No. 4 Penn Hills uses team effort to top rival Woodland Hills in Section 1-5A matchup

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 | 10:15 PM

Players leaving the Penn Hills boys basketball team should exit with a certificate for a skilled trade alongside their diplomas.

No team in the WPIAL is better at creating and converting high-percentage shots. While playing for control of Section 1-5A Tuesday night at home, the Indians showed their efficiency doesn’t waver.

Penn Hills shot 51.7 percent (31 of 60) to halt Woodland Hills’ eight-game winning streak with an 79-57 win and take over first place in the section.

“It’s fun. I don’t want to say it’s easier,” said guard Tyree Spencer, who finished with 18 points and three assists. “It’s easy to work around as a team. It makes getting buckets easier instead of coming down the court and dribbling the ball the whole time.”

The Indians, who only made one 3-pointer in seven tries, are experts at putting each other in good positions. Penn Hills handed out 17 assists.

On the season, Penn Hills is shooting 54.2 percent from the field and forces an average of 21.3 turnovers per contest. Against the Wolverines, Penn Hills forced 24 turnovers.

“A lot of their opportunities come off their defense,” Woodland Hills coach Odell Miller said. “They are a defense that plays an up-tempo defense that tries to force turnovers and get out front.”

The Indians (11-2, 6-0) opened things up in the second quarter after trailing 16-15 after one. Everything changed when Wes Kropp finished a dunk off an assist from Kyree Hairston-Mitchell to put Penn Hills up 20-18 with 6 minutes, 19 seconds left before halftime.

“Our coach runs a lot of plays,” said Kropp, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. “Teams don’t know how to react to it. A lot of teams like to run and play street ball. … That gets us going. We have talent, but we also have plays.”

The Wolverines (9-2, 5-1) would go cold, not scoring for nearly four minutes. The Indians picked Woodland Hills apart, scoring 16 straight points to surge ahead 38-20.

“I’d like to think we are the best defensive team,” Indians coach Dan DeRose said. “The way we continue to speed up the game, force turnovers and get run-outs and layups, we are going to be tough to beat.”

While the Wolverines would get a few baskets from Keandre Bowles, who scored a game-high 34 points, the damage was done. Penn Hills led 40-25 at the break and never let the lead get below 12 points the rest of the contest.

Woodland Hills shot 35 percent (21 of 60) from the field and struggled at the free-throw line, shooting 33 percent (4 of 12).

“If you can handle the pressure, you have a shot to win,” Miller said. “We had a poor field goal percentage and didn’t shoot well from the free-throw line, and we turned the ball over (24) times. If you do those things, you don’t deserve to win.”

Hairston-Mitchell handed out a team-high five assists and contributed 18 points for Penn Hills. After a slow start, the Indians got back to business.

Once the defense locked down Woodland Hills, the offense was able to do what it does best. One 2-pointer at a time.

“The kids got caught up in the atmosphere and the crowd a little bit,” DeRose said. “They forgot the game plan and the things we were supposed to do on our fastbreak and defensively. Things started coming easy, and I thought we wore them down.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn Hills, Woodland Hills