The mountain has been conquered!

After 38 years of climbing, the Conestoga boys basketball program is standing at the peak again, wearing the District 1 6A crown and looking back at all the giant steps it took to get there.

It wasn’t easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is.

It took an extra session to finish the job as the Pioneers made up for their lack of size by dominating at the foul line and from three-point range to vanquish a valiant Plymouth Whitemarsh squad, 54-50, in overtime at the St. Joseph University’s Hagan Arena on the last day of February.

Although out-rebounded by the bigger opponent, the Pioneers converted 14 of 16 at the charity stripe and made 6 of 16 from behind the arc.

Undersized 6′-4″, junior Cory Hogan handled 6′-10″ Michael Pereira, finishing with 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting and snaring 7 rebounds. Another junior, point guard Rowan Miller, stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

Ben Robinson’s poise at the foul line continued as he finished with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. His two free throws with 5.7 seconds remaining in overtime sealed the deal.

Shane O’Brien added 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” said coach Sean Forcine. “We’re the ultimate definition of a team. I’ll take our undersized players because they’ve got heart and they put in the work.”

Conestoga (21-6) will return to its home court March 8 at 1:00pm to face Mechanicsburg (20-3), the No. 6 seed from District 3.