A year ago they were decided underdogs.

Now they're the top-seeded team in the District Three Class AAA boys' basketball bracket.

Different scenarios. Same results.

Fronted by 16 points apiece from Josh Miller and Jordan Groff, Lampeter-Strasburg continued its impressive district play with a 57-38 win over No. 16 Middletown Tuesday night at L-S.

"Credit to Lampeter-Strasburg," Blue Raiders boss Chris Sattele said. "John Achille coaches his team very well and his kids played great."

Miller and Groff combined to score all of the Pioneers' 14 first-quarter points and L-S (20-3) never trailed en route to punching its ticket to Friday night's quarterfinal against No. 9 Bishop McDevitt (16-8) in the Giant Center.

The Crusaders defeated reigning district king Lancaster Catholic, this year's No. 8 seed.

"Getting back to Hershey was one of our goals," said Miller, who scored his team's first eight points.

"We're the No. 1 seed, so we came in with our heads high and played our style of basketball."

And on Tuesday night at least, that proved a bit too much for Middletown (15-9). The Blue Raiders finished second to Trinity in the Mid-Penn Capital Conference and entered the opening round having split their previous six games. Their resume, however, includes a Jan. 10 victory over the Shamrocks, the No. 2 seed in AAA.

Forward Jason McElwee, whose 317 points this season ranked second on the Raiders, netted a team-best 14. Frontcourt mate Jared Deibler, who led Middletown with 374 points going in, was limited to seven.

Perimeter threats Xavier Griffin and Trent Zimmerman, who combined for 45 3-pointers this winter, were blanked from beyond the arc as the Blue Raiders went 1-for-13 from long distance.

L-S, meanwhile, was steady. Until both sides emptied their benches in the game's final two minutes, the Pioneers committed just four turnovers while forcing 11, and shot almost 50 percent from the field (22 of 46) and 3-point range (5 of 11).

"We felt there would be some mismatches in our favor and we did a good job of exploiting them," Achille said.

"Easy hoops can be disheartening, especially in the playoffs."

Equally disheartening is misfiring on open looks at the basket. Middletown's first made field goal didn't come until Griffin found Kyle Shields for a layup with 1:50 left in the first quarter.

"We were probably a little bit nervous," Sattele said. "It's a district playoff game, against the No. 1 seed."

L-S led by as  much as 13 in the second quarter following a J.D. Achille layup, and owned an 11-point advantage at halftime.

"We talked about getting out in transition," John Achille said. "Jordan and J.D. can push it down the floor."

Corner treys from Shawn Singh and Groff and another layup, this by Jake Sweger, pushed the Pioneers' margin to 14 heading into the fourth.

J.D. Achille's 3-pointer from the top of the arc opened the final quarter and ignited a 9-0 run that made it 49-26.

"This was our last home game," said Miller, one of three seniors on this squad. "We wanted to get a good solid win."

The Pioneers did. Just like last year.

egruver@lnpnews.com