WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps for Saturday, February 14th

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 14, 2015 | 9:36 PM

Just like Day One, Day Two offered little in surprises with a #10 seed (Upper St. Clair boys) and a pair of #9 seeds (Bethel Park boys and Imani Christian girls) moving on to Round Two. Here are recaps from Preliminary Round and First Round action in Boys AAAA, Boys AA, Girls AAA and Girls A on a snowy Saturday.

A special thanks to Mike Azadian, Josh Rowntree, T.J. DiStefano, Mark Schaas, Sam Hall, Mike Sackley, Brandon Showers, Rob Longo, Randy Gore, Bobby Fox, Aaron Anderson, Bob Barrickman and Bob Gregg for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA First Round:

North Allegheny Tigers 76 – Penn-Trafford Warriors 42 
The top-seeded North Allegheny Tigers busted open the game with a big second quarter en route to a 76-42 victory over the 16th-seeded Penn-Trafford Warriors in the opening round of the WPIAL playoffs. The Warriors, who were making their first playoff appearance in three years, hung tough in the first period thanks to the play of juniors Sean Stinelli and Brendan O’Toole.  Stinelli finished the game with a team-high 14 points and O’Toole followed with 10 points.  Penn-Trafford trailed NA by only four points, 14-10, after one period of play. In the second quarter, the Tigers began to flex their muscle as senior Cole Constantino took over the game.  The NA standout was just a rebound shy of a double-double, tallying 26 points and nine rebounds.  Contantino was hot from beyond the arc with 4 of 5 shooting and paced a Tigers team that knocked down 9 of 13 from the outside in the first half. NA outscored the Warriors 25-8 in the second period. North Allegheny led 39-18 at halftime and coasted in the second half. Curtis Aiken added 12 points for the Tigers and Will Sandherr chipped in with 10. The Tigers improve to 21-2 on the season and advance to the Class AAAA quarterfinals next Saturday.  Penn-Trafford ends its season with a 8-15 mark.

Bethel Park Black Hawks 80 – McKeesport Tigers 73                                                     
In a back-and-forth shootout in the 8 vs 9 matchup, Bethel Park’s late run lifted the Blackhawks to an 80-73 WPIAL AAAA First Round win over McKeesport on Saturday at Baldwin High School. Jake Dixon scored 26 points, while Joey Mascaro added 19 and Levi Metheny 14 for Bethel Park (16-7), which moves into the Quarterfinals and will face North Allegheny next Saturday at a site and time to be determined. Bethel Park received a duo of buzzer beating shots, which shifted momentum to their side. At the end of the first half, Anthony Bomar knocked down a step-back three-pointer as time expired, giving the Blackhawks a 36-35 halftime lead. But the biggest moment for Bethel Park came at the end of the third quarter when, with 3.5 seconds left, Dixon slammed home a two-handed dunk over 6’7” McKeesport Center Eric Brown, who picked up his fourth foul on the play as well. The dunk sent the Blackhawks’ faithful into a frenzy and gave Bethel Park’s players all the needed encouragement to pull away in the fourth quarter. Bethel Park was clutch at the line, shooting 31-of-40 on free throws. Additionally, the Blackhawks only turned the ball over three times in the second half. McKeesport (14-7) received strong efforts from Khalil Perdue (18 points and 12 rebounds), Jordan Payne (11 points) and Brown (10 points). Additionally, Demetrius Diggs, who did not play at all in the first half for McKeesport, scored 11 points. The game was a rematch of Monday night’s non-section playoff tune-up in which Bethel Park beat the Tigers 73-64 in overtime. 

