SUNBURY–The movie hit screens well before he was born, but Cortland Michaels knows all about “White Men Can’t Jump.” He relates well with Woody Harrelson’s character, the one who always is underestimated when first looked at.

The Lewisburg point guard is a skinny 5-foot-7 freshman. But time after time, Michaels dazzles on the court and can rip a team’s collective heart out.

He unleashed those super all-around skills on Warrior Run Thursday night and helped Lewisburg snap a 14-game Defender winning streak, while giving the Green Dragons a shot at history.

Michaels scored a career-high 21 points, dealt four assists and missed just two shots from the field and foul line as Lewisburg defeated Warrior Run, 67-61 in the Heartland Conference Tournament semifinals. Cooper Mowry scored 19 points, LJ Tucker and Rebira Jemana 10 each and Lewisburg (18-4) won its 13th straight game while earning a spot against Southern Columbia in Friday night’s championship. Both teams are seeking their first tournament title.

“People can underestimate me, but things just open up and I attack,” Michaels said. “I put in a lot of work, and I put in a lot of work with this team, so I knew we could do something good.”

The Dragons have done that all season and Michaels has been a huge part of the success. A player who competed for an AAU national championship last summer, Michaels provided the missing piece for a team with quality shooters, post players and speed coming off a 13-win season.

And what the stats do not measure is how much Michaels impacts a game whether he’s generating stats or not. Yes, the numbers looked great against Warrior Run, but it was the fearless mentality Michaels displayed early, going strong to the basket against 6-foot-9 all-stater Aiden McKee, and his ability to push the game’s pace which were every bit as critical.

Put it all together and Michaels was the total package. Being so, helped Lewisburg exorcise demons against the HAC-III champions who had won consecutive thrillers by four combined points against it.

“He was amazing tonight,” Lewisburg coach Leon Tucker said. “We looked at stuff in the first game against them and parts where we thought he could push the ball more and had a talk with him and watched film and, to his credit, he stepped up and did what he needed to do. He picked his spots and he finished. He was amazing all night long.”

Tucker has watched Michaels’ game evolve over the last six years and coached him at a young level. The third-year varsity coach looked forward to when he could someday plug Michaels into the high school lineup and Michaels has impressed since Day 1.

Quick as a rabbit and possessing superb speed, Michaels seems the perfect fit for a well-rounded offense. He can break a defense down and finish around the basket or find the open teammate, something Michaels has done especially well this season. Or Michaels can take his game outside, possessing a good shooting touch, especially from mid-range.

“I didn’t teach him any of that. I just taught him how to play our brand of basketball. He brings that athleticism and that basketball IQ to the table and he’s so shifty and most people don’t know how athletic he is,” Tucker said. “I think once people kind of see him on the floor, they’re kind of blown away by how fast he is. Credit to him for putting in the training and all the work he does to get himself to be that good.”

Michaels is among the district’s assist leaders, producing six per game. All four he dealt against Warrior Run came in the first half when he added six points. But Michaels has some Isiah Thomas in him and if teams sit back and wait for him to give up the ball, he can make it pay.

Michaels did so repeatedly against Warrior Run, making all four second-half shots while consistently getting to the line where he went 7 for 7. Lewisburg presents defenses a dilemma since all five starters average more than eight points per game and Michaels knowing where to go and what to do adds some more sizzle to a steak which has marinated quite well these last 13 games.

“I’m sure they watch film and know I’m mostly a pass first guy,” Michaels said. “But tonight was a night to take over and show that I can do more than just pass the ball.”

Warrior Run (21-2) cut a 12-point second quarter deficit to two in the third but Michaels driving and scoring over the outstretched arms of McKee was part of a crucial run which helped the Dragons take a 46-39 lead into the fourth quarter.

Mowry and Jemana drained 3-pointers which put Lewisburg up 12 with just 2 minutes, 42 seconds remaining but Warrior Run stormed back. When it did, Michaels served as a closer. He hit four straight free throws in the final minute and LJ Tucker two others. Michaels last two shots with 7.1 seconds left capped the scoring and, following an errant 3-point attempt, Lewisburg celebrated a hard-fought win against a former nemesis.

“AAU all summer prepared me for this. I played in big games all summer,” Michaels said. “My coaches all prepared me for this, so thanks to them.”

Fueled by past defeats against Warrior Run, Lewisburg started strong and led 20-11 after the first quarter. Mowry drained three 3-pointers during that time and had 16 points by halftime, while adding four steals and five rebounds. As Warrior Run sought to slow Mowry, the other Dragon threats made their impacts felt and all five starters scored in the second quarter as Lewisburg held off the charging Defenders and led, 34-28.

An Ethan Balzer 3-pointer pulled Warrior Run within 36-34 early in the third quarter, but Lewisburg answered strong and four straight Michaels points had it up nine early in the fourth.

“We knew that we let one get away (last December) and that if we executed and did the things we needed to do we knew we had the potential to beat them. We just had to play disciplined smart basketball, and I thought we came out right away and set the tone early,” Leon Tucker said. “We let them know we were here to play basketball and that we were going to compete all night long and that they were in for it.

“I think we did a great job of letting them know that we weren’t just going to back down from them because of their record or just because of who they are.”

Warrior Run has proven itself an outstanding team and Thursday’s loss does not diminish that. Balzer (18 points, 10 rebounds) and McKee (13 points, 10 boards) both collected double-doubles despite strong defense by Jemana and Nazir Meredith (6 rebounds). Landon Polcyn went Curry in the fourth quarter, hitting three of his 3-pointers and scoring 17 points. James Keifer added seven assists, Carter Sheesley 11 points and Clayton Skokoski three steals.

Warrior Run never stopped battling, but Lewisburg never willingly gave ground either. So, while the Defenders made several spirited comeback attempts, Lewisburg responded with its own tenacity and turned the heartbreak of the two previous encounters into a thrilling win.

“I think that we learned from our losses and we’ve become a better team, and we’ve learned how to win now,” Leon Tucker said. “We’ve learned how to maintain a lead and be in these close games and maintain our composure and that starts with our seniors all the way down to the end of the bench because they provided energy the entire game and that made a difference for us tonight.”

LEWISBURG (67)

LJ Tucker 2 5-6 10, Cooper Mowry 7 0-0 19, Nazir Meredith 3 1-2 7, Rebira Jemana 4 0-0 10, Cortland Michaels 7 7-7 21, Jaylen Walker 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 13-15 67.

WARRIOR RUN (61)

Aiden McKee 4 5-6 13, Ethan Balzer 8 0-2 18, James Keifer 1 0-0 2, Landon Polcyn 5 2-2 17, Carter Sheesley 4 0-0 11, Clayton Skokoski 0 0-0 0, Cayden Robinson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 7-10 61.

Lewisburg 20 14 12 21–67

Warrior Run 11 17 11 22–61

3-pointers: Lewisburg 8 (Mowry 5, Jemana 2, Tucker); Warrior Run 10 (Polcyn 5, Sheesley 3, Balzer 2).

Records: Lewisburg 18-4. Warrior Run 21-2.