Moon, Lawson lead No. 2 Serra Catholic past Sto-Rox in Class 2A quarterfinals
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Friday, February 22, 2019 | 11:12 PM
Serra Catholic’s Khalil Smith (3) goes to the hoop against Sto-Rox’s Marcus Upshaw (13) and Jamil Williams (2) during their WPIAL Class 2A playoff game Feb. 22, 2019, at Peters Township.
Serra Catholic’s Khalil Smith (3) goes to the hoop against Sto-Rox’s Dre Frenzley (22) during their WPIAL Class 2A playoff game Feb. 22, 2019, at Peters Township.
Serra Catholic’s jimmy Moon (5) goes to the hoop against Sto-Rox’s Dre Frenzley (22) and Jamil Williams during their WPIAL Class 2A playoff game Feb. 22, 2019, at Peters Township.
Serra Catholic’s Jayden Bristol (11) and Sto-Rox’s Jaidon Berry (0) chase after the ball during their WPIAL Class 2A playoff game Feb. 22, 2019, at Peters Township.
Serra Catholic’s Bernard Lawson goes to the hoop against Sto-Rox’s Jamil Williams during their WPIAL Class 2A playoff game Feb. 22, 2019, at Peters Township.
Second-seeded Serra Catholic used its size to its advantage Friday night as it earned its first trip to the WPIAL semifinals in nine years with a 71-61 victory over No. 7 Sto-Rox in a Class 2A quarterfinal game at Peters Township.
The Eagles (19-3) were led by their pair of big men in 6-foot-9 forward Jimmy Moon and 6-5 center Bernard Lawson, who combined for 55 points.
Entering the the game averaging 28.4 points and 13.5 rebounds, Moon had 19 of his game-high 34 points in the first half and collected 19 rebounds for the double-double.
Lawson took over in the second half, scoring 16 of his 21 points in the final 16 minutes.
“Our main highlight point throughout the week was we put in different plays to beat their 3-2 (zone) because we knew we had the advantage inside,” Serra Catholic coach Justin Walther said. “I was wondering how they were going to stop Jimmy, and they really couldn’t. I’m pleased with how they played.”
Sto-Rox coach Ryan Hughes said he watched four Serra Catholic games and noticed Moon wasn’t present in the post in any of them.
“I figured we could just deny him on the wing and then when he gets it, just double him,” Hughes said. “You have to give coach (Walther) all the credit in the world for that. He made a good adjustment, knew they were bigger than us and kept both (Moon and Lawson) down on the block. We couldn’t do anything with that size.”
Sto-Rox (14-10), which trailed 30-21 at halftime, didn’t make it easy for the Eagles.
The Vikings clawed back in the third quarter and outscored their opponent 9-6 in the opening four minutes.
A jumper by Davontae Johnson with 4:02 on the clock made it a 36-30 deficit for Sto-Rox.
“I love my guys. They played their hearts out tonight, and I’m not taking anything away from them,” Hughes said. “A couple little bounces here and there go a little different, and that’s a whole different game right there.”
Lawson helped his team respond in a big way, scoring eight straight points as the Eagles took a 44-33 lead with 1:23 to go.
They were able to maintain a 47-39 advantage heading into the fourth.
“I thought he played wonderful,” Walther said of Lawson. “I’ll tell him he needs to rebound a little bit more, but all in all, him and Jimmy really contested a lot of jumpers and they battled their butts off inside.”
Serra Catholic used a 14-4 run in the opening four minutes of the final frame to build a 61-43 advantage.
The Eagles narrowly outscored the Vikings, 24-22, in the fourth to seal the victory.
“There was a little point there where I got a little bit worried, but I was calm in knowing we had things under control for awhile,” Walther said.
Prior to Friday night, the Eagles last played on Feb. 11 in a 69-59 win over Seton LaSalle.
The time off looked like it played a factor early on as Serra held on to a slim 9-8 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
“(Assistant coach) Kenny (Gibbs) and I talked about getting through the first four minutes. We thought if we got through the first four minutes and had the lead then we would be in good shape,” Walther said. “We could never really extend from double figures, and that was a little bit bothersome.”
The Eagles responded with 1:57 on the clock as Moon picked up an offensive rebound and a bucket to start a 9-2 run for Serra that gave it an 18-10 edge after eight minutes.
After a 3-pointer by Jamal Williams cut Sto-Rox’s deficit to five, a pair of layups by Moon pushed Serra’s lead to nine.
Each team scored eight points in the final 5:19 as the Eagles led 30-21 at halftime.
Turnovers haunted both teams in the first 16 minutes as Sto-Rox committed 10 and Serra Catholic had 14, including nine in the second quarter.
“That is inexcusable,” Walther said of the first-half miscues. “I wouldn’t say we let them hang around but (Sto-Rox) really battled and they play hard. Their length was bothersome at times.”
Jamil Williams and Jamal Williams each scored 15 points to lead the way for the Vikings, while Eric Wilson added 11.
Serra Catholic advances to face No. 3 Sewickley Academy in the semifinals Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
Tags: Sto-Rox
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