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South seizes opportunity in playoffs with win

JUDI PINKERTON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport’s Cole Lentz shoots past Canton’s Michael Smithers during Thursday’s District 4 Class AA playoff game at South Williamsport.

White-clad South Williamsport students jumped and blue-clad adults loudly applauded. That scene unfolded before, during and after Thursday’s District 4 Class AA quarterfinal.

If this was not what the South boys basketball players had dreamed playoff basketball would be like, it was pretty close. The playoffs had been for other teams the last five years and when the Mounties finally earned their postseason moment last night, they owned it.

Pete Sinibaldi delivered a monster performance, Cole Lentz nearly recorded a double-double and seven players scored in the opening nine minutes as South broke things open early and defeated Canton, 65-50. The Mounties (12-11) were playing their first playoff game since 2014 and won their first postseason contest since 2012. Now, they have a shot to become South’s first district finalist in the 2000s Saturday when they play top-seeded Millville in the semifinals at Danville.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time so it was great just making it here, but winning by 15 is really great,” Sinibaldi said after scoring 27 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and adding 4 assists. “It was a lot of fun out there.”

“It means everything,” Lentz said after scoring 13 points, grabbing nine rebounds and sparking the defense with six steals. “This was our goal at the beginning of the season and we came out and executed. Now our focus has to be on let’s keep going.”

Sinibaldi and Lentz are two of four senior starters and South looked like a team on a mission when it ended the first quarter on a 17-0 run and took a commanding 26-9 lead. The Mounties built a 20-point halftime advantage and led by as many as 29 in the third quarter against a quality Canton team that had recorded some impressive wins throughout its own breakthrough season.

This was exactly how South envisioned its first playoff game going. A team that won just five games a year ago, looked perfectly at ease while receiving its first playoff taste. A large and boisterous crowd helped fuel the Mounties and they looked as strong as they have all season.

“Being seniors, we didn’t want to go out one and done,” Lentz said. “The crowd was huge and helped us. We love them here and the Whiteout was awesome.”

“These guys put so much time and effort into this and I’m so happy that they’re able to experience this,” South coach Rob Houseknecht said. “I was very nervous to see what they were going to be like their first time playing in playoffs and they responded. They got after it.”

Everything clicked early and often as South quickly asserted itself. Canton held a brief 3-0 lead and tied the game 9-9 midway through the first quarter. Then South went into overdrive. The Mounties scored inside, outside, in transition and off rebounds.

The points came fast and furious and South put up 17 in less than four minutes while building a big lead. That run stretched to 19 early in the second quarter and Sinibaldi’s last-second, pull-up 3-pointer made it 42-22 at halftime. Six players scored in the opening quarter as South efficiently moved the ball, defended well and dominated the boards. The Mounties held a 40-27 rebounding advantage and Ryan Weinhoffer (7) joined Sinibaldi and Lentz as players to grab at least five rebounds.

“Our coach told us to come out fast and we were focusing on that,” Sinibaldi said. “A couple games earlier in the year we were coming out slow and that was holding us back for the rest of the game so we made sure that we came out and punched them in the face.”

Sinibaldi continued his big senior season and both he and Lentz scored eight first-quarter points. Sinibaldi made 11 of 13 shots between the first and third quarters, reaching 25 entering the fourth.

South made 17 of 28 first-half shots as A.J. Flick made some key early plays. Tyler Trojan and Francisco Lagera provided a spark off the bench, and South opened a 23-point lead late in the second quarter. Canton (11-12) fought hard to come back and pulled within 57-40 after three quarters, but Ethan Laudenslager dropped the hammer on Canton’s season, having a hand in six straight points as South secured a win seven years in the making.

This was a win defined not by one or two players, but by all the Mounties. Each player did his part and South won its fourth straight game while building semifinal momentum.

“When seven guys score that’s a huge boost. We’re going to be a tough team if we can keep that going,” Houseknecht said. “The past couple games I told them we need to play like this is our last game. If we don’t win we’re not going to make playoffs and we kept winning and winning. We’re peaking at the right time.”

Canton sophomore Ben Knapp played a strong game, recording a double-double and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Zachary Rentzel and Reese Allen combined for 15 points while Isaiah Niemczyk’s late 3-pointer cut South’s lead to 57-40 late in the third quarter. The Warriors had two chances to pull closer in the fourth before Laudenslager used a crossover dribble to score inside. He then went coast-to-coast for another basket and added an assist as South resumed control.

South will be playing Millville for a second time after losing to it 57-35 earlier this season. The Mounties have played like a different team since then and hope they can keep silencing their doubters. They have come a long way and want this ride to continue a little while longer.

“We’re a team that nobody expected would make playoffs,” Houseknecht said. “I think we’re shocking a lot of people this year. I said earlier in the year if we get in we can make some noise and I think we’re doing that right now.”

South Williamsport 65,

Canton 50

CANTON (50)

Michael Smithers 2 0-0 5, Zachary Rentzel 3 1-1 8, Ben Knapp 5 1-2 11, Camden Route 2 0-0 6, Isaiah Niemczyk 2 0-0 6, Reese Allen 3 0-0 7, Cooper Kitchen 2 0-0 5, Austin Palmer 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 2-5 50.

SOUTH (65)

Pete Sinibaldi 11 4-7 27, Cole Lentz 4 3-4 13, Ethan Laudenslager 4 0-2 8, A.J. Flick 2 1-2 5, Ryan Weinhoffer 2 2-3 6, Tyler Trojan 1 0-0 2, Nate Persun 0 0-0 0, Francisco Lagera 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 10-18 65.

Canton 9 13 18 10–50

South 26 16 15 8–65

3-point goals: Canton 8 (Route 2, Niemczyk 2, Smithers 1, Rentzel 1, Kitchen 1, Allen 1), South 2 (Lentz 2).

Records: South (12-11), Canton (11-12).

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