MILTON — As senior guards Landon Polcyn and James Keifer took turns dribbling out the final seconds of Warrior Run’s 64-48 win over Mifflinburg in the District 4 Class AAA semifinals, a large Warrior Run crowd came to its feet and gave Warrior Run’s five seniors on the floor a well-deserved ovation.

The Defenders played one of their most complete games of the season in their biggest game to date, producing a virtuoso defensive performance to beat upset-minded Mifflinburg, 64-48, at Milton High School.

“We worked on defense all week. We stressed it. We always like to have fun in practice with offense, but this week we did a ton of defensive drills getting ready for it. We really focused on backside help so we could help out with Jackson (Griffith) and Chad (Martin) We stressed defense so much this week,” Warrior Run guard James Keifer said.

The beauty in Warrior Run’s performance lay in its consistency. Despite a raucous crowd from both sides that made things seem hectic in the gymnasium, The Defenders steady seniors just played their game. James Keifer, who made just two field goals but ended up with 17 points, ran the offense with tempo and precision. Landon Polcyn played sensational defense on 1,000-point scorer Jackson Griffith. Keifer and Carter Sheesley pressured Mifflinburg’s guards effectively, and Aiden McKee and Ethan Balzer controlled the paint from start to finish.

“They have two of the better guards in our conference in Jackson Griffith and Chard Martin. Credit to Landon Polcyn, who played Griffith all over the court. Ethan Balzer made Chad Martin work all over the court. They did a great job and gave us a chance,” Warrior Run head coach Eric Wertman said.

Warrior Run rallied back from a brief early deficit to take a 16-12 lead in the first quarter as they got contributions from up and down the lineup.

The second quarter was all about Warrior Run’s defense and Keifer led the charge. Keifer had two clean-as-a-whistle steals of a Wildcat ballhander that led to three easy points midway through the second quarter that put the Defenders up 10. That advantage would turn into a 30-21 lead at halftime.

Mifflinburg wouldn’t go away without a fight, and cut it to five two minutes into the third quarter. But the Defenders responded, scoring the next seven points, capped off by a 3-pointer by Polcyn, to extend the lead back to 12. And at the end of the third quarter, Ethan Balzer rebounded a missed foul shot in the final seconds of the quarter and it turned into a crucial three points just as Mifflinburg had cut it to seven when Sheesley hit a big 3 to go up 10 into the fourth.

Miffilnburg never seriously threatened, especially after another Polcyn trey put Warrior Run up by 13 with 5:40 to go. After cruising home, Warrior Run knows they’re just one win away from their first district title since 1988.

“To be honest, since we lost to Troy last year, I’ve been ready to get back at it my senior year. I feel like it’s been culminating to this, because we have played Mifflinburg and Southern Coumbia since we’ve been in eighth grade against the same kids,” McKee said.

Warrior Run will take on Southern Columbia for the district title at a time and place to be determined.

Warrior Run 64, Mifflinburg 48

MIFFLINBURG (48)

Jack Marr 1 2-2 4, Jackson Griffith 3 2-3 9, Chad Martin 3 2-3 9, JP Marr 1 0-0 3, Brennen Snyder 3 0-0 6, Grady Brubaker 6 3-4 16 Totals:17 9-11 48

WARRIOR RUN (64)

Carter Sheesley 3 3-4 11, James Keifer 2 13-16 17, Aiden McKee 6 0-0 13, Landon Polcyn 3 0-0 9, Ethan Balzer 5 4-7 14 Totals 19 20-27 64

Mifflinburg 12 9 17 10 – 48

Warrior Run 16 14 18 16 – 64

3-point goals: Mifflinburg: 5 (Martin 2, Griffith 1, JP Marr 1, Brubaker 1), Warrior Run: 6 ( Polcyn 3, Keifer 2, Sheesley 1).