Chartiers Valley Colts 64 – Butler Golden Tornado 39
The Colts were held 16 points under their average but still advanced in the Quad-A boys bracket with the victory at North Allegheny High School. Matty McConnell led the way with 21 points for the Colts, now 20-3 and winners of four straight games. Chartiers Valley led 18-4 after the first quarter, the Colts rained home four threes in the quarter. The Colts went slightly cold in the second, going 4-10 from the field, but still led 31-16 at the break. Butler would get as close as 13 points in the third, but Char Valley used a 7-0 run to end the frame and the playoff live of the Golden Tornado. Butler also shot just 2 of 12 in that quarter.
Three others entered into double figures for Char Valley, Ross Wilkerson and Eddie Flohr each scored 13 points, Jake Ritson scored 12 off the bench for the Colts, who shot 24 of 49 for the game including 6 of 23 behind the arc. McConnell led the Colts with 14 rebounds for a double-double. Kennan Krause was the only Golden Tornado in double figures with 12 points, but Tyler Frederick just missed a double-double of his own, grabbing 16 rebounds, Butler won the glass battle 40-28, but shot just 14-50 from the field, including 1 of 17 from downtown. Char Valley was 10-17 from the charity stripe, Butler 14 of 23. The Golden Tornado end the season at 14-9. 

Upper St. Clair Panthers 61 – Latrobe Wildcats 59 
Zack Pateras had 6-3 pointers for Upper St. Clair as the Panthers edged the Greater Latrobe Wildcats with a 61-59 win. USC got out to an early 12-6 lead but the Wildcats stormed back late in the first quarter to make it 21-19 after one quarter. In the second quarter each team traded blows back and forth until the Wildcats took their first lead of the game as Latrobe lead 32-31 going into halftime. It was much of the same in the third quarter as it looked like USC was going to pull away with a little breathing room until Latrobe’s Tommy Kisick hit back to back 3-point shots to bring energy back into the Wildcats as USC lead 47-46 after three quarters. USC did pull away in the fourth quarter, but Sean Graytok, who lead the way for the Wildcats with 20 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the quarter, but the rally wasn’t enough as USC held on for a 61-59 win.

WPIAL CLASS AA Preliminary Round:

Ford City Sabers 52 – Frazier Commodores 50 
There will be at least one more game for the Ford City Sabres. Eventually, the Sabres players will be part of an Armstrong High team, but for now they are still part of the Ford City story as they defeated Frazier 52-50 Saturday in a Class AA boys preliminary round game at North Allegheny High School. Frazier led by as much a 14 in the 3rd quarter, but the Sabres mounted a strong run in the 4th, playing a solid man-to-man defense and making some critical free throws. One of the stars for the game was Ford City junior Brandon Heilman, who led all scorers with 19 points. He was the tallest player on the court at 6’7″ and was the most aggressive on the boards. Ford City also benefited from performances by junior Mikey Kunst and freshman Nate Baillie who each chipped in 10 points. The Sabres were 17 of 30 from the foul line but 15 for 20 in the 4th quarter which helped them chip away at that Frazier lead. The Commodores did a nice job taking away the post from Ford City at times and built a double digit lead in the 3rd quarter thanks to some sharpshooting from beyond the arc. Sophomore Josh Cox led the way for Frazier with 15 and junior Caleb Cox had 13. Frazier had a number of players in foul trouble and had two foul out, which made things tough defensively in the late stages. The Commodores tied the game at 50 on a Josh Cox three-point shot. Ford City got the ball back and Kunst was fouled with about 25 seconds left. He made both free throws to make it a two-point game. Frazier had a final possession but was unable to convert. Frazier’s season ends at (11-12). The Commodores have a strong, young nucleus returning next season. Ford City’s season continues as they improve to (13-10). The Sabres become the #16 seed in Class AA and will move on to face top-seeded Aliquippa Wednesday night.

Avonworth Antelopes 67 – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 46 
Jamal Hughley came off the bench and scored 19 points, 8 straight in the first quarter, as Avonworth eliminated Chartiers-Houston, 67-46.  Hughley gathered a loose ball and slammed home a dunk for his first points with 3:23 left in the opening period, igniting the Antelopes (13-10) and their fans.  Avonworth rolled on to a 15-4 lead thanks to two more field goals and a pair of free throws by Hughley.  The junior added nine points in the second as the Antelopes opened the lead to 31-15 at intermission.  Any thoughts that Chartiers-Houston might have had about a rally were crushed by Chris O’Malley, Joshua Drwal and Kyle Crilley.  O’Malley scored twice in deep, Drwal added a pair of jumpers, then a trey,  and Crilley scored 10 of his 11 points in the final 3:15 of the quarter, starting and ending with three-pointers.  Alec Ferrari scored 20 points for Chartiers-Houston (12-11) including 11 straight foul shots.  AJ Myers added 15 points.  The two combined for 15 points in the final quarter after Avonworth had pushed the lead to 56-29.

