In a tale of two halves, Solanco went toe-to-toe with visiting Lampeter-Strasburg in the first half but could not match that effort down the stretch, dropping a key Section Three outing on Friday, January 15 at home. They followed that up with a hard-fought loss at Cocalico Tuesday, Jan. 19 as they continue to work toward their first win of the season.

"I thought we executed our game plan well in that first half," said head coach Chad McDowell of the L-S game, "but in the second half, they got us out of rhythm and forced us to speed up. They took advantage of our mistakes."

Down 35-30 lead heading into the final quarter, Jade Eshleman converted a traditional three-point play, providing momentum and cutting the lead to two. L-S never flinched. They ran off ten straight points, pushing out to a 45-33 lead with 4:49 left. Both teams traded buckets down the stretch and Lampeter's 12-point lead stood.

Both teams dropped in eight first quarter points and Solanco grabbed a 14-10 lead in the second quarter on a bucket by Arianna Seiberlich (6 points, 2 steals). L-S knotted the score at 14 all before back-to-back buckets by Paige Phillips (9 points, 3 steals) put the hosts in front. The visitors responded again, this time with a 6-0 run for a 20-18 lead at the break.

L-S dropped in four of their eight treys in the third quarter and extended the lead to 35-26 before buckets by Jenna Ehlers and Seiberlich cut the lead to five, setting the stage for a spirited fourth quarter.

"We knew their style of play is to shoot the three," said McDowell. "They hit 33% (8 for 24).

"And in the fourth, the game sped up. We needed to be more composed physically and needed to execute better. We are still finding our way on the court, challenging everyone to step up," he added. "Once we get everyone on the same page, we'll be fine."

Jenna Daveler dropped in a career-high 16 points for L-S. Phillips, with nine, was tops for Solanco. Ehlers, who sparked the JV win with 12 points, came off the bench with eight.

Solanco got off to good start Tuesday, almost matching Cocalico in the opening quarter and staying within striking distance at the break 23-17. Held to single digits again in the third, the visitors slipped to 34-22 with one quarter remaining. Phillips sparked a 15-point fourth quarter, netting seven of her game-high 15.

Free throws were the story in this one. The Eagles netted 21-of-30 attempts. Solanco hit 6-of-13.

"We did close the lead, cutting it to 5 in the fourth," said McDowell. "We committed some fouls in trying to extend the game and save some clock, but they stepped up and made their free throws. It was the difference in the game."

Ehlers chipped in with a team-high nine rebounds and matched Seiberlich with six points.

WRESTLING

Taking advantage of seven forfeits, Solanco picked up its second Section One win, a 46-23 win over McCaskey on Thursday, January 14.

Seven straight forfeits were the story of this match.

McCaskey opened with a fall at 160 and a tech fall at 172 for an early 11-0 lead. Robert Castagna put the Mules on the board with a 12-3 major decision at 189 for Solanco's only earned points of the match. McCaskey answered with back-to-back falls before the forfeits took over.

In a more productive outing on Saturday, Jan. 16, the Mules swept the competition in a quad-meet at Manheim Township.

The thriller of the day was an opening round 33-32 squeaker over the hosts. "Our younger guys really stepped up," stated head coach Tony Mendez. "Andrew Smith, a sophomore, got a key fall at 138, Blaine Plastino (172) also pinned, and Robert Castagna (189) earned an 8-2 decision at 189."

Jackson Houghton opened the day with a 4:36 fall at 132 before Smith's fall and a forfeit pushed the lead to 18-0.

The Streaks got on board with Kevin Olavarria's tech fall over Ronnie Fulton (152).

"We moved Ronnie up and even though he lost, he didn't get pinned and that one point made a difference," said Mendez.

Steven Williams (160) and Plastino both secured first period falls, pushing the lead to 30-5 with Castagna picking up Solanco's final points of the match as the Streaks ran the table over the last six bouts, picking up two falls and a forfeit along the way.

"I thought we wrestled well," said Mendez. "Tough matches like this are great for us. Now we know what to work on."

Solanco's second win of the day was a 42-32 result against Shippensburg. The Mules took a 18-5 lead on falls by Justin McCauley (138), R. Fulton (145) and Plastino (160).

Ship rallied for a 26-18 advantage but Solanco won four of the last five to finish on top. Dominic Flatt (106) started the rally with a 37 second fall and Houghton (132) capped the action with a 48 second pin. In between, J. Fulton pinned at 126 and Weston Bare earned a forfeit.

The Mules capped the day against a short-handed Pioneer squad, winning 60-15 on the strength of falls by J. Fulton (126), R. Fulton (145), Flatt (106) and Bare (120).

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Despite a scrappy effort in Lampeter Friday, January 15, Lampeter-Strasburg handed Solanco a 60-44 loss. The Mules just did not have an answer for freshman Ty Burton who poured in a game-high 27 points.

The visitors jumped out to a 17-15 advantage on the strength of three long range bombs but just as quickly, L-S responded. Burton buried three treys and L-S outscored the Mules 17-6 to take the lead for good.

The third quarter was nip-and-tuck with the visitors holding a 16-15 edge, but the final eight minutes belonged to the hosts. L-S tallied 13 points and held the Mules to two field goals in running their record to 3-0.

"Solanco shot well and moved the ball well," said Pioneer boss Ed Berryman. "They are doing some good things, but we switched defenses midway through the third quarter and they seemed to struggle with that."

Zed Baker and Tyler Burger each netted 11 points in the loss.

Less than 24 hours later, Solanco traveled to Conrad Weiser for a non-league game and came home with another tight loss, 55-44.

A slow start for the Mules and solid shooting from the foul line by the hosts played a key role in the outcome. CW jumped out to a 14-7 lead and slowly pulled away, outscoring Solanco 24-17 in the first half and 31-27 after the break. Jake Plummer spearheaded the second half, knocking down 18 of his game-high 23 points.

CW connected on 12-of-18 free throws while the Mules were 5-of-7.

Burger, who was 5-of-6 from the foul line and finished with 15 points, and Baker, who added 13 after not scoring in the first quarter, continued to lead the Mules.

The Mules returned home on Tuesday, but that advantage was not enough to upend Cocalico. The Eagles placed three players in double figures and earned a 54-32 win.

Burger, who leads the Mules in scoring with an 11.8 average, finished with 10.