LebCo Boys Basketball Season Update: December 20

Records are current as of the time of publication, but power rankings may be slightly lagged.  We will fix these as they become available.

To see the rosters of any of the teams mention below, please visit the Season Outlook section and visit any of the teams from there.

     Annville-Cleona Dutchmen 

Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4

Current Record: 3-3 overall

District Power Ranking: #9 AAA (top 6 qualify)

Recent Results:

12/2: Brandywine Heights 41, Annville-Cleona 29

12/3: Annville-Cleona 45, Northern Lehigh 26

12/6: Annville-Cleona 48, Upper Dauphin 42

12/9: Annville-Cleona 42, Millersburg 39

12/13: Oley Valley 58, Annville-Cleona 30

12/19: Big Spring 55, Annville-Cleona 24

Update:  Last season, the Dutchmen were winners of two contests the entire season. The ’22-’23 team has already eclipsed that win total, as they currently sit with three.  Leading the way for Annville so far have been sophomores Jon Shay and Elisha Slabach.  Through the first five games, Shay has been averaging 12.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.  This included an explosive effort against Upper Dauphin, in which he scored 32 points to go with 7 rebounds.  Slabach has averaged 9.5 points per game.  If Annville-Cleona is able to build off of these offensive performances to find consistent offense, they will be in the hunt for post-season play.

     Cedar Crest Falcons 

Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1

Current Record: 2-3 overall, 0-1 in Section 1

District Power Ranking: #18 AAAAAA (top 12 qualify)

Recent Results:

12/5: Cedar Crest 71, Governor Mifflin 51

12/6: Cedar Crest 69, Conestoga Valley 57

12/9: Exeter Township 62, Cedar Crest 42

12/10: Berks Catholic 65, Cedar Crest 38

12/16: Hempfield 61, Cedar Crest 46

Update: The Falcons won their first two, but have struggled to find consistency over their last three games.  This rough stretch included a loss to Hempfield in the Section 1 opener.  Junior Leo Tirado and senior J’Veon Reyes-Vega have been the main offensive contributors so far, with junior Owen Chernich starting to find his groove as well.  Cedar Crest will need to find some more stability on the offensive end, while slowing their opponents through strong defensive efforts on a nightly basis.  If history tells us anything about Cedar Crest basketball, Coach Tommy Smith has plenty of time to make adjustments that will allow his team to remain competitive throughout the remainder of the season.

    ELCO Raiders  

Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3

Current Record: 4-2 overall, 0-1 in Section 3

District Power Ranking: #7 AAAA (top 10 qualify)

Recent Results:

12/6: Pottsville 51, ELCO 37

12/9: ELCO 63, North Schuylkill 49

12/10: ELCO 64, Spring Grove 56

12/13: ELCO 58, Hamburg 52

12/16: Lampeter Strasburg 69, ELCO 35

12/19: ELCO 53, Wyomissing 48

Update: The Raiders only returned one starter from last year’s team that finished with a 16-12 record.  So far, they have adjusted quite nicely.  They won the Lebanon Tip Off Tournament with a win over North Schuylkill, before battling it out for a victory over Spring Grove.  The biggest blemish on the record so far was a hard loss to Lampeter Strasberg that opened ELCO’s Section 3 schedule. Coach Conners took to social media to point out that L-S exposed his team’s “warts”, but that they would learn from the loss and come back stronger.  They did that last night in a win over Wyomissing.  The Raiders have been led by seniors Camden Marquette and Dallas George.  Beyond the top two, they have several contributors that make them a tough team to play.  If they can continue on this course, ELCO will be an interesting team to watch throughout this season.

