Mt. Lebanon’s strong 3rd quarter spoils Jeff Ackermann’s Baldwin debut

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, January 9, 2021 | 1:37 AM

After practicing just four times since late November, Mt. Lebanon coach Joe David could only wonder what his basketball team might look like this season.

There were out-of-sync plays in Friday’s opener and moments that felt sluggish, but the third quarter was vintage Blue Devils: 3-pointers, defense. It was all there.

Mt. Lebanon made seven 3-pointers in that quarter alone led by hot-shooting sophomore Mike Pfeuffer and tightened its press defense just after halftime to rally past host Baldwin, 58-51, in Section 2-6A. Pfeuffer scored his team-high 15 points entirely in the second half including three 3s in the third.

His second-half surge helped Mt. Lebanon erase a two-point halftime deficit.

“We had a lot of guys out there that never played varsity minutes before,” David said. “It was good for them to get some experience. I’m proud of them.”

Senior Jake Reinke and junior Zach D’Alesandro added 12 points apiece for the fifth-ranked Blue Devils (1-0, 1-0), who started two sophomores. The team graduated a pair of all-section players since last season’s lineup reached the WPIAL finals.

“I had no idea kind of what we had,” David said. “We’ve practiced four times since Nov. 28. There’s so much out there that we haven’t practiced, that we don’t know about.”

The loss dampened the coaching debut for Baldwin’s Jeff Ackermann, who was hired in May after six seasons at Pine-Richland. Still, the Highlanders had reason for optimism.

Baldwin’s two leading scorers were both sophomores. James Wesling had 16 points and 6-foot-7 forward Virgil Hall had 14.

Also, consider these teams’ recent history. Baldwin lost twice to Mt. Lebanon last season by a combined 68 points. This time, the Highlanders led 26-24 at half and 36-35 early in the third before Lebo’s shooters got hot.

Baldwin was outscored 24-16 in the third.

“We’re disappointed that we didn’t play very well in the third quarter,” Ackermann said. “They were able to shoot well in one quarter and beat us, which is pretty disappointing.”

Mt. Lebanon made seven 3-pointers in the third after making only two in the entire first half. Pfeuffer led with three 3s, D’Alesandro had two, and Reinke and Tanner Donati made one apiece.

The Blue Devils led 58-51 entering the fourth.

“They’re tough when they get a lead because they spread you out,” Ackermann said. “It’s not often you can only shoot well in one quarter and win a game. Normally you’d say, ‘We only played one quarter.’ But they were able to get away with it.”

Baldwin played without senior Joe Starzynski, an all-section guard who’s sidelined with a broken wrist. Still, Ackermann wasn’t about to accept a close loss.

“We have a couple of guys sick and then our best player is hurt right now, but we still have enough here to win games,” Ackermann said. “It’s disappointing that we weren’t able to get enough offense.”

Credit belongs to Mt. Lebanon’s pressing defense. David had wondered how his team’s legs would hold up after weeks without practice, but the Blue Devils passed that test.

“During the five weeks we didn’t see them, we challenged them to get on the Peloton and huff and puff,” David said. “Run some hills and jump some rope. A lot of them came back in decent shape.”

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: Baldwin, Mt. lebanon