Murray, Trojans Basketball Down Lower Dauphin at the Buzzer
January 31, 2023
The Hershey Boys’ Basketball team defeated crosstown rival Lower Dauphin on Tuesday 63-62. In the words of Hershey coach Paul Blackburn, it was “an exciting night in Chocolate Town.”
The game was incredibly tight for the entire contest, with no team ever jumping out to a sizable lead. Therefore, the game was set up for a thrilling finish, and it delivered. The teams traded blows in the final minutes, and with 1.5 seconds left in the game, Hershey had the ball to inbound in their attacking half. Hershey set up a decoy, where leading scorer Matthew DeDonatis drew multiple defenders, leaving sharpshooter Alex Murray to run along the baseline to catch-and-shoot a three pointer.
Murray did not hit the shot, but an LD player pushed one of his teammates toward Murray, meaning that Murray did not have space to land after shooting. The referee whistled for a foul with fractions of a second remaining. After a brief lull where the entire gym collectively realized what had just happened, Hershey went wild. Murray would have three free throws, needing to sink only one to win the game.
He only needed the first.
The Hershey team mobbed Murray, a bench player for the duration of the season, who had become a hero in the span of a minute.
For the Trojans, it was their bell cow Matthew DeDonatis who led in scoring with 22 points. Nico DeFrank topped all Falcons’ scorers with 19 points in the losing effort.
Hershey moves to 11-5 on the season while LD drops to 5-10. Both teams play next on Friday, with Hershey traveling to division-leaders Mechanicsburg while Lower Dauphin hosts Mifflin County.