     Lebanon Cedars

Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1

Current Record: 0-5 overall, 0-1 in Section 1

District Power Ranking: #26 AAAAAA (top 12 qualify)

Recent Results:

12/9: Spring Grove 62, Lebanon 37

12/10: North Schuylkill 66, Lebanon 45

12/13: Governor Mifflin 53, Lebanon 49

12/16: Manheim Township 62, Lebanon 46

12/19: Garden Spot 61, Lebanon 51

Update: The Cedars knew that it would be tough coming into this year and are showing some growing pains.  However, Coach Uffner’s squad is becoming more competitive with each game.  The final scores do not really do this scrappy team much justice, as they have not shown any indication that they are quitters.  Leading their offense is senior Emanual “E-man” Mason, who has averaged 15.6 points per game through the first five contests, including a 30-point performance in last night’s loss.  Look for this team to improve as they continue to clean up some of the mistakes that they had been making in the first few games.

New Covenant Flames

Commonwealth Christian Athletic Conference

Current Record: 6-0

District Power Ranking: #3 A (top 10 qualify)

Recent Results:

12/5: New Covenant 71, Veritas Academy 37

12/9: New Covenant 71, Lititz Christian 21

12/10: New Covenant 73, Conestoga Christian 61

12/13: New Covenant 59, Lancaster County Christian 35

12/16: New Covenant 73, Harrisburg Christian 36

12/19: New Covenant 85, Harrisburg Academy 22

Update:  The New Covenant Flames are off to a hot start, rarely letting teams get close.  The closest game they played was the 12-point win over host Conestoga Christian that clinched the Tip Off Tournament title.  They have two 50+ point wins so far this season.  The leading scorer for New Covenant is Ben Hartman, who scored 24 in their game last night.  He is not alone, as Juan Torres, Alex Canakis, Grant Canakis, Tycen Vanderploog, and Colson Hess are among the players providing points.  While they had a fairly successful season last year, they were seen as a two-man show.  This year they have nine guys that can provide points.  With the chemistry in place, New Covenant should make it interesting at the small school level.

     Northern Lebanon Vikings

Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3

Current Record: 0-5 overall, 0-2 in Section 3

District Power Ranking: #21 AAAA (top 10 qualify)

Recent Results:

12/5: Tri-Valley 50, Northern Lebanon 36

12/7: Solanco 61, Northern Lebanon 35

12/10: Pine Grove 49, Northern Lebanon 38

12/16: Cocalico 64, Northern Lebanon 47

12/17: Octorara 80, Northern Lebanon 44

Update: Coming into the season Coach George knew that his team would be inexperienced as a whole.  While still learning to play together, they have shown the growing pains in the early leg of the season.  With that being stated, the Vikings are seeing strong play from junior Riley Clinger and senior James Voight.  Over time, look for this team to start becoming more competitive as they develop their own identity.

   Palmyra Cougars

Mid-Penn Conference – Keystone Division

Current Record: 3-2 overall, 1-1 in Keystone

District Power Ranking: #10 AAAAA (top 14 qualify)

Recent Results: 

12/2: Palmyra 53, Penn Manor 50

12/3: Palmyra 43, Donegal 41

12/6: Muhlenburg 66, Palmyra 39

12/13: Hershey 55, Palmyra 34

12/16: Palmyra 52, Mifflin County 41

Update: Palmyra graduated a lot of talent off of last year’s team, but they have weathered this year’s early storm to win some key games.  To begin the season, the Cougars played in and won the Donegal Tip Off Tournament, ending with a tip in by sophomore Tyler Burgess to claim victory in exciting fashion.  In that tournament, senior Eli Beckerwas named the MVP.  So far he is Palmyra’s leading playmaker, scoring 13 points, along with 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.  Sophomore Alex Dorta has also made a positive impact, averaging 10 points, 2.2 steals, and 4.2 rebounds.  The Cougars were playing down a man, but with junior guard Hunter Mayer returning from injury, the unit should be more well-rounded on both the shooting and defensive front.  Look for Palmyra to show improvement as they continue to cause headaches in the Keystone.

If you are looking to provide feedback or are a business or individual interested in providing sponsorship to aid our mission at LebCoSports, you are asked to contact Dan by emailing dan@lebcosports.com.