Lewisburg Boys Basketball Reaches Program's First State Semifinal Berth

Lewisburg's Green Dragons have reached territory the program has never seen before, defeating Bishop McDevitt to secure the school's first-ever berth in the PIAA Class 4A state semifinals.

The historic run through the state bracket was built on a foundation laid two days earlier, when the Green Dragons outlasted Pope John Paul 64-59 in a second-round contest at Martz Hall in Pottsville. Lewisburg made just one three-pointer in the first half against the Golden Panthers but trailed by only two points at the break. The second half told a different story: the Dragons knocked down five 3-pointers, including four in a crucial fourth-quarter stretch, to pull away and advance with a 24-4 record.

Cooper Mowry was among the Lewisburg players who made an impact from beyond the arc, pictured in game action launching a 3-pointer over Pope John Paul's Jason Green.

After the Pope John Paul win, the Green Dragons were slotted to face either Archbishop Carroll or Bishop McDevitt in the state quarterfinals on Friday, March 13 at 7:00 PM at Martz Hall. They drew Bishop McDevitt, and they won, punching the program's first state semifinal ticket.

Coach Leon Tucker, whose fingerprints are on the cultural shift that made this run possible, did not hide his emotion after the Pope John Paul victory.

"It feels pretty amazing. I knew we had a good team, but I did not expect this, and this moment is just special and I'm going to enjoy the ride," Tucker said.

The coach pointed to the bonds inside the locker room as the engine behind Lewisburg's postseason success.

"We have 17 players in our locker room who love each other and will go to war with each other every day. They understand what we have and that we built something special here, and the culture of this program has completely changed, and the community has been behind us."

Tucker made clear that the transformation goes beyond wins and losses. "So, it's been special the whole way. The guys understand that their hard work is being rewarded, and obviously it's showing out there on the floor. And it's been Lewisburg all the way," he added.

Three-point shooting has been a calling card for this Lewisburg squad all season, and the quarterfinal run at Martz Hall demonstrated exactly why. The team's ability to stay competitive without its outside shot clicking in the first half against Pope John Paul, then detonate from distance in the fourth quarter, speaks to a resilience that has carried the Dragons deeper into March than any Lewisburg boys basketball team before them.