WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Wednesday 2/22

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 23, 2017 | 12:11 AM

After six days and four nights of contests (three nights actually along with Saturday afternoon), the First Round of the 2017 WPIAL Basketball Playoffs is complete. With hardly any surprises and with the Second Round chalk full of top eight seeds, the Quarterfinals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday should be much more competitive hoops. For now though, we look back at the final night of the opening round on Wednesday with recaps from Boys 6-A, Boys 4-A and Gilrs 3-A First Round basketball games.

A special thanks to Tyler Friel, Mark Uriah, Ed Troup, Steve Nagler, Mike Azadian, Bob Gregg, Lee Mohn, Rennie Detore, John Smathers and Mark Schaas for their help on these recaps.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS 6-A First Round:

Canon-McMillan Big Macs 70 – North Allegheny Tigers 67 
Canon-McMillan canned ten three-pointers over the first three quarters, then held off a furious North Allegheny rally as the #8 Big Macs downed the Tigers, 70-67.  RJ Bell hit two of his six three-pointers in the first 2-1/2 minutes of the third, opening up a 20-point CM lead.  North Allegheny switched to a trapping defense, creating turnovers and started to inch closer through the end of the period, still trailing 56-42.  Carson Miller’s bucket and free throw in the opening 20 seconds of the final frame gave the Big Macs (18-5) a 17-point margin, same as they took to the lockerroom at intermission.  But the traps worked, over and over again for North Allegheny (14-9), keeping CM from scoring from the floor for the next six minutes.  Meanwhile, Ray Sandherr used the dribble penetration and a long three-ball to pump in 10 points in the fourth, pulling the Tigers to within four points with under a minute to play.  Canon-McMillan had chances to seal the win but missed five straight foul shots in the final 40 seconds.  But the Big Macs had enough to get the win and advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup with #1 Pine-Richland.  Curtis Aiken had game honors with 26 points, including five three-pointers.  Bell led the Big Macs with 21.  Britton Beachy added 16, Kenyan Lewis 11 and Miller finished with 10 poitns, eight in the final quarter, including both CM field goals in the fourth.

North Hills Indians 65 – Upper St. Clair Panthers 50 
The North Hills Indians rode a good start, both offensively and defensively, en route to a convincing first round victory over the Upper St. Clair Panthers in the 6A WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs on Wednesday night at North Allegheny High School.  The Indians outscored the Panthers 23-13 in the first eight minutes by forcing the Panthers into five turnovers and scoring points off of those turnovers.  Nick Smith led the way for North Hills with 24 points and several assists on the night.  The Indians also got 16 points from Andrew Paulauskas and nine points from Luke Chutko.  The Indians held a 36-24 lead at the half and bounced their lead to 16 points in the 3rd quarter before the Panthers cut the lead to nine midway through the quarter.  Upper St. Clair had a few chances to dice into the lead even further but couldn’t convert key possessions when they needed to.  Panthers senior Darius Radfar led the way in scoring with 15 points, shooting 11/12 from the foul line on the night.  Upper St. Clair’s Kyle Meinert (11) and Jack Hansbury (10) also landed in double-digits on the night.  With the loss, the Panthers season ends at 14-9.  North Hills (18-5) will now 4th-seeded Penn Hills who had a bye in the first round.  That game will be played on Saturday and will be a rematch of last year when the then 7th seeded North Hills Indians defeated the 2nd seeded Penn Hills Indians in the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL Playoffs.

Butler Golden Tornado 71 – Baldwin Highlanders 62 
After going three seasons without a postseason win, Butler was able to pull away from Baldwin late in the 4th quarter with a 71-62 win. Butler held a comfortable lead for most of the evening until Baldwin drew it to a two point game mid-way through the fourth. But an Ethan Morton three gave Butler a five point lead and the Golden Tornado were able to build upon that to secure a first round win. Joel Stutz led the way for Butler with 20 points. Meanwhile Anthony Reid dropped 23 for Baldwin. The Golden Tornado move on to face Latrobe Satuday.

