In East Shore basketball action, the Harrisburg boys and girls from Steel-High and Central Dauphin suffered season-ending losses in the PIAA quarterfinals.
Harrisburg (28-3) led 59-58 with 23 seconds left when Lower Merion star B.J. Johnson (Syracuse) took matters into his own hands. Johnson shook free for a dunk and three-point play with 12 seconds left that carried the Aces to a 63-62 win on March 16 at Reading's Geigle Complex.
Harrisburg was led by Shaquon Sheppard's 15 points and 11 from sophomore Jahaad Proctor. but it was Lower Merion that moved on to face Newcastle in the semifinals.
"(Johnson) knew he had to make a play for his team and he did," Harrisburg coach Kirk Smallwood said of Lower Merion's 6-7 star.
James Ezell and Proctor did an excellent job of neutralizing Johnson for much of the game, until the final minute.
For Steel-High's Malia Tate-DeFreitas, it was the culmination of a spectacular career that ended with a 73-72 loss to Tri-Valley (26-3).
The Rollers led with 11 seconds left when Bulldog center Tara Nahodil hit a 15-foot jumper to end Steel-High's reign as two-time defending PIAA-A champ.
Tate-DeFreitas had one last chance to win it, but her shot didn't fall. She scored 38 to finish with 3,366 for career, ranking second all-time in the state.
Jazmine Blanding had 16 for the Rollers, with Nahodil, a Seton Hall recruit, netting 25 for the Bulldogs.
The Central Dauphin girls ran into a powerful District 12 champ Cardinal O'Hara team in the quarterfinals on March 15 at Governor Mifflin.
The Lions (24-5) ran off to a 33-12 halftime lead on its way to a dominating 60-24 win. Precious Martin led the Rams (22-7) with nine points. The Rams, known for comeback wins this year, fell behind 16-6 after one quarter and never rallied.
"Instead of us fighting back in the second quarter like we usually do, they kept coming at us," said CD coach Karen Hicks.