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The Champs are here: Muncy plays spectacular game and defeats Neumann for District 4 title

By Chris Masse 7 min read

After celebrating at midcourt, Muncy players quickly raced toward their huge student section. There, players and their classmates locked arms and sang the alma mater.

It was more than a school pride moment. It was a moment which revealed everything about how Muncy slayed a perennial giant, exorcised demons of the past and became District 4’s best Class AA boys basketball team.

Simply put, they did everything together. And every note this well-rounded team produced was harmonious.

Muncy played its best game this season, produced an offensive clinic and defeated St. John Neumann, 65-54 Thursday at Montoursville to capture the District 4 championship. All five starters played the entire game, all five scored at least nine points as Muncy (19-6) denied Neumann a fourth straight district crown, snapped its 15-game winning streak and beat its long-time nemesis for the first time since 2012.

At the perfect time, Muncy played the near perfect game.

"We’ve been working all season to get to a point like this. It feels even sweeter to beat a team we lost to twice," Mike Fry said after scoring a team-high 20 points. "It feels so good to look back and look at those games and know we got the last laugh. This is the one that mattered."

"It’s phenomenal," Branson Eyer said after scoring 10 points and dealing six assists. "It’s probably the best feeling I’ve had my whole high school career. It’s awesome."

So was Muncy.

The Indians shot a whopping 67.6 percent from the field and went 13 of 18 in the second half when they started breaking open a close game. Muncy dismantled a zone defense which gave it fits the two previous games and unselfishly worked for good shots, the 23 assists on 25 field goals driving home just how efficient this team was.

Oh yeah, Muncy did all this against a Neumann team which had mercy-ruled it twice during the regular season. Any district championship feels great. Considering the past, which included Muncy coming a shot from winning the crown last year, losses in that, the baseball and football district finals and the bond this team shares, this was truly special.

"This game means so much more than a district title. Even in all the sports like baseball and football it was silver after silver," Ross Eyer said after making a run at a triple-double with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. "We’ve worked our butts off, season after season just to be runner-up. Going into the game where we’re the biggest underdog and not favored team and to win is just ridiculous."

Four starters are seniors and most of this group has played together since kindergarten. Muncy had improved each season together and in its last shot to win the big district prize, this band of brothers delivered. The Indians, who likely will host either Mount Union or Southern Huntingdon in next week’s state tournament opener never trailed after the first quarter, turned the ball over just four times over the last three quarters and limited every Neumann player not named Davion Hill.

Hill scored a game-high 35 points, including 21 in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a team which had every player producing big-time performances. The Knights (21-5) can turn this negative into a positive moving forward if it fuels their collective fire going into states where they will play at District 3 champion Lancaster Mennonite.

On this night, though, the flames which had raged beneath the surface the past four seasons came roaring up and engulfed a Neumann team which had won 11 straight District 4 playoff games. Muncy stormed out in the second half, went up 12 less than three minutes into the third quarter and never let Neumann pull closer than nine again.

"We developed a game plan and we stuck to the game plan. That’s the key. That’s what it comes down to," Muncy coach Jason Gresh said. "They believed in the game plan and that’s the important part. Everyone did their job."

They all did so brilliantly. Noah Confer (10 points, 3 steals) ignited a swarming man-to-man defense, Muncy cut off Neumann’s transition game and the offense repeatedly and patiently ran its sets.

The Indians led 15-10 after a quarter but Neumann’s 6-0 run bridging the end of the second and start of the third quarter had it within two early in the third. Muncy responded by playing high school basketball about as well as it can be played.

Muncy scored on seven straight possessions, going 7 for 7 during that time and building a 46-33 advantage. The ball and the players never stopped moving and Muncy scored at will inside and outside. Fry and Eli Weikle (9 points, 5 assists) hit key 3-pointers and the Indians dramatically altered the game’s complexion.

"In the locker room at halftime we were up four, so we all knew we were playing a good game, we were shooting well, and we just needed to come out and execute and make that gap bigger," Fry said. "We wanted to take it from 4-10 and go on a little run. We came out and shot well and it worked out great."

"Coaches are a big part of that. We practice hard and when we’re scrimmaging, we’re always finding each other," Branson Eyer said. "It’s a result of that work."

Hill did all he could to help Neumann rally and scored 12 third-quarter points. He had little help on this night, however, and Muncy answered every time it looked like Neumann may be ready to go on one of its patented runs which often have stomped out opponents’ victory hopes in the past.

The Indians not only 72.2 percent in the second half but consistently ran the clock. As the fourth quarter progressed, Neumann was not just facing an outstanding team, but also the clock. At one point in that final quarter, Muncy burned nearly two minutes off the clock before Neumann was forced to start fouling.

The Indians forced Neumann out of its zone and into man-to-man but they were just as effective going against that pressure. Muncy attempted just six fourth-quarter shots, made four of them and each one was in the paint. Hill scoring at will kept Neumann hopes alive but when he fouled out with 1 minute, 18 seconds remaining and Muncy leading 62-52 those hopes were squashed.

"I wasn’t expecting us to come out as hot as we did. Once I saw we were hot, and they weren’t it was kind of like we need to go right now. We have to keep this up," said Ross Eyer who guaranteed a year earlier after a two-point district final loss that Muncy would win it all this season. "We have to stay consistent in what we’re doing and don’t force anything crazy and just work the offense."

Muncy continued doing that and the final 90 seconds essentially was a parade to the foul line with Neumann having no choice but to foul in an effort to extend the game.

Nothing worked for Neumann, and everything worked for Muncy. This was the Indians night and the final 30 seconds were basically a coronation. Leading by 11, players, coaches and fans could enjoy a moment six years in the making.

As Fry dribbled out the clock, the Muncy fans who combined with Neumann’s to fill up every seat at Montoursville broke into a chant. One side yelled, "We are!" The other side responded, "Muncy!" Like their team, the fans did everything together.

And together, this team created a moment it will never forget.

"I feel like we’re really starting to come together at the end of the season. That’s kind of what we were planning at the beginning," Branson Eyer said. "We had some shaky times but in the end, we came out on top."

MUNCY (65)

Ross Eyer 6 4-7 16, Branson Eyer 4 2-5 10, Mike Fry 8 1-2 20, Noah Confer 5 0-2 10, Eli Weikle 3 2-2 9. Totals 25 9-18 65.

NEUMANN (54)

Davion Hill 14 2-3 35, Joe Savage 1 3-5 5, Tyrick Moy 3 0-0 6, Daiton Thompson 2 0-0 4, Kane Wright 1 0-1 2, Corey Agnew 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 5-9 54.

Muncy 15 15 20 15--65

Neumann 10 16 15 13--54

3-pointers: Muncy 6 (Fry 3, R. Eyer 2, Weikle); Neumann 3 (Hill 3).

Records: Muncy 19-6. Neumann 21-5.

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