Isaiah Boice’s quick recovery helps No. 1 New Castle defeat No. 2 Central Catholic

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, February 4, 2023 | 12:46 AM

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Isaiah Boice planned to celebrate New Castle’s section title by drinking lots of chocolate milk, the bone-healing beverage he credits for his quick recovery.

“Maybe a couple of gallons,” Boice said with a laugh Friday night, after the No. 1-ranked Red Hurricanes clinched at least a share of the Section 1-6A title with a 67-53 victory at No. 2 Central Catholic.

Boice was sidelined almost four weeks with a fracture in his right foot and missed last month’s loss to Central Catholic, but the senior scored 18 points Friday in his first start since.

He was one of three double-digit scorers for New Castle, which overcame a size disadvantage to win the rematch. Da’Jaun Young scored a team-high 22 points while battling bigger bodies in the paint, and Jonathan Anderson had 18.

“We want to win a WPIAL,” Boice said. “We now know we can beat everyone in 6A. Winning this game just did it for us.”

New Castle (17-2, 7-1) holds a two-game lead over Central Catholic (11-8, 5-3) with two section games left. The win gave the Red Hurricanes a confidence boost and has them headed toward the playoffs as likely favorites.

“This means a lot to us,” said Young, who’s New Castle’s tallest starter at 6-foot-2. “We know we’re section champs. I’d take my whole team over any other team.”

Central Catholic’s Debaba Tshiebwe had a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Cole Sullivan added 15 points, but the Vikings weren’t able to repeat last month’s success. They’d won the first matchup, 56-45, at New Castle on Jan. 10. Dante DePante added 11 points Friday, but this time they couldn’t match New Castle’s balance.

“Let’s have a rubber match,” Central Catholic coach Brian Urso said. “Let’s see them on a neutral court and see what happens.”

Having Boice back in the lineup was an obvious boost for New Castle, which made 25 of 41 shots. He sustained a fracture Jan. 6 and was initially told he’d miss six to eight weeks but healed faster than expected.

The key was “a lot of vitamins and chocolate milk,” he said.

The early-January matchup with Central Catholic was New Castle’s first game without Boice, and the Red Hurricanes lost by 11 points. Boice recovered in time to come off the bench in Tuesday’s win and rejoined the starting lineup Friday.

“He’s one of the best players in the WPIAL, so it makes a big difference,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. “No high school team can afford to lose one of the best players. You just can’t. Give so much credit to our guys for holding down the fort.”

Blundo said there was “tons of doubt” about whether Boice could return this season. He calls Boice “one of the greatest ever to play here,” so there was serious concern.

“You just don’t know,” Blundo said. “It was an avulsion fracture of the foot, but young kids are different than old people like me. They heal quicker and better. He has no pain and looks great out there.”

Boice made two of New Castle’s four 3-pointers Friday.

New Castle built a 14-point lead by the third quarter, but Central Catholic narrowed that margin to 44-42 with six minutes left before Anderson and Boice scored eight quick points. Anderson made three key floaters in the lane, but a baseline layup by Boice showed the scoring balance his return added.

The 6-foot guard average 18 points.

“You have to respect what he does,” Urso said. “He’s a double-digit scorer, he’s a senior, he’s a veteran, so you have to know where he is on the floor. Which then allows Anderson to have some more space to make plays.”

New Castle has no starter taller than 6-2, so Central Catholic had a big advantage under the hoop. Tshiebwe is a 6-7 senior, and Sullivan is a 6-5 junior.

Ten of Central Catholic’s first 16 points came on offensive rebounds.

New Castle allowed fewer second chances after halftime, and Tshiebwe and Sullivan combined for only seven points in the fourth quarter.

“It was a battle all night long, just leaning on them,” Blundo said. “These guys (in the New Castle locker room) are exhausted right now.”

New Castle relied early on Young, who got off to a good start by scoring 12 points in the first half, including 10 in the second quarter. The Red Hurricanes led 14-12 after one quarter and 30-22 at half.

The game had started with six ties in the first nine minutes before a 3-pointer by Boice early in the second quarter gave New Castle a 17-14 lead. Central Catholic never regained the lead.

The Red Hurricanes’ lead reached 38-24 in the third quarter, boosted by a 10-2 run that include a 3-pointer by Boice.

Central Catholic rallied with a 14-4 run that started in the third quarter and stretched into the fourth. The run included six consecutive points by Sullivan and Tshiebwe to start the fourth quarter.

New Castle’s lead was 44-42 with six minutes left after a free throw by Tshiebwe, but the Vikings got no closer.

“We were down 10 or 11 points several times and cut it to a two-point game with the ball,” Urso said. “Our guys fought. We showed some resiliency. We just couldn’t finish some big plays and (New Castle) did.”

Anderson scored 16 points in the second half with 10 in the fourth quarter. New Castle went 11 for 12 from the foul line in the fourth. Anderson was 4 for 4.

Boice made two free throws with 64 seconds left to push New Castle’s lead to 14 points.

“I felt very comfortable,” Boice said. “My guys helped me through the whole process. I came back and everything started falling into place again.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Central Catholic, New Castle