Tyrone McFadden's performance on the hardwood Tuesday night was so silky smooth it could have been set to smooth jazz.
Media Center
Spinning inside for lane jumpers, arcing soft rainbows from beyond the arc, and on defense, ripping down rebounds and pirating passes, Lampeter-Strasburg's senior guard posted a career-best 21 points in a 50-44 L-L Section Three win over visiting Donegal.
"Ty stepped up," L-S coach John Achille said following a victory that keeps the Pioneers (10-3 L-L, 13-5 overall) tied for first in the section with Cocalico.
"He was on a mission."
McFadden needed to be, since the Indians did an admirable job defending top scorer Taylor Groff. Groff netted 26 in a 58-49 win over Elco last time out, including a personal run of 16 straight.
Groff eventually scored 10 Tuesday — five below his average — but he needed a flurry of six points in the fourth to do so. He was held to two points in the first half, and it was left to McFadden to step up.
He did, very nearly equaling his per game average of 11 by the break after scoring 10 points to help L-S claim a 23-14 lead.
"I tried to find my shot and get to the basket," said McFadden, whose previous career best was a 20-point effort last February in the opening round of league playoffs.
"Once my first shot went in, my confidence went up."
McFadden shot 8-for-13 from the floor, including a 3-pointer, and 4-for-6 from the free throw line. He also had five rebounds and three steals.
"Ty plays hard," Achille said. "And tonight, he had that extra edge."
L-S needed it, since the Tribe (6-7, 10-9) kept coming back.
Down by nine at the break and by 13 early in the third after McFadden fed Garrett Terrell for a layup, the Indians rallied.
Austin Musser, who scored a team-high 16, led a comeback that cut Donegal's deficit to six. McFadden's three-point play at the close of the quarter put L-S back in charge at 38-27, but Musser, who owns a deadly lane jumper and at one point drained 8-of-10 from the floor, teamed with 3-ball specialist Josh Rudy (five treys, 15 points) to mount yet another rally.
"It looked like we had them put away a couple of times," Achille said. "But they wouldn't die."
Rudy's final 3-pointer, which floated in from the top of the arc with 43 seconds left, cut the Pioneers' advantage to 49-44. But that was as close as they came.
Groff's free throw with 19 seconds left closed the scoring and put the Pioneers one step closer to Monday's first-place showdown with Cocalico.
"We know what's out there," Achille said. "But we have to take them one at a time."
Still, it's hard not to look ahead. The Eagles, who sport an identical record to -S, crushed Elco 77-39 Tuesday night.
How Cocalico will match up with the L-S's defense will be a big factor in deciding the section title.
Against Donegal, the Pioneers opened with a man-to-man look, then spent the rest of the game showing more flavors than a Ben & Jerry's.
Man-on-man, zones, halfcourt traps — they all were instrumental in helping force 18 turnovers, including eight in the pivotal second quarter when L-S seized the lead for good.
"Coach always says, 'Turnovers lead to transition baskets,'" McFadden said. "We know our defense wins game for us."
"It's kind of chaotic what we do," Achille said. "But this is something we've talked about since November. Defense is the key to our success.
"Forty's our number. If we can hold a team to around 40 points, we're going to be in most of our games."
