Few outside their locker rooms, thought Troy and Warrior Run would reach the District 4 Class AAA semifinals. Not after Troy lost three starters, including all-time leading scorer Ty Barrett. Not after Warrior Run went 1-21 last season.

Both teams have proved the doubters wrong and following a tremendous performance in Tuesday’s semifinals at Montoursville, Troy has a shot at making the ultimate response. Despite its loss, Warrior Run still can do something big, too.

Jack Burbage scored 24 points, three players reached double figures and Troy played ferocious defense while reaching a second straight district final, defeating Warrior Run, 67-42. The Trojans (17-7) plays NTL rival North Penn-Mansfield for the title this weekend. Warrior Run (12-12) can still reach states and put an exclamation point on a huge turnaround season when it plays Loyalsock for third place and the field’s final state playoff berth.

“It’s been a big question. People were saying, ‘You’re not going to be as good as last year,’ and we just come together and play as one,” defensive ace Justice Chimics said after scoring 10 points and making three steals. “We don’t care who gets the credit. We just work hard together and we’re showing we can be a good team as well.”

Actually, they can be even better than last year’s finalist. If Troy defeats North Penn-Mansfield, it will secure its first district championship of the 2000s. The Trojans sure seemed capable of doing so in the semifinals, building an 18-point second-quarter advantage and blitzing Warrior Run in the fourth with a game-clinching 13-1 run.

Warrior Run took a quick 4-1 lead in the first minute, but Troy’s in-your-face, full-court pressure started giving the Defenders fits. Troy did not allow another field goal for the next nine minutes and by that point, it had surged ahead 22-7.

“We always are hustling around, and our defense is our main focus every day,” Chimics said. “As long as we can get our defense better, that’s what we want to do. If they can’t score, they can’t win.”

Troy denied Warrior Run its first district championship appearance since 1999, but it was still a valuable learning experience for a team which has just one senior. And the Defenders still have a lot for which to play considering a state tournament berth remains out there a year after winning one game.

“As rough as that was out there tonight, we still have an opportunity (this weekend),” Warrior Run coach Eric Wertman said. “And that has been very much us all year. Any time we’d have a letdown during the season we’d always come back and respond the next night. That’s what I think our kids will do; that’s what I’m hoping they do.”

Warrior Run was coming off an amazing 39-38 quarterfinal win against No. 2 Wellsboro in which Carter Marr made a 60-foot buzzer-beater. When Aiden McKee opened the game with a dunk just four seconds in and added another inside shot to make it 4-1, it looked like Warrior Run might build on the momentum.

Troy’s pressure started taking its toll, however, and Troy was up 18 with three minutes to go in the half. The Defenders thundered back, and Mason Sheesley (13 points) keyed a 13-2 run with two 3-pointers. Chase Beachel banked in a 3-pointer to make it 29-22, but Colin Loveland stopped the run and made it a nine-point game at halftime.

Troy quickly put a damper on those comeback hopes, scoring the first six points of the third quarter and it never let Warrior Run within single digits again. Burbage scored 14 second-half points, Evan Woodward added 12 and every Trojan did his part as Troy continued expanding its lead over the game’s final 12 minutes.

“We’re like a family. Every day we see each other and play together is awesome,” Chimics said. “We just tried to put them away right there. We wanted to keep hustling and keep hustling until they cracked.”

McKee is having a super freshman season and is among the area’s double-double leaders. He added another Tuesday, scoring 13 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking four shots. McKee was tough to stop when he had the ball down low, but Troy’s pressure frequently kept Warrior Run from being able to work the ball inside as much as it would have preferred.

“The sky is the limit for the kid. He’s a basketball player and that’s all he does all year round,” Wertman said. “He’ll learn from this just like all the kids will learn from it.”

Ultimately, that is the most crucial takeaway for Warrior Run. Yes, the Defenders desperately wanted to reach the district final, but it has come so far, so fast and will finish its season having played at least three playoff games.

Warrior Run’s youth showed at times against Troy, but that also produced a lot of teaching moments. And for a team which will have so many players back next season, this game could help it grow a lot into the future.

If Warrior Run turns this negative into a positive, either in the third-place game and/or next season, this game may actually serve as a launching pad.

“I’m a ‘I want to win now’ person but that was great for our kids,” Wertman said. “In a few months when we look back at it, tonight will be a blessing in disguise. Tonight, though, it feels pretty rough.”

TROY (67)

Evan Woodward 4 2-3 12, Jack Burbage 8 6-7 24, Justice Chimics 3 4-6 10, Lance Heasley 3 0-0 6, Jackson Taylor 1 0-0 2, Colin Loveland 3 0-0 6, Lincoln Chimics 1 3-3 5, Eason Teribury 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 15-19 67.

WARRIOR RUN (42)

Aiden McKee 6 1-8 13, Mason Sheesley 5 1-2 13, Cooper Wilkins 0 1-3 1, Carter Marr 4 0-0 8, Ryan Newton 0 0-0 0, Braego Cielukoski 0 0-0 0, Landon Polcyn 0 1-4 1, Chase Beachel 1 0-0 3, James Kiefer 1 0-0 3. Totals 17 4-17 42.

Troy 13 18 16 20–67

Warrior Run 5 17 10 10–42

3-pointers: Troy 4 (Woodward 2, Burbage 2); Warrior Run 4 (Sheesley 2, Beachel, Kiefer).

Records: Troy 17-7. Warrior Run 12-12.