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By CHRIS MASSE
cmasse@sungazette.com
MANSFIELD--Cam Michaels and his friends often attended Lewisburg games last decade, young kids reveling in the glory days which produced three district championships in four years.
Saturday, the glory days returned. Michaels, his friends and all his teammates brought them back.
Jake Hernandez scored 26 points, Joey Martin caught fire in the third quarter, Michaels brilliantly ran the offense and four players reached double figures four a third straight playoff game. Put all that together and Lewisburg became District 4’s best Class AAAA team Saturday at Mansfield University.
Break out the Springsteen because the Green Dragons are champions again.
Lewisburg led from the first quarter on, held off a late comeback and defeated Athens, 71-58 to capture the district championship. A program which had not won a playoff game since 2017, earned its first district crown since that year, avenged consecutive playoff losses against Athens and earned a potential home game in Tuesday’s state tournament opener against Littlestown.
"Growing up with Coach (John) Vaji coaching the team and seeing them win a bunch of titles was a lot of fun. We grew up around that and winning one ourselves is amazing," Michaels said. "It’s an awesome feeling. I feel great."
So do all those affiliated with the Lewisburg program, including so many fans who filled the bleachers at Decker Gymnasium.
Vaji coached Lewisburg to 15 straight winning seasons and three district titles during his first tenure there. He returned this season and now the Dragons (22-5) are champions again, producing their most wins in a season since 2016.
"It’s great to have this (gold medal) around my neck but I feel great for these guys. Seeing them enjoying it and celebrating together was great," Vaji said. “(Friday) was our 60th practice, this is our 27th game. These guys have been together for 87 days so far and that’s a long time, but these guys get along great."
They play pretty great, too.
Lewisburg has become the epitome of a team with four double-digit scorers a game becoming the norm. There is more to the game than scoring, though, and Lewisburg has players eager to embrace those roles, too, including Khashaun Akins who again was part of Lewisburg’s determined defensive effort.
The Dragons pounded the ball inside, they moved it outside and hit 3-pointers and they ran the court well. Lewisburg reached Saturday’s title game meshing well together and they won it by playing outstanding together again.
"It’s not me, it’s not Cam, it’s not Jake, it’s not Forrest (Zelechoski): it’s the whole team," Martin said after scoring 15 points and grabbing five rebounds. "It’s those guys coming in to work hard. Even though they’re not getting all the minutes in the game they’re still coming in and working their butts off in practices. We all trust each other, and we know what we need to do to get our job done and when to do it."
Lewisburg did again Saturday, erasing two years of frustration against Athens. Hernandez produced his second straight double-double, going for 26 points and 11 rebounds. He scored 17 first-half points as Lewisburg took a 33-26 lead.
Start focusing on Hernandez inside and Lewisburg can go outside. As he did against Mifflinburg in the semifinals, Martin heated up in the third quarter and made 4 of 5 shots, including two 3-pointers while giving Lewisburg its biggest advantage, 48-34.
"I’ve always been taught, just shoot the ball. Don’t question it. If I’m open, hit the open shot," Martin said. "I trust in my teammates to get me the ball when I’m hot and to just knock it down."
All the Dragons share a similar mentality when it comes to embracing roles and all doing so paid huge dividends against Athens, which was coming off a 41-40 semifinal win against Shamokin. Michaels was the engine powering the offense, pushing the pace and dealing eight assists while adding 13 points and four steals.
Jack Blough was tremendous off the bench, scoring 11 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Henry Harrison added three assists off the bench and Devin Bodden found Blough inside, putting Lewisburg up nine late in the first half.
"The last two years Athens knocked these guys out in district playoffs. I was saying, ‘We can get them this year, we can get them this year,’" Vaji said. "We came out and got into some foul trouble, but everybody helped out to help the team however they could."
Athens (20-7) was down, but not out. The Wildcats, led by Tucker Brown’s 22 points, kept chipping away and closed the deficit to 60-5 with 2:19 remaining. Athens had the momentum, and because of the last two years, history on its side.
But Lewisburg exorcized those demons in emphatic fashion while completing its district championship journey. Hernandez went 10 for 10 at the line and calmly stopped that run when he drained two more. Michaels made his fourth steal seconds later, going in for a layup and his free throw with 38 seconds left all but secured victory, putting Lewisburg up, 69-58.
"It got a little scary at the end. I was shaking a little bit, but these dudes beat us two times in a row, and we were not going to let that happen this year," Michaels said. "We rose to the occasion."
Michaels dribbled out the final seconds as the Lewisburg fans provided a standing ovation. Harrison waved the No. 1 finger and soon all the Lewisburg players were jumping and embracing together, enjoying a moment they will never forget.
"I’m so happy for them," Vaji said. "It’s exciting for the school and exciting for the Lewisburg boys basketball program to be able to put, ‘District champions 2022,’ up on that banner."
ATHENS (58)
JJ Babcock 5 5-8 15, Mason Lister 3 1-5 7, Nalen Carling 2 2-2 7, Tucker Brown 4 13-17 22, Troy Pritchard 0 0-0 0, Chris Mitchell 0 1-4 1, Kolsen Keahtley 2 0-0 4, Xavier Watson 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 22-36 58,
LEWISBURG (71)
Jake Hernandez 8 10-10 26, Joey Martin 6 1-3 15, Cam Michaels 4 4-4 13, Forrest Zelechoski 1 2-2 4, Khashaun Akins 0 0-1 0, Henry Harrison 0 2-2 2, Jack Blough 4 3-7 11, Devin Bodden 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 22-30 71.
Athens 8 18 13 19--58
Lewisburg 13 20 16 22--71
3-pointers: Athens 1 (Brown); Lewisburg 3 (Martin 2, Michaels)
Records: Lewisburg 22-5. Athens 20-7.