CHAMBERSBURG, Pa., March 16, 2022
Trailing Northampton by three points with two minutes left Wednesday, Fox Chapel missed five consecutive free throws in the span of a minute.
“It felt like 50,” Fox Chapel coach Zach Skinjar said.
After the game, however, the most talked about number was 45, as in the Foxes are moving on to the PIAA semifinals for the first time in 45 years.
Eli Yofan drilled the go-ahead basket with 21 seconds left and Fox Chapel held on for a thrilling 39-37 win against Northampton in a Class 6A quarterfinal at Chambersburg High School.
Winners of 26 games in a row, Fox Chapel (27-1) advanced to Saturday’s semifinals to take on Archbishop Wood of the Philadelphia Catholic League. The Foxes have advanced this far only one other time, and that came in 1977 when they won their only state title.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Yofan, who scored a team-high 14 points. “We’ve worked super hard for this, and I think we’re deserving of it.”
Northampton of District 11 won its first two PIAA games by one point in overtime, and it looked like the Konkrete Kids (21-8) might pull out another close one, as they led Fox Chapel, 32-27, after three quarters. But the Foxes outscored Northampton, 12-5, in the fourth.
Lucas Lesko’s 3-pointer put Northampton ahead, 37-34, with 2:05 left, but the Konkrete Kids never scored again. That was good news for Fox Chapel, which struggled mightily from the free-throw line. Russell Fenton and Colin Kwiatkowski both went 0 of 2 and Yofan missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
But Fox Chapel retained possession and Yofan was fouled again. This time he made both to pull Fox Chapel within 37-36 with 51 seconds remaining. Northampton’s Caden Reph then missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 42 seconds left. Fox Chapel rebounded, which set the stage for Yofan’s heroics.
Fox Chapel inbounded with 34 seconds left, and the ball eventually got into the hands of Yofan, who buried a jumper from the top of the key to put the Foxes ahead, 38-37.
“I was supposed to go off a ball screen, and then the kid overplayed it, so I kind of stepped backdoor,” Yofan said. “I was just standing there.”
The Foxes then made two big defensive stops. Northampton pushed the ball down the floor after Yofan’s basket, but Isaiah Harris threw up a wild shot, which Fenton rebounded. After Fenton went 1 of 2 from the line, Northampton inbounded with six seconds left. The Konkrete Kids got the ball to Isaac Harris — he scored a game-high 18 points — but he was triple-teamed, and his attempt from behind the arc was blocked by Fox Chapel’s J.P. Dockey.