Literally.

Sullivan trailed North Penn-Liberty by 13 with less than two minutes remaining in last Thursday’s district championship when coach Glenn Vaughan went small. The long-time Griffins’ coach opted for a quick, four-guard lineup and it changed everything.

Sullivan forced 10 fourth quarter turnovers and defense became offense as the Griffins rallied for a dramatic 58-54 win, becoming the program’s third district champion. Tucker Blasi’s steal and dish to Dom Marotti put Sullivan (22-4) ahead to stay with 47 seconds remaining and the Griffins earned a spot in Friday’s state tournament at Williamsport against Coventry Christian.

“We have four pretty pesky guards and we went to a four-guard lineup and it started to bother them a little bit,” Vaughan said. “Our defense got to them a little bit. We got some turnovers, a couple run-outs, and we started coming back.”

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Sullivan County players celebrate with head coach Glenn Vaughan after the win over North Penn Liberty for the Class A District IV championship at Montoursville High School Thursday.

Blasi, Marotti, Colin King and Lucas King combined for 14 steals and offered a glimpse of things to come with a late third quarter burst which made it a seven-point game entering the fourth. Colin King made his sixth steal his most memorable, converting it into a layup which made it, 56-53 before Lucas King all but sealed victory with two free throws at the 12.9-second mark.

The four-guard switch dramatically altered a game which North Penn-Liberty, the previous champion, had started dominating in the third quarter. Landon Mattern exploded for 17 points in less than four minutes and the Mounties made 9 of 13 shots while building a 44-31 advantage.

Mattern drained three quick 3-pointers and Luke Kreger another during that flurry. So, while Sullivan switched tactics, it also changed its mindset against a North Penn-Liberty team which plays York Country Day in states.

“During the one timeout I said, ‘If you’re playing a kid on the playground and he knocks down a couple 3s are you just going to back off and let him shoot 3s?'” Vaughan said. “No, you’re going to make an adjustment. They did and the fight on the defensive end was really impressive.”

From fight came a championship.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Muncy’s Alexis McKeta looks to pass around South Williamsport’s Abigail Holbrook (20) and Maddie Reidy (15) during a game this year. Muncy became just the fourth District 4 girls team this century to win three consecutive district championships.

“Now that it’s over, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Blasi said. “That (comeback) was awesome.”

AT LAST

Speaking of thrilling comebacks, Warrior Run made one two nights later and reached rare air. Aiden McKee drained a clutch game-tying 3-point shot with 11 seconds remaining in regulation, forcing overtime and Clayton Skokoski’s onions trey in overtime paved the way for a 70-65 District 4 Class AAA championship win against Southern Columbia.

Warrior Run (24-2) captured its first district championship since 1988 and four senior starters completed a massive turnaround for the program. A year before that quartet arrived, the Defenders won one game. They have improved the program’s win total each season at Warrior Run, going from two consecutive district semifinal appearances to the finals last year and now champions this time.

“It’s such a high reward that we’re working toward,” point guard James Keifer said following a quarterfinal win against Wellsboro. “We’re working closer and closer to after last year’s loss. It pushes us to our limits this year and we’re coming.”

LARRY DEKLINSI/Special to the Sun-Gazette Warrior Run’s Ethan Baker attempts a shot while defended by Lewisburg’s Nazir Meredith during the PHAC semifinals. The Defenders are the District 4 champions for the first time since 1988.

They sure were. And Warrior Run would not stop until the fight was one. The Defenders rallied from a seven-point fourth quarter deficit and erased a five-point deficit in the final 2 ½ minutes. Ethan Balzer put Warrior Run ahead to stay with a free throw and Skokoski’s second big 3-pointer in less than six minutes highlighted an 8-0 run which put Warrior Run up 65-57 in overtime.

Warrior Run will try building on the momentum Saturday when it plays Dunmore in the state tournament at Loyalsock.

The Defenders showcased their grit in four thrilling wins against Southern this year, defeating it in overtime three times. Balzer and McKee both produced double-doubles, Keifer scored 12 points and Landon Polcyn sparked a defense which came up big when it mattered most.

MOVING ON

Muncy forward Ava Eyer had a first half she would rather forget during the first half of last Wednesday’s District 4 Class AA championship against Southern Columbia. Her ability to focus on the next play only made the second half one she and her teammates will always remember.

Eyer scored 17 of her game-high 21 points during the second half and drilled the game-winning free throw with 23.7 seconds remaining as Muncy secured a third straight district championship, edging Southern, 44-43.

