February 26

Rain moved into the area on Tuesday afternoon, it provided the perfect backdrop for the gloom of the evening's basketball game in Hershey. After twenty-five consecutive wins the Red Tornado fell in the district semifinals as York won 81-76. The game was officiated by a crew from the Mid-Penn Conference (Harrisburg and environs), over the years Mid-Penn crews have garnered a reputation for insinuating themselves into games more than necessary (witness our game in Harrisburg on December 8). On this night in Hershey there were over 4000 fans in attendance to see what should have been a great game between two of the best teams in the district, what they got was a whistle-fest. In thirty-two minutes of play there were forty-eight fouls called (one every forty seconds, way too many) and sixty-four foul shots attempted. It's often been said that the best games are those in which the referees are barely noticed, this was definitely not the case on this night. Both teams were angered by the officiating, in the end York was less upset only because they managed to win the game. The loss places JPM in the third-place game on Thursday the 28th against Wilson HS, they lost to Harrisburg in the other semifinal. The boys will be in the state tournament on March 9 as either the #3 or #4 seed from our district, that will be determined by Thursday's result. Take care, thanks for reading.