Aidan Dauble-Exeter

Exeter coach Jeff VanGorder was extremely disappointed that Aidan Dauble wasn’t named to the All-County team on Sunday. The 6’2 junior guard used that snub to fuel him on Tuesday night against Middletown. “It motivated me a lot because that was one of my goals this season. To not get it really made me strive to do good tonight and push through it,” remarked Dauble. He scored a game-high 22 points as the eighth-seeded Eagles outlasted the ninth-seeded Blue Raiders 60-53 in overtime in the first round of the District 3-5A playoffs. Dauble nailed a 3-pointer with two minutes left in the extra period to put Exeter on top 54-51. “Carter [Redding] came off a screen and I’m trailing him. I had a little bit of space and I was feeling good all game so I just let it fly,” explained Dauble. After Aleel Batts missed a tough scoop shot in the lane, Braylon Reinert sank a pair of free throws with 1:10 remaining. Avery Askins misfired on a triple from the right corner on the next possession. Redding then converted four consecutive foul shots to extend the Eagles’ margin to 60-51 with 24 seconds to go. Exeter outscored Middletown 11-to-4 in overtime. Reinert finished with 17 points including nine after the third quarter. The 6’4 sophomore tied it at 49-49 in the final seconds of regulation. VanGorder used a baseline out of bounds play called “4 down” for the first time this season, and it worked to perfection. The Eagles had four players along the baseline, while the Blue Raiders were in a zone defense. One defender ran to the right corner to cover sharpshooter Brady Murray, but they left Reinert wide open underneath the basket for an easy layup. Landon Keyser went 1-for-2 from the free throw line with 14 seconds to play which made it 49-47. The 5’11 senior, who averages 8 ppg., had 17 points. Batts led Middletown with 19 points. The crafty 6’ senior went 3-for-6 from the stripe. “He got to the free throw line a lot. He was able to get downhill and use a slow step to get to the basket. He’s a good player,” said Dauble. Batts is providing nearly 22 points a night this year. Kylin Noon, a 6’2 freshman forward, chipped in with seven points off the bench. The (13-10) Blue Raiders won the Colonial Division of the Mid-Penn Conference. They trailed 17-6 late in the opening quarter at Reiffton. Middletown went on a 14-to-3 run to even things up at 20-20 with 3:15 left in the first half. Exeter was down 25-24 at the break after getting outscored 15-to-7 in the second period. Murray splashed a 3-pointer from the right wing with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. His 68th trey of the season put the (13-11) Eagles in front 37-30. Batts scored five points to cut the deficit to 39-38 with 5:18 to go. A layup by Askins gave the Blue Raiders a 41-39 lead with 3:45 to play. That was his first bucket of the contest. He made another layup one minute later for a 43-41 edge. Jayden Ware answered on the other end with a drive for Exeter. The 6’1 junior had eight points, as well as the difficult task of guarding Batts. Keyser scored along the baseline with 1:40 left and Middletown regained the lead at 45-44. Dauble was then whistled for an offensive foul which wiped his bucket off the board. Keyser connected twice from the foul line with 39 seconds remaining to give the Blue Raiders a 48-45 advantage. A layup by Murray cut the deficit to one point with 21 seconds to go. The 6’2 senior guard ended up with seven points. The Eagles were 13-of-20 from the charity stripe, while Middletown went 10-of-19. The Blue Raiders made just one 3-pointer. They fell into the consolation bracket after dropping their fifth straight game. The Eagles advanced to the District 3-5A quarterfinals and clinched a berth in the state tournament. Exeter hosts #16 seed Spring Grove on Friday at 7pm. The Rockets upset top-seeded Manheim Central 45-38. “It’s crazy. It’s gonna feel amazing with the home crowd for a second round game in District’s. We’re ready to win,” stated Dauble. He’s averaging 16.6 points and nine rebounds while shooting 51% from the field. Dauble is one of four football players that start on the basketball team. The Eagles reached the District 3-5A championship game this fall. They’re motivated to make another run on the court.