Donegal head coach Ryan Shipper said he knew that his squad's game against Cocalico would be a tough match as the Indians played host to the Eagles in a Lancaster-Lebanon League boys' basketball game Friday, January 13.

"Going into our game against Cocalico, we knew were going to have our hands full," Shipper said. "They play extremely hard and they're well-coached."

The two teams went into the locker rooms at halftime with the Indians holding a slim 29-27 lead. Donegal outscored Cocalico 35-26 in the second half.

"We were able to tighten things up defensively in the second half, which led to good offensive possessions," Shipper said.

Cole Hess provided consistent offense with 17 points for Donegal. Sawyer Floyd finished with 12 points, hitting two baskets from three-point range. James Turbedsky made five baskets and finished with 11 points while both Dutch Good and DeAndre White contributed nine points.

"Cole Hess and James Turbedsky did a great job finishing around the basket," Shipper said. "I was very proud of our team's effort."

They continued winning by posting a 40-30 victory at Elco on Tuesday in yet another game that showed second-half defensive dominance. Donegal (10-6 overall, 4-2 league) outscored Elco 27-10 in the second half.

Evyan Patel hit a pair of treys and finished with a team-high 12. Floyd and Turbedsky each added nine with Floyd connecting on two treys also.

"We currently have six guys contributing between six and 11 points per game, which has been a great strength for our team."

WRESTLING

Not having anyone to wrestle at the 107- and 114-pound weight classes has resulted in Donegal's wrestling team forfeiting those two matches at the outset of matches all season long. In many cases, the Indians have bounced back and won a few.

On Wednesday, in an L-L League match with Elizabethtown, the Bears' 37-25 victory certainly had a resounding mathematical focus on the Donegal forfeits. The Indians also forfeited at 127, causing an 18-point swing in a match decided by 12 points.

Noah Hinkel did get three of those points back early on, blanking his opponent in a 2-0 victory at the 121-pound bout. Mark Overlander also came up big at 133, registering a pin in the second period followed by Landon Keller's 5-1 decision at 139.

Landen Baughman battled Nathan Thomas of E-town in a classic 145-pound battle. Thomas took the tussle by a tough 12-9 final, giving the Bears a 21-12 lead at that juncture.

Ryan Mumper's 7-1 decision over Ryan Findlay and sophomore Sergio Garcia's 15-3 major at 172 kept the Indians climbing back in - now down by only 25-19.

Two more E-town pins put the match out of reach. But Nicholai Brotzman's first-period pin at the heavyweight battle showed that Donegal does not go down easily.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

The girls' basketball team played Cocalico, Solanco and Elco in a five-day stretch. On Friday, January 13, the Indians traveled to Cocalico where the Eagles claimed a 47-28 L-L League victory. Solanco won Monday night's game at home by a 47-33 margin.

The Indians fell to 3-13 (0-5 league) as Elco won 56-42 at Donegal on Tuesday, January 17.

In the Elco game, the Raiders outscored the Indians by a mere 26-24 margin in the second half.

Remy White came through with a game-high 17 points for the Indians. She nailed a pair of three-point baskets while Bella Macksin (12 pts) scorched two three-pointers.

Kenzie Eckhart and Makenna Seifert each scored 13 for the Raiders.

Solanco's tough defense held Donegal to only eight first-half points. Leading the Indians in scoring in this match was Mia Wissler with 11 points. Mackison scored 10.

The second quarter of the game at Cocalico loomed largely as the Eagles outscored the Indians 12-3.

White and Wissler had nine points each, both coming through with a three-pointer. Wissler was also a perfect 2-for-2 at the foul line. Mackison was good twice from three-point range, accounting for her six points of the game.

The Eagles' Teagan Sahm led all scorers with 14.