Shady Side Academy Indians 61 – Riverside Panthers 53 
Riverside raced to a 19-5 lead after the first quarter before Shady Side Academy methodically chipped away at the deficit and eventually won the WPIAL Boys AA preliminary round contest, 61-53.  In the Saturday game played at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, the Indians cut the gap to four at the half, 28-24.  Shady Side took the lead late in the third frame and never looked back as junior Michael Ware led the comeback win with 23 points.  Sophomore Etai Groff came off the bench to add 13 points in the Indians cause.  Zach Gould scored 20 points and Logan Sheridan added 13 to lead the Panthers, who finished their campaign at 13-10.  Shady Side Academy has now won six straight games and will take a 16-7 record into the first round of the playoffs on Wednesday against defending champion Seton-LaSalle.

Laurel Spartans 76 – Waynesburg Raiders 50 
The Laurel Spartans defeated the Waynesburg Raiders 76-50 in the first round of the WPIAL Championships at Peters Township High School.  The Spartans got off to a fast start behind the shooting of Scott Siddall and never looked back. Siddall ended the game with 22 points.  Laurel had 8 players score during the game and the balanced scoring attack was more than the Raiders could handle.  The Raiders were led by Dominic Sarra who scored 26 points.  The Spartans will move to the next round of the play offs where they will face the Centurions of Greensburg Central Catholic.

WPIAL CLASS AAA Preliminary Round:

Ringgold Rams 77 – Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions 57 
It was the Marlena Schmidt and Ashley Briscoe show Saturday afternoon that led the Ringgold Rams to a 77-57 win over the Greensburg Salem Golden Lions in preliminary round action at Charleroi High School. The Golden Lions had no answers for Schmidt and Briscoe inside as the duo combined for 53 points and 37 rebounds. Schmidt finished with 28 points and 21 rebounds, 23 of her points were in the first half as she was in foul trouble most of second half. Briscoe carried the load in the 2nd half with Schmidt out and had 25 points and 16 rebounds. Briscoe had only 8 points in the first half. Ringgold led 18-11 after one, 38-23 at half and 55-37 after three. Rams point guard Kara Foster ran the offense efficiently and chipped in 10 points and many assists. Greensburg Salem was paced by their star player senior Claire Oberdorf, who finished with 32 points and a perfect 11 for 11 at the foul line. Maggie Kallock chipped in 12 for the Golden Lions. Ringgold improves to 13-10 and becomes the #16 seed and will face #1 Blackhawk Wednesday night at North Allegheny High School in the first round of the playoffs. Greensburg Salem ends the season at 13-10.

South Park Eagles 64 – Hopewell Vikings 51 
Turnovers by both sides was the story for both Hopewell and South Park in Saturday’s preliminary round game at Peters Township High School, but the Eagles were able to come away with a 64-51 victory. Hopewell found itself in trouble early on when senior point guard Jazmyne Boyd picked up three quick fouls and was forced to sit most of the second quarter. South Park took advantage, creating easy baskets by way of a full-court press. But despite all of the turnovers and limited playing time by some starters, South Park was only up six heading into the locker room at halftime. However, the second half was a different story. The Eagles came out and pressed once again, creating more easy buckets. South Park opened up a double-digit lead at one point, but the Vikings were able to cut the deficit to four thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Boyd. But despite the comeback attempted, more forced turnovers by South Park led to a comfortable 13-point win down the stretch. The Eagles now advance to the first round of the Class AAA playoffs to faced second-seeded Mars at North Hills High School Wednesday at 6:30. “I think in the first half it was second-chance points,” said Hopewell head coach Jeff Homziak. “I don’t think we did an exceptional job with defensive rebounds in the second half. They got a lot of loose balls in the first half, which hurt us. But in the second half we battled back. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I told our kids we battled back and gave them everything they have. Unfortunately, people fouled out and we had to go to our bench. We just didn’t have enough in the tank to finish it.” One bright spot for Hopewell was sophomore Amber Falletta, who had a game-high 22 points. South Park had three players finish in double-figures, including Natalie Clydesdale (17), Brittany Andrews (16) and Allison McGrath (13).

