Muncy guard Jaxton Frantz once made six straight 3-pointers as a seventh grader while playing at Bucktail. He drained five straight Saturday at Montoursville.

Chances are the lower total will long be more memorable.

Frantz put on a shooting clinic which would make Steph Curry smile, scoring a career-high 37 points, including 30 in the first half as Muncy routed Line Mountain, 64-25 in the District 4 Class AA semifinals at Mike Mussina Court. The Indians (18-7) reached both a fifth straight district championship and state tournament and will play Northeast Bradford for the title at a time and place to be determined.

That junior high game was nice, but what Frantz did Saturday and where he did it made this one special.

“It’s another unreal moment. We had a lot of fans here and it was a great environment,” Frantz said. “It was Muncy proud. The girls team stayed; everyone was here and it was a great atmosphere.”

Muncy delivered a great performance, too.

Kyran Lisembee dealt seven assists, Dominic Guardini grabbed 10 rebounds and Muncy played tremendous defense. Every player had his fingerprints on helping turn a fifth straight final dream into reality.

But Frantz morphing into a young Larry Bird took the spotlight, especially during a scintillating first half show.

Gavin Barrows corralled the jump ball and found Frantz for a layup just two seconds into the game. That was a harbinger because Frantz not just scored but scored in storm-like bursts. His second 3-pointer had Muncy up 15-2 less than three minutes into the game and the junior guard racked up 18 points by the first quarter’s conclusion as Muncy led, 23-5.

Frantz kept running, Muncy continued setting good screens and he continued working open. The binge continued into the second quarter as a result.

Frantz rained down three more treys and Muncy landed an Ivan Drago-like early knockout, going up, 45-11 at halftime. So dialed in was Frantz that his 30th point came with 2 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in the half, his seventh 3-pointer pushing the lead to 30.

“The first shot felt good and the second shot felt even better. Something clicked and I just caught a flame,” Frantz said. “I had a game like that in seventh grade at Bucktail. I’ve been striving to get that feeling back and it’s the first time I had it back.”

Call it perfect timing.

It was not like Frantz was just forcing up shots either. But when one never misses, the points can pile up fast. Frantz was 11 of 12 from the field when he scored his 30th point. He made his first four shots before missing and then drained seven straight from there as Muncy steamrolled its way toward victory.

Frantz takes what a defense gives him whether scoring or facilitating. Opportunities were there, his teammates kept finding him in good scoring positions and all the pieces came together as Muncy had its fans smiling from start to finish.

“Jax was locked in from the word go. A 30-point half is pretty amazing,” Muncy coach Jason Gresh said. “It wasn’t like he shot 30 shots to get 30 points. He was dialed in and they were all dialed in.”

“It was a whole team effort,” Frantz said. “Our biggest goal was boxing out and getting the rebounds. They’re bigger than us and it was a team effort, regardless of who was scoring or did what. Everyone played their roles this game.”

Frantz, Lisembee and Nate Rogers started their days early, getting in workouts at Cardio4Dayz Fitness before boarding the bus. The blood and competitive juices pumping well before tip-off translated to the court and Muncy controlled all facets. Before some fans had settled back in from the earlier game, the Indians led 15-2 and never took their foot off the gas.

“With Jax so hot they were covering him a lot more than normal, so it opens opportunities for other people,” Lisembee said. “So, obviously, if he’s there you want to give it to him, but him being on fire opens up everything else and we took advantage.”

Muncy certainly did as Guardini and Lisembee combined for three first half 3-pointers. Lamper did excellent work boxing out Line Mountain’s tall post players and Lisembee added seven boards.

Rogers, Bohdy Thomas and Caleb Beaver added some interior muscle as Muncy negated Line Mountain’s biggest strength. In addition to winning the battle of the boards, Muncy also limited inside touches and forced the Eagles into shooting mostly from the perimeter when not turning them over. Less than three minutes into the second quarter, Muncy was up, 30-5.

“We did a really good job of team rebounding. Nate and Bohdy and Beaver gave me big minutes as post players because our fear with this team was size,” Gresh said. “They were focused. They came out and did what they needed to do right from the go. That’s all you can ask.”

Lisembee brilliantly ran the offense and dealt six assists by halftime. A three-year contributor, Lisembee was as effective passing as Frantz was shooting and that played a role in the Indians making 67 % of their first half shots. The pace slowed in the second half, but the good looks really did not with Dylan Mausteller scoring five quick points and connecting on the final of Muncy’s 12 3-pointers.

“Growing up, my parents always told me my best ability is seeing the court. I’ve been honing that skill,” Lisembee said. “Gresh tells me every day that I need to take control sometimes. Jax can run the point, too, but he’s a lot better shooting the ball, so I’m happy getting the assists.”

Conversely, Frantz does not care if he is scoring a lot either. Nobody does. Muncy’s main focus is doing whatever it has to do to win.

That selfless mentality has helped it overcome a series of injuries this season to add another layer to its rich tradition.

The work continues against Northeast Bradford, but the grind is what this team enjoys.

“Our team has a good work ethic,” Lisembee said. “Every day we work and go at it and the results show.”

LINE MOUNTAIN (25)

Bryce Smeltz 3 1-2 7, Kaiden Maurer 3 0-0 7, Luke Malfara 1 0-0 2, Kaden Derck 1 0-0 2, Henry Malfara 3 0-0 7, Niam Braswell 0 0-2 0. Totals 11 1-2 25.

MUNCY (64)

Gavin Barrows 0 0-0 0, Nate Rogers 0 2-2 2, Carter Feigles 0 0-0 0, Jaxton Frantz 13 3-4 37, Dominic Guardini 2 0-0 6, Nixon Lamper 2 0-0 4, Kyran Lisembee 3 0-0 7, Dylan Mausteller 2 0-0 5, Caleb Beaver 1 1-2 3, Bohdy Thomas 0 0-0 0, Bryson Barrows 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 6-8 64.

Line Mountain 5 6 9 5–25

Muncy 23 22 8 11–64

3-pointers: Line Mountain 2 (Maurer, H. Malfara); Muncy 12 (Frantz 8, Guardini 2, Lisembee, Mausteller).

Records: Muncy 18-7. Line Mountain 16-9.