The Conestoga Christian varsity boys basketball team began
their season with high hopes as they returned four starters from last year. There was also a buzz in the air as
they were bringing in a class of four freshmen who would see varsity play. Senior Daniel Boyer and junior Blake Greenly captained the team as they continued to improve throughout the season.
The Cougars began their season with a five-point loss to
Christian School of York, but, as they would do all season, they did not get
discouraged and proceeded to win their next five games. At the conclusion of the regular season, the
boys found themselves just outside of league play-offs but qualified for
District III play as the seventh seed. A
win in the first round meant that CCS was guaranteed at least two more games as
five teams from District III Class A make the PIAA state tournament. A second-round loss placed the Cougars
in the playback bracket against CCAC West Division champions, West Shore
Christian. The Cougars iced the game
from the free throw line late in the game and won 54 – 50. The next game was against cross-town rival
and CCAC Champion, High Point Baptist, with a bid to PIAA state playoffs on the
line. After an extremely close first
half, High Point came out and went up by 14 at the end of the third quarter. When many thought the game was over,
Conestoga Christian put on the full-court press and began to climb back into
the game. As the fourth quarter wound
down, Conestoga Christian pulled ahead and again put the game away from the free
throw line.
The win over High Point placed Conestoga Christian into the
PIAA state playoffs for the first time in school history. The boys were elated and wanted to keep the
season rolling. In the first round
match-up against Susquehanna Community High School, the Cougars found themselves
down by 13 early in the game. Drawing on the
experience they had in their district games, the boys clawed their way back and
tied the game with 40 seconds to play.
Unfortunately, this time the boys lost by 4 points as the Warriors put
the game away from the line.