Woodland Hills Wolverines 47 – Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 43 
Woodland Hills and Mt. Lebanon played a tightly contested, WPIAL Class 6A first round playoff game that saw the Wolverines cling to a one point halftime lead and make much needed second half adjustments en route to a 47-43 upset victory Wednesday night at Baldwin Hill School. The Wolverines (8-7) came into the first round matchup as the number 11 seed, while The Blue Devils (14-9) were the number six seed sporting a 10-2 conference record in Section 2 of Class 6A. Mt. Lebanon led 14-10 after the first quarter but trailed by one at the half as Woodland Hills switched to a man to man defense in a second half and out scored the Blue Devils 28-25 in the second half. The defensive adjustment by Woodland Hills, after scoring only 19 points in the first half, was accompanied by offensive outburst by its two leading scorers: Deontae Robertson and Amante Britt. Robertson and Britt were held in check in the first half by Mt. Lebanon, but rebounded nicely in the second half, with Robertson leading all scorers with 20 points and Britt finishing with 14. Woodland Hills, with the win, earns a third meeting with Fox Chapel, the number three seed in the 6A playoffs and an opportunity to avenge two regular season losses. Fox Chapel defeated Woodland Hills 63-55 at Fox Chapel on December 23, and again on January 24, this time at Woodland Hills, 60-53. Mt. Lebanon was led by Antonio Garofoli with 14 points, 12 of which came on three point shots, and Mark Lamendola’s 12.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS 4-A First Round:

McGuffey Highlanders 50 – Valley Vikings 48 in Overtime 
McGuffey didn’t mind going to overtime to notch  the program’s first-ever post-season win, 50-48 over Valley. The Highlanders, as they have done many times this season, came back from a double-digit deficit. Sean Edlis’ 3-point basket capped a 9-0 run for McGuffey and tied the score at 41, before the two teams went to the extra session tied at 43. Colin Chapman’s free-throw gave the Highlanders a two-point lead, and a Vikings’ desperation three-point attempt missed as time ran out. Chapman and Valley’s Deonte Ross each had 15-points. Stokes had 13 and Nijewel Carter 10 for the Vikings (11-12). Trent Bellville with 14, and Edlis with 11, were also in double-figures for McGuffey (18-5). The Highlanders move on to Saturday’s quarter-final match-up with top-seeded New Castle.

Belle Vernon Leopards 57 – Deer Lakes Lancers 31 
At Gateway High school in WPIAL Boys 4A first round playoff action the Belle Vernon Leopards win easily over the Deer Lakes Lancers  57-31. A competitive first quarter saw both teams play well, the Lancers rebounded well, but turned it over too many times, while the Leopards took advantage of mistakes on defense by Deer Lakes to take the early lead 12-10 after one quarter. Belle Vernon was playing without one of their top players in Tommy Rodriguez who was not in uniform. The Leopards played great defense in the 2nd quarter and snuffed out any Deer Lakes chances, and held them to 3 points and led at the half 23-13. The second half saw more Deer Lakes turnovers, they had 21 for the game, more missed shots by the Lancers, and their defense let Belle Vernon score too many easy points in the paint. The result was an easy Leopard win 57-31.Deer Lakes was led in scoring by Josh Solomon with 8 points and end their season at 12-11. Belle Vernon improves their record to 17-6 and will face Central  Valley in the second round. The Leopards were led in scoring by Joe Sabolek with 16, and Derek Thomas with 10 points. Brennan Morgan and JJ Hartman both added 9 for Belle Vernon.

South Fayette Lions 63 – Freeport Yellow Jackets 60 
In a 7 vs. 10 seed contest, the lower seeded Lions prevailed to earn a date with #2 seed Quaker Valley on Saturday. South Fayette did a number defensively on Freeport’s top scorer, Ben Beale, holding the junior to just 6 points, 10 below his average, and ZERO in the 2nd half. Trailing 32-30 at the break, Lions coach Dave Mislan instructed his team to work the ball inside against the small forwards of Freeport and that plan worked like a charm but it took a while. Freeport led 47-43 going to the final frame but the Lions got the lead by driving into the paint and getting fouled. The post-season experienced showed for the Lions, who have made 12 straight trips to the playoffs. Well, everywhere but the free throw line, as South Fayette could have extended the lead but went 7-14 from the line in the 4th. Freeport had a chance to tie the game late, but senior point guard Kevin Lynch drove the lane with his team trailing by 3, trying to get fouled, he got neither and the Lions held on. Junior Noah Plack led South Fayette with 17 points, senior Matt Thomas had 14 and a pair of seniors Camron Garland and Luke Meindl each had 11. Assistant coach Mike Sherry spoke for Mislan after the game, and gave credit to the defensive work of Meindl, who clamped down on Beale and made him a non-factor. South Fayette was 9-16 from the line and committed 13 turnovers, the Lions are now 13-10. Freeport was led by Lynch, who closed out his career with 18 points. Evan Shaffhouser battled hard on the glass all night, he had 11 points. Freeport had 13 turnovers and finished 10-13 from the line. The Yellowjackets, playing in their first playoff game since 2012, finish at 15-8.