Ford City Sabers 50 – Ellwood City Wolverines 40 
The Wolverines were playing their first playoff game since 1998, the Sabres made their 20th straight and final post-season appearance and in the end it was Christina Davis who helped Ford City keep their season alive. Davis scored 17 of her 28 points in the first half as Ford City led 30-17 at the break. The senior ended with 28 points as Ford City will play Chartiers Valley on Wednesday in the first round. The Sabres also did a good job shutting down Lincoln High’s two leading scorers. Karrington Ketterer was just slightly under her 12 point average with 11, Bailey McKinney was held scoreless in the first half and also finished with 11. The Wolverines made the game interesting in the final three minutes as Jocelyn Guy drilled three trifectas, but Ellwood City could get no closer than eight points. Guy led the Wolverines with 18 points, well above her 5 points per game average. Guy, McKinney and Ketterer were the only players to score for Ellwood City, who finished the season at 12-11, the Wolverines five game winning streak came to an end. Ford City moves to 18-3, the Sabres have won four straight. Both teams committed 16 turnovers.

McGuffey Highlanders 68 – Deer Lakes Lancers 44 
Sammie Weiss scored 39 points as McGuffey downed Deer Lakes, 68-44.   The Highlanders (17-6) outscored the Lancers, 21-6 in the second quarter to take control of a tight game, holding Deer Lakes to one field goal and two free throws over the final six minutes of the first half.  Meanwhile, Weiss was hitting from all over the floor, draining a three, four two-pointers and three of her four foul shots in the period, tallying 14 points.  Rachel Czulewicz and Katie Demi each scored 11 as McGuffey pushed the lead to 25 midway through the third quarter, Czulewicz hitting three three-pointers.  Mackenzie Kascur converted five treys to lead Deer Lakes (12-11).  Jess Philistine added 10 points for the Lancers.

Beaver Bobcats 58 – Derry Trojans 14
The Beaver Bobcats rolled the Derry Trojans 58-14 at Fox Chapel high school Saturday afternoon in a Girls AAA preliminary game. The Bobcats, who entered the game allowing just 39.4 points per game on the season, were defensively dominant from the start, shutting out Derry in the first quarter while building an 18-0 lead. In fact the lead reached 24-0 before Derry got on the board with a mid-second quarter free throw. At the break the Bobcats lead 36-5 and midway through the third quarter the mercy rule kicked in. The Bobcats were led on both sides of the ball by tenacious senior Lexi Posset who led all scorers with 20 points on the afternoon. Lexi’s younger sister Bella chipped in 10 for the Bobcats who improved to 16-7 on the year. Morgan Kelly scored five points for the Trojans. Derry’s season comes to a close at 9-14. Beaver moves into the tournament proper as the 12 seed and will face the five seed Hampton Wednesday evening at 6:30 at Fox Chapel high school, and right here on the MSA Sports Network.

