Basketball Recap: Central Dauphin's Run of Six Straight Victories Now Over

Central Dauphin managed to keep up with Cumberland Valley until halftime on Friday, but things quickly went downhill from there. The Central Dauphin Rams might have been a little too into the holiday spirit, gifting the Cumberland Valley Eagles an easy 71-49 victory. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Rams came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while the Eagles are ranked 44th).

When it comes to explaining why Central Dauphin lost, don't look at Jelani Easter. Despite the final result, he went 10 for 16 on his way to 23 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Shakur Starling, who posted eight points and six assists.

Nolan Buzalka continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Cumberland Valley, dropping a double-double on 25 points and 18 rebounds. The match was Buzalka's sixth in a row with at least ten points. Creston Austin was another key player, dropping a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Rams

Previous 5 Games

12/20/24 vs Cumberland Valley	49-71
12/17/24 @ Chambersburg	60-55
12/13/24 vs Carlisle	67-66
12/11/24 @ Central Dauphin East	78-56
12/08/24 @ Archbishop Ryan	78-64

Central Dauphin moved to 6-1 with that defeat, which also ended their six-game winning streak. As for Cumberland Valley, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-2.

Central Dauphin will host Wilkes-Barre at 2:30 p.m. on Monday. Central Dauphin is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 68.3 points per game this season. As for Cumberland Valley, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, an 83-52 victory against Abington on the 21st.