Gov. Mifflin also saw an outstanding campaign come to a halt on Wednesday night. The Mustangs lost to Upper St. Clair 50-38 at Altoona. The (25-2) Panthers reached the PIAA-6A quarterfinals for the third time in five seasons. The (20-10) Mustangs made their first appearance in the state playoffs this year. They fell behind 18-11 after the opening quarter. Each team only scored six points in the second period. Gov. Mifflin pulled within 29-26 with four and a-half minutes left in the third quarter, but Upper St. Clair closed out the period with a 8-to-2 run. It was 37-31 with five and a-half minutes to play when the Panthers sealed the deal with a decisive 12-to-3 run. Although 6’10 senior Tyler Robbins gets a lot of attention, it was Jake Foster who stole the show on Wednesday. The junior guard poured in a career-high 22 points. Foster was averaging 8 ppg. He splashed three of his four 3-pointers in the first quarter. Upper St. Clair was 16-of-20 from the foul line with six treys. Robbins stuffed the stat sheet with twelve points, nine rebounds, and four blocks. His younger brother, Ryan, added eight points. He’s a 6’7 sophomore. The Mustangs struggled from long range, going 2-for-12 from beyond the arc. They were 6-of-10 from the free throw line. Jahmair Johnson ended up with a team-high eight points. Matt Koehler and Stephen Mayo had seven points apiece. There were ten seniors on the roster for first-year head coach Garrett Etzel. The 2003 Gov. Mifflin grad and former All-County guard turned things around quickly in Shillington. The Mustangs finished (8-14, 3-8) a season ago. They advanced to the District 3 semifinals for the first time this year.

Gov. Mifflin qualified for the PIAA playoffs for the first time in program history. The Mustangs made the most of the opportunity on Saturday. They knocked off Mt. Lebanon 66-54 in Shillington. The Blue Devils were the #4 seed from District 7. Gov. Mifflin finished third in the District 3 tournament. The (20-9) Mustangs, who were (8-14) last season, held a 31-27 advantage at halftime. They outscored Mt. Lebanon 21-to-11 in a decisive third quarter. Gov. Mifflin spent a lot of time at the foul line. The Mustangs ended up 28-for-35 from the stripe, while the Blue Devils were 6-of-11. Andrew Galantuomo poured in a game-high 22 points. The 5’7 senior point guard made nine of his ten free throws. Jahmair Johnson, a 6’3 senior forward, scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Matt Koehler added 15 points. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. Mt. Lebanon did most of its work from long range. The (17-10) Blue Devils splashed a dozen 3-pointers. Liam Sheely hit four treys and provided 17 points. Carter Gould (14) and Jacob Zuber (13) combined for 27 points. Gov. Mifflin will meet District 7 champ Upper St. Clair in the second round on Wednesday. They’ll get underway at 6:30pm at Altoona. Upper St. Clair hammered York High 67-30 in the opening round.

Antietam’s season came to a close on Saturday evening in Philadelphia. The Mounts fell at West Catholic 79-35 in the first round of the PIAA-3A playoffs. Antietam finished with a record of (15-11). The Mounts took third place in the District 3 tournament.

Gov. Mifflin will face fourth-seeded Reading on Friday at 6pm at Santander Arena. The (16-8) Red Knights upset #1 seed and two-time defending champion Wyomissing 40-38. The (20-4) Spartans saw their eight-game winning streak come to a halt. Wyomissing raced out to a 17-8 advantage with three minutes remaining in the second quarter. Reading trimmed its deficit to 17-14 by halftime. The Spartans went in front 30-21 late in the third period. Yamilex Rodriguez hit a pull-up jumper before the buzzer to close the gap to 32-26. The Red Knights opened the fourth quarter with six straight points to tie it up. A runner down the lane by senior Tamyia Collier made it 32-32. “We stuck together and we knew basketball is a game of runs,” replied head coach Rashida Suber. It took Wyomissing three and a-half minutes to get on the board in the final period. A layup by Amaya Stewart was answered by one from freshman Xiani Beatty. Stewart scored again inside for a 36-34 edge with 2:36 to go. The 6’1 Albany commit led everyone with 20 points. Alexis Hardy went 2-for-4 from the foul line to give the Spartans a 38-34 cushion with 1:46 to play. Rodriguez then took charge with consecutive buckets to knot things at 38-38. Audrey Hurleman, who returned on January 28 from a torn ACL, missed a jumper from the right elbow. There was a mad scramble for the loose ball which was won by Beatty. She flipped the ball to Elyssa Spring who fired a long pass down the court that hit Stewart in the back. The ball deflected to Kailani Ocasio who fed Rodriguez for a reverse layup with 15 seconds remaining. “Somehow she got it and she was already determined to get to the basket,” said Suber of Rodriguez. Wyomissing was behind 40-38, but still had time to get a good look. Hurleman threw a pass from mid-court that hit Hardy in stride at the foul line. Hardy drove down the right side of the lane, but missed a layup with four seconds left. The Delaware track and field commit finished with eleven points. The Spartans committed 23 turnovers against Reading’s pressure. “We wanted to keep throwing different schemes at them. I knew if we could pressure their guards, we would be in a good position,” explained Suber. The 2003 graduate piled up 2,111 career points for the Red Knights. She’s in her fifth season as their head coach. Neither team made a shot from beyond the arc on Thursday. Wyomissing was 10-for-19 from the free throw line, while Reading went 4-for-8. Rodriguez, a 5’4 senior guard, had a team-high 16 points. Beatty added eleven points. “She’s a special kid. She’s been around basketball a lot. She has a unique talent,” stated Suber. The Red Knights are searching for their tenth BCIAA championship and first since 2010. They split their regular season matchups with Gov. Mifflin.