As teams are propelled into the final weeks of a tumultuous 20-21 season, everyone is scrambling to squeeze as many contests as possible in the remaining days, and for CV, their two recent league battles yielded split results.

Luke Rumbaugh poured in a game high 24 points in a February 9th loss to Lebanon 54-42. While CV held a narrow lead 15-13 after the first quarter, the Cedars overcame that margin with a 14-7 run in the second and extended their lead to 12 before the final buzzer.

Both teams were hot from beyond the arc, which is where Rumbaugh amassed the bulk of his points, draining five three-pointers.

The Bucks collected a grand total of 21 points from three-point range, with two additional treys coming from Austen Wertz (nine points) and Cooper McCloud (five points), proving themselves to be a serious long-distance threat, but the Cedars responded with six of their own, and held the edge on the inside game.

Lebanon capitalized on 14 trips to the free throw line, making eight, while the Bucks only visited the line three times, converting two.

On February 5th, CV outscored the Ephrata Mountaineers 55-52 to grab a win on the road.

The opening of the Friday night clash belonged to the Mountaineers, who jumped ahead 13-9 after the first period, but a 15-8 CV run in the second demonstrated the Bucks had the ability to make pivotal adjustments.

The halftime scoreboard read 24-21, giving CV a three-point advantage, and that slim lead turned out to be the exact difference in the final score.

The Bucks and Mountaineers matched each other point-for-point in a 17-17 third quarter and then mirrored each other again with a 14-14 fourth quarter.

"Both teams competed hard and had scoring runs to keep the game interesting," noted coach Jim Shipper who made a few halftime tweaks to the CV offense. "We had a few new wrinkles within our offense, and I was happy to see the boys execute those plays."

A team-focused mentality is a big part of Shipper's coaching strategy, and the successful implementation of that emphasis showcased eight players contributing to the scoring, with three in double digits.

Rumbaugh led all scorers with 17 and was balanced by 15 from Austin Wertz.

Titus York was CV's third player in double digits, coming alive in the second half where he netted 10 of his 12 points.

"I felt the half-court offense was more consistent tonight. We did a better job finishing around the rim," the coach went on to say.

The Bucks currently hold an overall record of 5-6 (3-5 league), and hope the coming weeks provide plenty of opportunity for continued growth.

"The key to our success is, and will always be, accepting our role and contributing within our role," concluded Shipper. "We must play as a team and defend as a team. When we do that, we give ourselves a chance to win every night."

WRESTLING

With the post-season rapidly approaching, the Buckskin grapplers flexed their muscles at a quad match held at Conestoga Valley on February 6th, going a collective 2-1 with wins over Central Dauphin East (47-12) and Dover Area (48-30), and a 41-30 loss to Exeter Township High School.

CV freshman Luke Morley continues to step up for the Bucks and earned a fall in his 113-pound match against CD East, and Keaton Fischer (138) and Robby Swift (160) each produced a technical fall.

Rey Ortiz (120) and Macoy Kneisley (152) pulled in additional CV points by decision in the landslide win.

Against Dover, CV had to work their way out of an early 18-6 deficit, but flipped the script to end up with a 48-30 success.

Keaton Fischer kicked off a massive momentum shift with his fall in the 138-pound bout. In the subsequent seven bouts, CV added four more falls, with Luke Needham (145), Kneisley (152), Nate Kirchner (172), and Josue Marente (215) each pinning their opponent.

Exeter Township pumped the brakes on CV, earning a full sweep for the day, defeating the Bucks 41-30, but Fischer, Needham, Marente, and Morley each picked up another fall in loss.

"After starting the season 1-3, the team has won six of its last seven dual meets and secured another winning record," praised coach Trent Turner.

This season's 7-4 dual meet record marks the 12th consecutive season the Buckskins have finished in the positive. After one last dual anticipated against Daniel Boone, the Bucks will then turn their attention to the League Championships slated for February 13.

SWIMMING

As was too often the story in 20-21 winter seasons, the CV swim club was plagued by sickness and quarantines, leaving them short on opportunities and athletes they might have hoped would fill the lanes and top the podiums at the LL League Championships held at Wilson High School on February 5th and 6th.

Despite the absences and disappointments, CV senior Micah Leaman powered ahead to earn a pair of medals in the championship event.

Leaman's success came in the 500 free where the senior touched in second place with a time of 4:56.14 as well as a fifth-place finish in the 200 IM (2:01.51).

Jordan Holmes finished just short of the medal rankings with her ninth-place finish in the backstroke (1:03.43) and also supplied a 12th in the 50 free (26.33).

Daniel Ivanchikov also had a ninth-place finish, his coming in the butterfly (59.79), which he paired with a backstroke performance of 1:01.27 for 15th.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Laela Robinson produced a massive effort in CV's recent trip to Lebanon, netting 22 points but the Lady Bucks ultimately fell 63-45 to the Cedars.

Robinson extended the Cedars defense with her outside shooting, knocking in six three-pointers in her season-high, but the storyline tipped in favor of the Lady Cedars who made headway at the line netting 14-of-25 in free throws to edge away in the final quarter.

The night before, while hosting Warwick, the Buckskins fell 54-32.

This time Taylor Hehnly paced the CV offense with 11 points, and Yazmeen Norris chipped in another seven.

The two setbacks bring the Lady Bucks total game count to four and levels their record at 2-2, as Covid related postponements have wreaked havoc on the squad's schedule.

With hopes that February will hold much more opportunity and success, the team will attempt to fit in at least six more section games before the League season deadline, February 22.