Bishop Canevin returns to Class A finals with strong showing against Geibel

By: George Guido
Saturday, February 26, 2022 | 7:44 PM

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Bishop Canevin, after winning its first WPIAL title last season, will be back to defend its Class A crown.

The Crusaders earned a spot in the championship game with an impressive 71-36 semifinal victory over Geibel Catholic on Saturday afternoon at Fox Chapel.

Senior guard Kai Spears spurred the Bishop Canevin effort with 16 points and fellow senior Kevaughn Price added 14.

The Crusaders (19-5) will take on Union at 5 p.m. Thursday at Petersen Events Center.

At the end of a closely contested first period, Jhamil Fife gave Bishop Canevin all the momentum it needed by sinking a shot from nearly half court to beat the buzzer.

“I thought it was actually a slow start for us,” said Crusaders coach Gino Palmosina. “The environment, and actually being at a bigger facility that we’re not used to playing in so much, a bigger crowd, I think it made us a little tight in the first quarter.”

It was all Canevin after that as the Crusaders outscored the Gators, 25-4, in the second period, punctuated by a 15-0 run to end the half.

Geibel (18-5) was seeking it third WPIAL title and the first since 1980.

“We were executing our game plan great until they hit that buzzer-beater in the first quarter,” said Gators coach Don Porter. “That sort of broke the lock off the floodgates. A couple breakaway, back-to-back dunks kind of energized them. Time to pack up and go home and get ready for the state tournament.”

Geibel committed 15 turnovers in the first half and Bishop Canevin took full advantage, building a 43-15 lead at the half.

“We got a couple of easy buckets on fast breaks, which always helps,” Palmosina said. “We stepped up on the defensive end. It all starts on defense. That’s where we get our energy from.”

“We were trying to slow it down, limit their possessions,” Porter said. “We talked this week in our coaches meeting if we could keep the score in the 50s or high 40s, we’d have a shot. Primarily, we like to score a lot too, but we don’t have as many weapons as they do.”

While seniors have led the way in the Crusaders’ drive to the finals, freshman support has also helped the cause.

Said Palmosina: “The two freshmen that we start, R.J. Sledge and Amari Evans, we knew they were going to be good. But we were impressed about how they bought in to what we were doing and how fast they’ve learned the system and what we’re trying to do. The chemistry kind of started clicking in January.”

Trevell Clayton and Jaydis Kennedy each had nine points to lead Geibel.

Both teams have qualified for the state tournament, which begins March 9. For now, the Crusaders are concentrating on the WPIAL finals

“Thursday night’s what it’s all about,” Palmosina said.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Geibel