The Carlisle boy’s basketball team was off to a soaring start in the second semifinal Friday of the Carlisle Classic Tournament.

The Herd displayed their solid offensive and defensive skills, ending the first quarter with a 16-5 lead over the South Western Mustangs. By halftime, the Mustangs had shortened the deficit to a shaky four points, but Carlisle regained traction in the third quarter with an 8 point lead over South Western, thanks in part to back to back three pointers by sophomore Ki Barnes and senior Paul Candland.

With less than three minutes remaining in the game and a now one point lead over the Mustangs, Carlisle senior Tyler Greene provided a much needed cushion with a quick layup and gained possession of the ball with under a minute left on the clock. Last minute free throws pushed the Herd’s score further ahead of South Western, the game ending with a score of 48-44 for Carlisle.

The two top scorers of the game against South Western were senior Jordan Purcell, who contributed a whopping 15 points for the Herd, and Greene, with nine points. Junior Ben Milligan and Candland also contributed two three pointers each throughout the game. The victory pushed Carlisle into the tournament championship that occurred on Saturday night.

The championship looked promising as Carlisle kept their lead over the Hempfield Black Knights throughout the first half of the game. Though Carlisle fought admirably to keep the score in their favor, the championship concluded with a close loss to Hempfield with a score of 44-41.

Milligan chalked the loss up to missing “a lot of layups. we didn’t really make our free throws either; we shot 50% from the line.”

Purcell once again shouldered nearly half of the Herd’s final score, with 19 points. Though the game resulted in a loss, Carlisle proved its defensive abilities. With the expected return of two of Carlisle’s starters, juniors Zion Patterson and Deshawn Millington, there is certain to be more wins in the Herd’s future.