WAYNESBORO – Once upon a time, a Waynesboro boys’ basketball game against New Oxford was a conference game.
Times have changed, and the former Blue Mountain League opponents now meet on the court as non-conference foes. Or you could call it a Mid-Penn vs. York-Adams League Challenge.
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, Tom Hoffman tipped off his 25th season as head coach of the Waynesboro Indians varsity team. He played the Colonials when the teams were in the BML. In a thrilling season opener inside a noisy Waynesboro Area Senior High School gymnasium, the Tribe clipped the Colonials 69-67.
“We think we have a lot of depth,” said Hoffman. “.The scrimmages went very well. It was probably a case of some fool’s gold as far as what was going on. Now it matters. This is their fourth game. They’re athletic kids who know how to win, they’re well-coached and know how to win.
“We had some things to build on. It was a little bit too easy leading up to this, and tonight we got punched. To our credit, we overcame and won the game.”
In the game’s waning moments, Nate Nystrom made a shot in the lane and sank the corresponding free throw to give Waynesboro the win after New Oxford’s valiant attempt to tie the game came up short. Tue Colonials took a 67-66 lead when Brayden Billman made a pair of foul shots with 16.2 seconds to play.
Waynesboro got the ball down the floor. Rayshawn Frazer-Hewitt dribbled and dished to point guard Carter Hough, who penetrated and flipped the ball to Nystrom, who put himself in great position for a high-percentage shot. His bucket sent the student section into a frenzy, but the Indians still had to stop New Oxford who called time out with 3.2 seconds to play and an inbounds play from mid-court.
It was Waynesboro’s game to win during the first three quarters. But the Colonials battened down the hatches and started reeling off made shots. The Ox trailed 48-41 after a Hough field goal. In what seemed like moments later, the Colonials forged a 57-51 lead with a tad over 4:25 left in regulation.
When it seemed like Waynesboro would have to rely on fouling to stop the clock, the Indians scored back-to-back field goals to tie the game at 63. Eric Jacobs put up a made shot, and Hough was true on two charity tosses. After Brody Holmes’ bucket at the other end, Hough made good on a traditional three-point play with 25.9 ticks on the clock.
Waynesboro led most of the way. The Tribe did struggle early in the second quarter as New Oxford enjoyed an 8-2 run to lead 19-16. The Indians tightened the bootstraps, and Frazer-Hewitt broke a 24-24 tie with consecutive three-point field goals and a 30-24 Waynesboro lead at halftime.
Frazer-Hewitt led the Indians with 23 points, including five threes. He also had nine rebounds. Nystrom and Hough each tallied 13 points. Hough ended up with a double-double, collecting 12 assists.
