By BILL ALBRIGHT

ESPNWilliamsport.com Staff Writer

Milton -- For both the Lewisburg Green Dragons and South Williamsport Mountaineers, it was a battle for survival with the winner advancing to the PIAA tournament, while the loser could only pack it in until next season.

When the issue was decided, Lewisburg was the survivor while South Williamsport came out on the short end as the Dragons outlasted the Mounties by the final of 34-29 in a District 4 Class AA consolation game.

From the opening tip, the two teams played their version of banana ball by scoring in bunches.

First there was five straight points by Lewisburg to open the game, then came 13 in a row by South.

“We came out and did pretty much what we wanted to do,” explained South head coach Matt Fisher. “But in the second quarter, we had some untimely turnovers that cost us and we also went away from a couple of things that were working for us and that might have been a tribute to their press.”

Facing a 5-13 deficit, the Green Dragons answered right back by closing out the first half with a 9-0 run to take a 14-13 lead to the locker room at halftime.

“It has been a matter of perseverance for us all year,” said Lewisburg head coach John Vaji. “They went on a 13-0 run and we were down 13-5. When we got down after the first period, we talked to the guys and reminded them to keep working hard and playing tough defense. We chipped back at them and I thought we did a great job defensively because we were able to hold them to just two points in the second quarter.”

The Dragons threatened to run away and hide with the win as they opened the second half with yet another run, this time a 7-0 spurt to open a 21-13 advantage midway through the period.

“We made a couple of adjustments at halftime,” said Vaji. “We wanted to get the ball inside on them and T. J. Landis came up big with some big buckets for us and we were also able to do some things defensively. We also did a good job hitting the boards and I can’t remember them (South) getting many offensive rebounds until that last series.”

However, South would have no part of the Dragons creating space between the two clubs as they closed the period by a 7-2 run of their own for a 23-20 Lewisburg advantage at the turn for home.

Despite the Mountie’s efforts, the Dragons created space once again in the first few minutes of the final period with a 7-3 spurt to lead by seven (30-23).

“(Nathan) Vasquez hit a big three for us with about six minutes left in the fourth quarter,” said Vaji. “And I have to tip my hat to Kyle Ranck and T. J. Landis for their efforts. Ranck played the entire game and Landis played about 29 of the 32 minutes and overall, it was just a gutty, gutty team victory for us.”

But here come the Mounties one more time.

With the Dragons holding on to the 7-point lead, South went to work on defense, created a couple of turnovers and cut its deficit to just three points with 1:05 on the clock.

With plenty of time remaining to operate, the Mounties had a couple of good looks to try and tie the game, but it didn’t happen for them and that is when Dragon senior Kyle Ranck stepped to the line and sealed the deal for the Green & White.

“They (the shots) were there,” said Vaji. “We switched to man-for-man because we knew that number 14 (D. J. Tawney) is a very good shooter. We thought they might try and overload our zone and have three on our two with Pfirman, (Nick) Koletar and Tawney for a wide open look. Koletar had a real good look, but I think we were able to contest that one a little bit. But when they got the offensive rebound, that was a wide open look and fortunately we were able to get the rebound. I was really sweating that out.”

With the game on the line, Ranck, who had just missed a pair of free throws, drew nothing but net on his next pair to set the final.

“I wanted the ball in my hands, especially after missing those two earlier,” said Ranck. “I just wanted a chance to put it (the win) away. If I make it we win, and if I miss them, it gives them a chance and I didn’t want to give them that chance.”

Disappointed with the loss, Fisher was anything but disappointed with the effort he got from his players.

“I wish we could have won the game, but I am certainly not disappointed in my guys,” said Fisher. “I am proud of the guys because they battled right down to the end.”

For the game, Ranck led the Dragons with 10 points, while South’s Koletar totaled 10 points to share game honors with Ranck.

South 29

Adam Engel 1 0-1 2, Nick Koletar 5 0-0 10, Matt Pfirman 3 0-0 7, Matt Marzzacco 1 0-0 2, Rob Houseknecht 3 2-6 8. Totals 13 2-7 29.

Lewisburg 34

Zack Vaji 1 0-0 3, T. J. Landis 4 0-0 8, Travis Conrad 1 0-0 2, Nathan Vasquez 1 0-0 3, Kyle Ranck 3 2-4 10, Marcus Meslener 1 0-0 2, Shakiel Rice 3 0-2 6. Totals 14 2-6 34.

South Williamsport 11 2 7 9 -- 29

Lewisburg 5 9 9 11 -- 34

3-Point Goals: South Williamsport 1 (Matt Pfirman). Lewisburg 4 (Zack Vaji 1, Nathan Vasquez 1, Kyle Ranck 2).