Defense made difference for Franklin Regional in run to WPIAL finals

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, March 2, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Franklin Regional boys basketball coach Jesse Reed played in a lot of high-stakes games in his career.

From WPIAL and PIAA finals at Greensburg Central Catholic to the NCAA Tournament with American University to professional-level games in Luxembourg, he felt the heat lamps.

But facing a WPIAL semifinal as a coach brought back adrenaline Reed didn’t know he still had. It was a different kind of jitters, but rooted in the same focus.

“I was sick all day,” Reed said after the Panthers ran past Shaler, 69-40, to reach the WPIAL Class 5A finals. “I was so nervous for these guys, but I was so confident in our abilities.”

Franklin Regional (23-2) advanced to its first WPIAL title game since 2018 when Steve Scorpion was guiding the Panthers.

They were primed to play No. 1 seed Moon (22-3) on March 1 at Petersen Events Center, the home court of the Pitt Panthers.

“This is the goal we had from the beginning of the season,” Reed said. “We knew the type of talent we had and the type of work ethic we had.”

It took Franklin Regional two overtimes to defeat Shaler in a regular season nonsection game.

The Panthers came out firing and never took their foot off the gas in the rematch in the convincing final-four win at Mt. Lebanon.

Franklin Regional made four 3-pointers, two by senior Fin Hutchison, to race out to a 17-5 lead.

It expanded the lead to 21-5 early in the second quarter before the Titans (22-3) chipped away behind senior guard Keegan Smetanka, who scored six of his team-high 15 points, and trimmed the margin to 26-18 at halftime.

Franklin Regional put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring Shaler 18-7 and expanding its lead to 44-25.

“When we played them the first time, we didn’t play as well defensively,” Reed said. “We were ready defensively from the start, and everyone contributed on offense.

“We knew they were a good basketball team, and we knew we had to come out and compete harder, defend harder. We had to execute better and do everything in our power for 32 (minutes). We executed our game plan perfectly.”

Things didn’t go well for Shaler from the start. It turned the ball over against Franklin Regional’s pressure defense and when the Titans got open shots, they weren’t going in. Franklin Regional’s were.

“We were ready from the jump.” Franklin Regional’s Colin Masten said. “We played great defense. We held them to single digits in two quarters. We shared the ball. It was a great effort.”

Hutchison lead the balanced attack for the Panthers with 16 points. Connor Crossey had 14 points, Cooper Rankin added 11 and Masten 10.

Cam Rowell, who scored 28 in the 72-62 two-overtime win over Shaler, had nine this time.

“We knew they’d have their runs,” Reed said. “Our goal out of halftime was to win the first four minutes, and we did.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional