Fast start leads New Castle boys past Belle Vernon in Class 4A semifinals
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Wednesday, February 28, 2018 | 10:18 PM
Second-seeded New Castle rolled past No. 3 Belle Vernon, 63-43, in a WPIAL Class 4A semifinal at Moon on Wednesday night.
With the victory, the Canes (20-4) advance to the WPIAL championship game Saturday against top-seeded Quaker Valley at Petersen Events Center.
“That is the objective, you want to find a way to win the game, and we did that tonight,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. “I thought we played pretty well and finished straight around the hoop. We played well enough to win the game.”
The Canes used a balanced scoring attack to edge the Leopards (18-6), as four players finished in double figures.
Georgie Eggleston and Carrington Smith each finished with 13 points, while Lorenzo Gardner chipped in with 11. Anthony Bailey added 10 in the victory.
“They are very good athletes,” Belle Vernon coach Kyle DeGregorio said. “But we've played them a number of times, so it's not like it's the first time we have played athletes of this caliber or played these kids. I just don't think we played very well.”
The Leopards trailed by 15 points at halftime and started to get their offense rolling in the third quarter, finishing with 20 points in the frame.
However, for every bucket the Leopards had, the Canes had an answer.
Belle Vernon narrowly outscored New Castle, 20-19, in the frame.
“I thought in the third quarter we got a little bit of a spark,” DeGregorio said. “But you get to the end of the third quarter and you look up and it's only one different than it was at halftime. We just couldn't defend well enough.”
Leading 51-37 after 24 minutes of play, the Canes added to their advantage in the fourth. They scored eight of the first 12 points of the frame to move their lead to 59-41.
A layup by Jake Rathway cut Belle Vernon's deficit to 59-43 with 4:29 left, but that would be the last bucket the Leps would score.
A pair of late free throws from Marcus Hooker along with a jumper by Kelcey Lowry sealed the victory.
Belle Vernon will return to action March 9 in the PIAA tournament.
“We're disappointed tonight, but we'll get up tomorrow, and tomorrow is going to bring new opportunities,” DeGregorio said.
Jose Negron is a staff writer for the Mon Valley Indepenedent.
Tags: Belle Vernon, New Castle
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