SUNBURY–Jubilant students stood and applauded as Shea Ulmer sprinted around the perimeter. The senior guard cracked a smile as the final second ticked away before being engulfed by ecstatic teammates who raced toward him.

It was a moment which once only existed in Ulmer and his teammates’ minds. Turns out, the reality far exceeds how wonderful those visions once were. Relentless preparation and opportunity collided, and Montoursville dominated the game’s final three minutes Tuesday at the Shikellamy Field House, reaching both the District 4 Class AAAA championship and state tournament.

Ulmer drained a go-ahead 3-pointer; Jay Houseknecht drilled four consecutive clutch free throws, and every Warrior made a significant impact as Montoursville rallied past Shamokin, 58-51 for a thrilling district semifinal win. Next up is a date with Lewisburg for the title back at Shikellamy, Friday.

“That’s what I’ve been dreaming about. That’s what we work for every single day,” Ulmer said after scoring 13 points and making two steals. “That’s how we win basketball games.”

Montoursville (18-6) has won a lot this year, but this one was especially big. A team which went 11-12 last year and that had not won a playoff game in five years before last Friday’s quarterfinal victory against Danville now is one of the state’s top 32 Class AAAA teams. The Warriors are state tournament and district final-bound for the first time since 2020 and closed the game on a 12-2 run over the final 2 minutes, 45 seconds against the co-HAC-I champions.

Others might have doubted Montoursville, but the Warriors never doubted themselves and now have a shot at the district’s biggest prize.

Believe that.

“It’s not about an iso player, it’s all five of us on the court. We were 11-11 last season, but records don’t matter,” Cam Cintron said after scoring 12 points and dealing three assists. “We’re going to win games; we’re going to lose games. What matters is how we perform in the playoffs and how we play as a team and how we work together.”

“It was really nice to see the kids keep fighting and finding a way,” Montoursville coach Mike Mussina said. “We hadn’t won a playoff game in five years and now we’ve won two and we’re going to be in the state tournament, so it’s exciting.”

How Montoursville won this semifinal excited its fans all night. Nothing came easy and nothing rarely ever does at this point of the year. But the Warriors embraced the hard, fought through obstacles all night and were nearly perfect when everything mattered most.

Montoursville received a big lift from its bench and even reserves who did not play in the semifinal made their impacts at practice by prepping everyone else so well. That resulted in the Warriors going 3 for 3 from the field and 5 of 6 at the line during the game-ending run. Elijah Eck scored eight points, Kingston Fisher shined late and added eight boards and reserves like Houseknecht, Zack Neill, Brennen Imbro and Carson Menne came up huge on a night foul trouble loomed nearly the entire game.

“All afternoon I was saying it’s going to be a dogfight,” Cintron said. “At the end of the day, no matter what anyone says, me and my boys are going to come out, and we’re going to play through the adversity and find a way to win the game.”

“The kids just seemed to believe we were going to win. Fouls were going against us and maybe some calls were going against us, but we made some shots, pull-up jumpers, a couple 3s and rebounded and played hard defense,” Mussina said. “When you’re playing teams that are comparable, it’s the small details and small things that end up being big things.”

In a Balboa-Creed like slugfest, Montoursville trailed, 49-46 with 2:50 remaining before Houseknecht landed a major haymaker which changed everything. The sophomore guard had just come off the bench when he stole a pass on the Shamokin end, raced downcourt and converted a layup.

Following a defensive stop, Neill found Ulmer who experienced quite a senior moment. Neill reeled the defense toward him before spotting Ulmer in the left corner and zipping a pass his way. Ulmer shot in rhythm, connected on a 3-pointer and Montoursville went up, 51-49, never to trail again.

“We have good team chemistry,” Ulmer said. “Me and Zack have been good friends for years, and he said to me, ‘I know where to find you.’

Ulmer knows how to find teammates as well and followed up his big shot with an equally large assist. Ulmer spotted Fisher cutting toward the basket with 1:23 remaining and hit him with a perfect pass which Fisher converted to make it a four-point game. A Fisher free throw made it 54-49 before Collin Steinhart converted a putback which made it a one-possession game at the :39.2 second mark.

Houseknecht then played the closer. Shamokin fouled him almost immediately out of a timeout and Houseknecht calmly sank two free throws. Following a defensive stop, he went back to the line and made two more, pushing the lead to, 58-51 and barely touching rim on any of his four shots. Seconds later the celebration was on.

“I just have to remember my mechanics,” Houseknecht said. “I had to do it for the rest of the team, not just myself. It was a pretty cool moment.”

Every Warrior could look at Tuesday’s game and point to a moment where he helped contribute something vital which, ultimately, led to victory. Neill stopped a Shamokin run and gave Montoursville a lift before halftime, hitting a 3-pointer which pulled it within 30-27.

Eck hit two foul-line jumpers and gave Montoursville an early third quarter lead and Isaac Erlandson scored four points in the second quarter to move the Warriors ahead after it trailed by four. Imbro blocked two shots and scored four points off the bench and Menne made a second quarter steal which helped swing momentum Montoursville’s way after Shamokin had gone on a 10-0 run.

“There were a lot of turning points,” Houseknecht said. “There are a lot of things that if they don’t happen, it would be a different outcome.”

Through all the peaks and valleys, as well as physical play, Montoursville never wavered. Even during the first quarter when it lost six turnovers, a resilient team turned up its own defense, forced six turnovers of its own and built a 12-10 lead entering the second. It says a lot, too, that the biggest lead either team held came at the end as Montoursville made its final stretch run its best one.

When the heat was turned up as high as it could go late, the Warriors stayed cool. The work continues and the biggest goal remains out there. Still, this was a performance and a night to savor.

“I’ll remember it for a while,” Houseknecht said. “It’s pretty hard to forget something like this.”

MONTOURSVILLE (58)

Shea Ulmer 4 3-4 13, Cam Cintron 5 0-0 12, Kingston Fisher 3 1-3 7, Elijah Eck 4 0-0 8, Isaac Erlandson 2 0-1 4, Brennen Imbro 2 0-0 4, Jay Houseknecht 1 4-4 6, Zack Neill 1 0-0 3, Carson Menne 0 1-2 1. Totals 22 9-14 58.

SHAMOKIN (51)

Xavier Paul 3 7-11 13, Cru Schroyer 3 2-2 8, Collin Steinhart 4 0-0 9, Andrew Leffler 0 0-0 0, Barrett Walsh 2 0-0 5, Christian Kokowski 4 0-0 11, Nathan Kaleta 2 1-2 5. Totals 18 10-15 51.

Montoursville 12 15 12 19–58

Shamokin 10 20 9 12–51

3-pointers: Montoursville 5 (Ulmer 2, Cintron 2, Neill); Shamokin (5 Kokowski 3, Steinhart, Walsh).

Records: Montoursville 18-6. Shamokin 15-10.