Hickory holds off New Castle in PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals

By: George Guido
Friday, March 15, 2019 | 9:58 PM

Hickory and many in the capacity crowd at Slippery Rock University’s Morrow Field House were waiting for a typical New Castle late comeback.

But it didn’t happen Friday night as Hickory played a strong second half and defeated the Red Hurricanes, 59-48, in a PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal.

Dominating guard Donald Whitehead scored 25 for Hickory, and 6-foot-7 swingman Isaiah Jarzab had nine of his 14 points in a big third quarter to pace the Hornets attack.

The victory gave Hickory (27-1) a berth in the state semifinals for the first time since 1995. The Hornets will now take on defending state champion Imhotep Charter Monday at a site and time to be determined.

“It’s great for our community,” said Hickory coach Chris Mele about the current surge. “We’ve had a lot of success in other sports like football over the past decade and basketball’s taken a back seat. But it’s nice to see the tradition coming back. We have a lot of guys from the 90s come in and talk to the kids. They’re still part of our program.”

Hickory had made the PIAA semis from 1993-95.

New Castle (23-5) dropped a quarterfinal game for the fifth consecutive season.

The Hornets took the lead for good late in the first quarter and built the advantage to 10 three times in the second, including a basket by Jarzab with 2 minutes, 16 seconds left in the half.

But the Red Hurricanes cut the lead to 35-32 on a basket by Drew Cox with 5:45 left in the third quarter to get their huge following back into the game.

In the next sequence, however, Jarzab crashed through two New Castle defenders with a third-chance shot near the hoop for a big basket.

“I think the biggest play of the game was when we got to within three and their big kid came through,” Red Hurricanes coach Ralph Blundo said. “They had three opportunities. We’re fighting and he comes through and finishes. That was a huge play.”

Said Jarzab: “I wish I could have finished some of those on the first try, but I kept pushing, trying to get the boards and finally it went in.”

Jarzab finished with 10 rebounds.

New Castle got to within three points three more times, but Hickory kept answering with a big hoop.

With 15.9 to go in the third quarter, a steal by Whitehead resulted in an intentional foul by New Castle’s Payne Powell. Whitehead hit both free throws and Jarzab scored on the inbounds play to tally four quick points and make it 49-40.

The Red Hurricanes cut it to seven with 3:19 to go, but Whitehead took a charging foul and canned the subsequent free throws to virtually seal the deal.

“We had some big momentum plays,” coach Mele said. “The charge we took was a continuation of that. Donald’s been doing that all year. He measures them up, and he knows when it’s time to do that. I can’t say enough about him. Not only does he play good offense, but he’s a heckuva defender.”

“You can’t play from behind, especially in the fourth quarter because they can space the floor with a good point guard like Whitehead,” Blundo said. “He was sensational tonight, and he’s been sensational all year.”

Drew Cox finished with 18 points before fouling out late, and Demitrius McKnight had 13.

New Castle was just 2 of 13 from 3-point range.

As for a team celebration Friday night, Jarzab was thinking of skipping it after working so hard in the paint.

“I’m actually a little excited to sleep,” the junior said. “I want to go home and get some rest.”

Tags: New Castle