Indiana Little Indians 69 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors 68 in Overtime
Indiana’s Jake Benhart buried a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left before leading one last defensive stand that sealed a gripping 69-68 win over Elizabeth Forward in a WPIAL Class 4A boys’ basketball first-round playoff game at Gateway High School. Benhart converted 4 of 4 free throws, plus a 3-pointer, and scored all of Indiana’s seven points in overtime en route to a game-high 24 points. The lead changed four times in the first quarter, which ended when Elizabeth Forward’s Garin Martik scoring on a buzzer-beating half-court shot to tie the game at 20. The Indians began the second quarter on a 5-0 run and held at least a three-point lead the rest of the quarter, which ended with Indiana leading 36-33. Benhart hit two 3s in the quarter and scored eight of Indiana’s 16 points. Indiana’s Carlos Carter scored seven of his 15 points in the third to spark a 10-2 run at the end of the quarter that gave Indiana a 13-point lead, 55-42, heading into the fourth. A layup by Elizabeth Forward’s Will Greijack tied the game at 62-62 with 49 seconds left. Ryan Hoff added 15 points for Indiana, and Matthew Moody scored 13 for Elizabeth Forward. Indiana (16-7), the sixth seed, faces third-seeded Beaver Falls (11-8) in the quarterfinals Saturday at a site and time to be determined. The Indians nipped the Tigers, 62-61, to earn the school’s only WPIAL title in the Class 3A championship game in 2015.

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS 3-A First Round:

Riverside Panthers 47 – Brownsville Falcons 39 
The Riverside Panthers downed the Brownsville Falcons 47 to 39 on Wednesday Night in a Girls 3A First Round Matchup at Peters Township High School.  Panthers Junior Guard Sydney Wolf lead all scorers with 18 points and was the only Panther in double Figures.  Alexandra Seto lead Brownsville with 15 points.  The Falcons season ends in the 1st Round of the AAA Playoffs for a 2nd straight year.  The Falcons finish the 2016/17 campaign with a 10-12 overall record.  Riverside improves to 18-5 and will face the #1 seed Bishop Canevin in the 3A Quarterfinals on Saturday.

Carlynton Cougars 51 – South Side Rams 26 
Carlynton defeated South Side in the first round of the playoffs 51-26 on Wednesday night and will move on to face Mohawk in the quarterfinals.  The young Rams stayed close for the first twelve minutes of the game, but the Carlynton defense forced 30 turnovers on the night to pull away.  Carlynton was lead by Diamond Thomas with 18 points and Ashleigh Wilson with 17 points. Wilson connected on five shots from beyond the arc.  The Rams were led by Jessica barber with 12 points.

Avonworth Antelopes 54 – Beaver Falls Tigers 32 
After a slow first half, the Lopes were able to turn it on in the 3rd quarter and pull away from the Tigers in a 1st round contest. Avonworth turned up the heat defensively, forcing 7 of 23 BF turnovers in the 3rd and held the Tigers to just 6 points. Leading 33-21 entering the 4th, Avonworth padded the lead with a 21 point final frame to go to 15-8 on the year. Junior Hunter Robinson led the way with 13 points, sophomore Hayden Robinson added 12. The Lopes were 7-14 from the foul line and committed 16 turnovers. Avonworth will face 22-0 East Allegheny in the quarter finals on Saturday, the  Lopes have won five straight. Beaver Falls, who had won their last 3 games entering the post-season, ends the season at 10-12. The Tigers led 9-2 early on, but were outscored 16-2 over a seven minute stretch to give up the lead for good. Junior Arianna Harper led with 11 points, BF was 10-12 from the charity stripe.

Charleroi Cougars 51 – Seton-LaSalle Rebels 50 
The Charleroi Cougars held off a late comeback by the Seton-LaSalle Rebels Wednesday night in a thrilling, 51-50 win in a WPIAL Girls Class 3A First Round playoff game at Peters Twp High School. The sixth seeded Cougars (19-4) trailed 17-13 after the opening quarter, but outscored the #11 seed Seton-LaSalle (5-16) in the second and third quarters as they built a 40-32 lead going into the final quarter. Seton-LaSalle outscored the Lady Cougars, 18-11 in the fourth quarter, but could not complete the comeback in the closing seconds. The Lady Rebels were led by Layni Ziegler with a game-high 24 points. Charleroi was led by Kaitlyn Riley and Maria Claybaugh, who each finished with 15 points. Adrianna Gottheld chipped in 10 points as Charleroi now faces number three seeded Neshannock in the WPIAL Class 3A Quarterfinal Round.