“We came so far, and we were close to reaching our ultimate goal… but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t rather do it with anybody else,” Franklin guard Jalen Wood said following the runner-up finish. “These eight seniors, the rest of the squad is my family. I’d rather take second place a million times over with this group.”

Wood was the first to hit paydirt for the Knights with a jumper about 90 seconds into the afternoon contest.

​He went on to record 16 points on the day and maintained the tough level of defense that has been his benchmark all season.

Teammate Cole Buckley continued his post-season offensive surge, leading the Knights with 20 points, including two from behind the arc – a rare thing for the senior guard who has a knack for the jump shot and penetrating the paint.

"I remember there were times in sixth grade when we would tell each other 'Hey, we are going to go to Hershey.' We were going to be the ones to do it," he said. 

On Tuesday, the manifestation of that dream was complete. He and his seven fellow seniors - Damon Curry, Gavin Eakin, Darius Graham, Damarco and Dreyden Payne, Ethan Umbenhauer, and Jalen Wood are indeed headed to Hershey. A group of friends who have been playing ball together for nearly a decade, according to Wood.  

"We've known each other forever. Everything we do is together. Even outside of basketball, we are always together," Wood said.

Wood's dad JimBob Wood was one of their early coaches for travel ball. "They are an amazing group of kids," he said after Tuesday's big win. He said the basketball aptitude among the class of 2024 was evident as early as fourth grade. "Last year's talent, this year's talent was unreal when they were young."

A quick glance through a few photo albums from 2017 and 2018 confirms the passion had from the start. 

"They loved playing basketball. They loved to grind it. They just loved the game," JimBob said of those early years helping teach the pre-teens how to play. 

Over the years, the friendships continued off and on the court, which has contributed to their success.
 
"They don't care who has the best game, who scores the most points. None of that matters. They just fight for one another,' JimBob Wood said. 

"It's just something we grew up together doing," Curry said. "And (we have) an ability to just translate onto the floor and have chemistry."

Franklin head coach Jason Fulmer says he first became aware of the talent and passion of the class of 2024 when they were still scattered among the district's elementary school, sometimes playing as teammates and sometimes meeting as rivals. 

Now they are just like his kids. He praised their dedication to playing during the offseason to improve their skills, travel to play in places like New Castle, Slippery Rock and Erie, and elevate each other's performances. 

"(Starters) Damarco, Dame, Jalen - one-sport guys (who) eat, sleep and drink it... probably since about fifth grade. That's when they came on my radar," Fulmer said. "Buck dedicated himself in June. He got that much better. Dreyden is just your junkyard dog. He's going to be at everything... It doesn't matter if he is walking around on one leg." 

"It's tough not to love them," he said of the team. 

And all the hard work paid off Tuesday in the form of a ticket to Hershey to meet Devon Prep for a chance to be the top 3A boys team in the state at 2 p.m. Saturday.

"They deserve every bit of it," JimBob Wood said. 

"We've worked all our lives for this," Buckley said. And to finally do it, I don't even know how to describe it."  

Curry did have a word for it - great. "It's one of those things you think of when you are little, back when we were together in third or fourth grade. It's a great, great feeling." 

Damarco Payne - 322, 81, 49, 3, 24.
Gavin Eakin - 81, 28, 28, 3, 14.
Ethan Umbenhauer - 29, 11, 19, 0, 7.
Cole Buckley - 316, 161, 89, 7, 37.
Jalen Wood - 510, 107, 148, 27, 73.
Dreyden Payne - 201, 117, 36, 2, 22.
Damon Curry - 394, 147, 73, 30, 32.
Darius Graham - 45, 61, 20, 1, 13. 

It was fellow senior Dreyden Payne who got things started for the Knights Saturday afternoon at Sharon High School. He scored on a layup about a minute into the game, which featured a hurried pace from the first whistle. Damon Curry added a layup of his own about 90 seconds later. Deer Lakes answered, but then Payne responded with his second layup of the game, and Franklin set the standard for the constant. 

Anytime the Lancers would build momentum, the Knights would calm them down with a quick response.
Like a well-oiled machine, Franklin's quick passes around the perimeter and ball movement opened many scoring opportunities underneath or open threes.

With 1:35 left in the first quarter, every single starter had logged at least one basket and Franklin was up 16-8.  

In the closing seconds of the stanza, Will Findlan demonstrated why is he Franklin's dark horse, hitting the first of five shots he would make on the day while recording quality minutes.  

The Knights took a 20-10 lead into the second quarter but started to struggle with foul trouble. In less than two minutes of play, Deer Lakes was already in bonus terrority and Curry had to take a seat with two fouls already on the books. 

Thanks to a pair of three-pointers from the corner, the Lancers pulled within seven with 3:16 to go in the half. Then the Knight's aggressive defense fueled by Jalen Wood opened opportunities for Buckley's end of the half tear where the senior scored seven of Franklin's 11 final  points before heading into the locker room with a 39-24 lead.

Buckley  immediately went back to work at the start the second half, scoring another seven points to Deer Lakes two. 

The Knights dominated the third quarter going up 60-32 with a little less than three minutes left leading the Lancers to start playing with level of desperation.

Franklin tried to answer by slowing things down. 

"(We) tried to pull the reins back, tried to play smart, understand the score. We don't need quick shots," Franklin coach Jason Fulmer said of the strategy for the closing quarter.

This opened the window a little for Deer Lakes to chip away at the 23-point lead, but not nearly enough to make it close. In the final quarter, the Lancers outscored the Knights 25-17. 

"We know what we are capable of and that is what we are capable of," Buckley said of his team's 83-66 victory and the balanced manner in which it was achieved. "We have five guys who could drop 20 any night." 

Saturday, Buckley was the guy, followed closely behind by Curry with 17, Wood with 16, Damarco Payne and Findlan with 10 each and Dreyden Payne with 6.

"We were just hitting from everywhere," Findlan said when asked about his assessment of the game. 

Fulmer pointed toward Findlan as a major impact on the game, for his rebounding as well as his offensive contributions. "That's how I had pictured him," Fulmer said of his pre-season challenge to Findlan to be the team's guy off the bench. 

Fulmer also praised Buckley and the team's overall improvement in attacking the basketball and creating opportunities. 

"When we are attacking, we are our best," he said. And when Buckley gets into attack mode then "everything happens."

"My emotions were just pouring at the end. I couldn't hold it in. We're just so happy to be here," Wood said about finally getting into the final four. "We have been working so hard for these last four years to finally get over the hump, now we are just hungry for more now that we got here."

"We just want to get to the state championship," Buckley said. "That's all we got our minds on."

First, they have to swat down their NW PA rivals the Girard Yellow Jackets, who beat Franklin 60-50 in the District 10 championship game earlier this month. Girard beat Mowak 70-50 to earn their spot in the final four alongside Franklin. That game will be played Tuesday at a time and place to be determined.