught as long as jumpers weren’t falling. They never did, the second seed from District 4 shooting 33 percent from the field (15-for-45).

Henry McElroy led the way with 12 points. Cole Knauss had 11 before fouling out. Josh King (six points, eight boards, three assists) and Luke Snyder (six points, 11 rebounds) worked hard on the glass, but all the missed shots meant for way more rebounding practice than was sustainable.

It wasn’t enough to stop the District 1 champions from getting back to a level they’ve dreamed of for three years, part of a season of moving the program forward.

“It feels real good because COVID cut our season short freshman year,” Miller said. “And to be back, it feels real good.”