WPIAL CLASS A First Round:

Vincentian Academy Royals 69 – Winchester Thurston Bears 40 
The Vincention Academy Royals the number one seed and three time defending Single A Girls champion easily won their first round matchup versus the Winchester Thurston Bears by a score of 69-40 in WPIAL Girls playoff action at North Hills high school. In the first quarter the Royals flew out to a 24-0 lead in the first 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Full court pressure by the Royals and Bear turnovers led to the early lead.  Vincention led 29-3 after the first quarter and were paced in scoring by Brenna Wise’s 10 points.The second quarter was more of the same as the Royals put up 29 more points and led 58-18 at the half.  Wise would have eight more points to lead the way for Vincention. Ayanna Townsen put up 7 points in the half to lead the Bears. The second half the mercy rule kicked in and the Royals did not use their starters. With second string players in the game the scoring was limited. Sarah Marusic led Vincention with 3, and Kayla Small led the Bear’s with 5 and the Royals led 65-24 after three quarters.The fourth quarter saw the Royals empty the bench as did the Bears but Winchester Thurston would win the quarter 16-4 getting spirited play from Townsen and Small. The Royals made it look easy on their  way to the second round winning 69-40. Vincention was led in scoring by Wise with 18, Alexis Griggs with 14, and Kierston Elliot with 10. The Bears were led by Small with 14, and Townsen with 12.

Imani Christian Saints 53 – Aliquippa Quips 39 
Imani Christian may be small in numbers with only six girls on their active roster, but they have one big player in 6’6” Channing James and she was the difference in the Lady Saints 53-39 win over Aliquippa in a WPIAL  Girls Class A 1st round game Saturday at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.  A North Carolina A & T recruit, James scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against the Lady Quips, who were led by Shania Walker with 13 points.  Aliquippa got to within four points in the third quarter, but Imani Christian and James responded to spark the Saints.  The Lady Quips finished their season at 11-12.  Imani Christian won its first ever WPIAL playoff game and improved to 16-5.  The Lady Saints will now meet top seed Vincentian in a quarterfinal tilt on Saturday.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans 67 – Ellis School Tigers 36 
In their first ever playoff appearance The Ellis School Tigers made an early exit. They ran into a team that seemingly is destined to have their third matchup in the year against Section 2 rivals Vincentian Academy Royals at the Peterson Event Center in late February, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic managed to cause 35 turnovers 12 of which were in the first quarter in their route of the Tigers 67-36. The Trojanettes were lead by Sam Breen who finished with 25 points, 15 in the first half, and 2 blocks. The Ellis School was shorthanded with it being their first every playoff appearance but head coach Quinzale Taylor is not just working on building a program he’s also working on changing an atmosphere. Cardinal Wuerl was aided by a 15-5 2nd quarter and went into the break doubling up the Tigers by a score of 34-17. The Trojanettes picked up where they left off when the 3rd started outscoring their opponent 26-7 by using stifling full court pressure on the Tigers. Leading scorer for the Tigers were Houston Curtis with 12 points and Dayna Rouse with 14. The Trojanettes will go on to play Jefferson Morgan for the right to play in the semi finals while The Ellis School will wrap up their season.

Jefferson-Morgan Rockets 53 – Cornell Raiders 42 
The Jefferson-Morgan girls basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2014-15 McDonalds WPIAL Class-A tournament with a 53-42 win over Cornell on Saturday. Things started poorly for the Rockets (20-2) as the Raiders (14-8) jumped out to a 10-2 lead early in the contest. With his team trailing by eight points in the first quarter, Jefferson head coach Chris Niemiec burned a timeout that not only slowed Cornell’s momentum, but seemed to jump start the Orange and Black. J-M took off on a 13-0 run that gave it the lead at 15-10, which eventually grew to 18-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Rockets managed just three points in the second period and trailed 22-21 at halftime. However, things turned around for the eventual winners in the third quarter, which ended with J-M leading 37-29. Jefferson built multiple double-digit leads in the fourth period, before settling in for the 11-point victory. Jefferson was led by junior Nicole Venick, who poured in a game-high 21 points. Junior Kayla Yorko and sophomore Erin Confortini added nine points each, while junior Ally Bogden chipped in eight points to the winning effort. Cornell was led by senior Becca Robinson, who racked up a team-high 18 points. Senior Katie Plish and freshman Niesha Miller tallied eight and seven points, respectively. The Rockets will face Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic on Saturday, Feb. 21 in the quarterfinal round.