Abdou Diene and Khalif Turner spearhead Milton Hershey's strong second-half performance as the Spartans advances to District 3 5A semifinals.
Milton Hershey’s Abdou Diene shoots against Hershey in their boys high school basketball game. Feb 05 2026 Sean Simmers ssimmers@pennlive.com.HERSHEY — This time last year, top-ranked Milton Hershey suffered a devastating 45-42 loss to Hershey in the quarterfinals of the District 3 Class 5A tournament.
The loss stuck with the Spartans. It motivated them to get back in the gym and work harder than they have in previous seasons. While a rematch with Hershey may have to wait, Milton Hershey has moved past the demons of last year’s quarterfinal loss after a strong 64-51 victory over No. 8 Spring Grove on Thursday night. The Spartans played defense at a championship level by trapping defenders of screens and clogging up driving lanes.Spartans’ forward Abdou Diene was lights out on both sides of the ball. When Milton Hershey needed a momentum changing shot, Diene was there to make it. How about a block to stop a Spring Grove run? Diene made that play as well. An offensive rebound to save a possession? Diene was on the board.Khalif Turner started slowly, along with most of the Spartans. But after the halftime break, Turner came alive, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half. He finished with a double-double and was an important reason why Milton Hershey pulled away after halftime.How it happened The first half was a defensive struggle, with both teams trading baskets and neither gaining significant separation. Spring Grove threw a combination of man and different zone defenses at Milton Hershey, slowing down the Spartans’ offense. “They were doing a good job switching up defenses,” said Spartans head coach Scott Rooney. “We were reacting instead of being the action.” Milton Hershey returned the favor with a 2-3 zone that gave the Rockets fits. Most points were scored off fastbreak buckets for both teams.The Spartans turned it around offensively, going on a 14-5 run to start the third quarter, which eventually turned into a 40-30 lead by the end of the quarter.Milton Hershey forward Anthony Thompson helped the Spartans maintain their lead with eight points in the fourth.Milton Hershey advances to the District 3 5A semifinals against No. 4 Octorara on Monday, Feb. 23 back at The Spartans Center.
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