The Indians (22-4) became only the fourth District 4 girls’ team this century to win three straight district championships and host Wyoming Seminary in the state tournament’s opening round Friday. Eyer made just one field goal during the first half against Southern and lost multiple turnovers but was brilliant throughout the second half as Muncy became the district’s only girls or boys team to win the title as a non-top seed this season.

“The first half there were a lot of turnovers,” Eyer said. “I knew I just had to calm my mind and correct my mistakes.”

She did in a big way. Doing so helped make Eyer, a junior, 3 for 3 in district championships.

Eyer scored 11 third quarter points when Muncy turned a four-point deficit into a 10-point advantage. She made five of her last six shots from the field that quarter and went 7 for 9 over the game’s final 13 minutes.

It was part mental adjustment and part strategic altering which helped Eyer go off. Instead of settling for jumpers, the junior attacked the basket. Rosie Zalonis dealt several of her 10 assists to her cousin and Muncy never trailed again after her other cousin, Anna Zalonis drained a 3-pointer broke a 25-25 tie.

“Ava the first half was a little out of her game. The second half, we insisted that when she got the ball at the foul line, don’t take that shot,” Muncy coach Craig Weaver Sr. said after winning his seventh district championship. “We said, ‘take it in and shoot a layup. We’re going to make the layup, you’re going to get fouled and it’s a three-point play. Even if you don’t make the layup, you’re going to the foul line. That was a major difference in the second half. We took the ball to the basket.”

Highlighting what her coaches told her, Eyer went to the line 12 times. Just like Rosie Zalonis did against Northeast Bradford two years ago, Eyer hit the game-winning free throw, as a year after becoming the program’s first repeat champion, Muncy became its inaugural three-peat champion.

HIDDEN HERO

The pressure could not have been turned up much higher on Rachel Paulhamus late in that title game. When Rosie Zalonis was injured with 54.4 seconds remaining, Paulhamus entered for the first time all night.

It will not show up in the box score, but Paulhamus played a critical role in helping Muncy earn that championship. She handled the ball three times without turning it over and was a big part of a swarming defense which denied Southern points following Eyer’s free throw.

“Rachel coming in when the pressure was on did a great job,” Weaver said. “That was big.”

3×3

Hughesville faced a challenging road as it pursued a District 4 Class AAA title. To reach that goal it had to beat quality Bloomsburg and Mount Carmel teams for a third time before trying to go 3-0 against defending state champion Loyalsock.

Mission accomplished.

It’s not easy beating good teams three times, but Hughesville did it and captured its second championship in three years. After beating Bloomsburg and Mount Carmel by 42 combined points, Hughesville avenged last year’s defeat and turned a six-point second quarter deficit into a 45-38 title win against Loyalsock.

“The fact that Bloom was the one that knocked us out our freshmen year, there’s always been a lot of drive to beat them,” Kylie Temple said after scoring 13 points in the final. “Loyalsock, seeing them for three years in a row in a district final, it makes you want it so much more. You’re like, ‘Al right, it’s our turn this time. We’re getting it this time.'”

Hughesville, however, is now focused upon a bigger goal. It plays Columbia in Friday night’s state tournament at Williamsport. What happened last Saturday at Montoursville was great, but Hughesville returned to practice Monday, looking ahead and not back.

“The biggest thing I told them was to enjoy it (Saturday), but let’s get back to work,” Hughesville coach Dustin King said. “You can always look back and enjoy this. (Saturday) we lived in the moment, and it was awesome, but we’re not done yet.”

BAD IDEA

The PIAA recently made a terrible decision which will have a big impact upon the 2026-27 season. Originally, the plan was for the state finals to be held Thursday-Saturday, the weekend of March 25-27, the usual time frame.

However, upon realizing that stretch is Easter Weekend in 2027, PIAA changed course and made the situation worse. Now, the championships will be held a week prior, meaning the entire winter basketball season is condensed into a shorter time frame. It would be different if the season started earlier, but that remains unchanged.

Instead of districts ending this past weekend, it would have been the opening round of states. This not only puts teams in tougher situations, especially with inevitable weather cancellations, but also likely increases injury risks with teams having to jam 22 games into a tighter window. Players rehabbing from fall sports injuries also likely will miss more games than in the past since those will be coming at a more rapid pace.

It also wreaks have with schools who already had schedules built for next season, including games for what they thought would be the original final week of the regular season. And think about football teams that make title runs next fall.

Southern Columbia started its season in the middle of December this past season. Now you’d be asking a team like that to play 22 regular season games in less than two months. A, how does PIAA not look ahead when scheduling because it messed up a year ago, too, when it realized there was a scheduling conflict at the Giant Center and pushed the finals back a week?

And B, how does this benefit anyone? The answer is it does not. The PIAA has plenty of time to fix this mistake and should … but I’m not holding my breath.