Path to the Pete Recaps From Friday 2/19

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 20, 2016 | 12:46 AM

Quarterfinals Weekend began with every boys and girls district basketball team knowing they were no longer in do-or-die mode. Sure, you lose and your WPIAL title hopes vanish, but with the Consolation Round, hopes that your season would continue into the state playoffs keep the season going for this weekends losers. Here are summaries from Quarterfinals Friday in Boys AAA, Boys A, Girls AAAA and Girls AA around the WPIAL hardwood.

A special thanks to Mark Uriah, T.J. DiStefano, Randy Gore, Tom Hays, James Dotson, Bobb Gregg, Dennis Fischer, Lee Mohn, Steve Nagler, Cory Campano, Mark Schaas, Bob Barrickman, Sean Meyers, Bob Orkwis and Melissa Carle for their help with these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:

New Castle Red Hurricane 78 – West Allegheny Indians 47 
It was 17-all after the first quarter but New Castle pulled away in the second and advanced to the  semifinals for the sixth straight year. Senior Marquel Hooker scored 14 of his game high 26 points in the second half as the Red Hurricanes forced 24 turnovers, using their trademark pressure defense. Junior Geno Stone nailed three trifectas, giving him 42 on the year. Stone scored 15 points. Sophomore Marcus Hooker added 14 points. New Castle hit only 5 three-pointers, three below their season average. New Castle was 10 of 13 from the foul line and committed only 12 turnovers. The Red Hurricanes are now 23-1 overall, their only loss was to Allderdice, who will play in the City League title game Saturday afternoon at MSA Sports. West Allegheny was led by senior Terrance Stephens with 13 points. Senior Jared Lanni notched 10 as West A was outscored 61-30 over the final three quarters. The Indians were 4 of 9 from the foul line, the also struggled from the field, hitting only four three-pointers. West Allegheny falls to 12-11 overall, they will play in the play-in tournament to enter the state playoffs starting on Monday.

Highlands Golden Rams 62 – Hampton Talbots 50 
The #4 seed Highlands Golden Rams advanced to the semifinal round of the WPIAL Triple A boys basketball tournament with a 62-50 win over Section 1 rival, and #5 seed, Hampton on Friday night at Fox Chapel High School.  In a game that featured far less scoring than in the teams’ two games played earlier in the season, the Rams led 14-13 at the end of the first eight minutes, and held the same three point lead at the end of the half, 25-22.  Highlands extended its advantage to five at the conclusion of the third period, 41-36, and finally withstood a late Hampton charge to win by 12.  The Rams were led by junior Mitch Dezort with 16, senior Jamison Nee with 13, and senior Braydon Thimons with 10.  The Talbots were paced by juniors Antonio Ionadi with 19 and Mark Shehedy with 10.  Highlands (20-4) will now take on New Castle on Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined.  Hampton (16-8) will move into the PIAA Play-in mini-tournament where the Talbots will meet West Allegheny on Monday night at a time and site to be determined.

Beaver Falls Tigers 94 – West Mifflin Titans 81 
Beaver Falls lead wire to wire in this one with a complete game both inside and out. Josh Creach and Donavan Jeter both sat out the majority of the second quarter with foul trouble but the BF guards played well in their absence . Bryce Stratti had 25 points and Torian Leak had 11 in the Tigers back court. Josh Creach led the Tigers with 28 points and Donavan Jeter had 10. West Mifflin had a balanced scoring attack as well as Karlin Garner had 24 points to pace the Titans. Ken Rouse-Strothers had 21 and Josh Long finished with 19 points for West Mifflin. Beaver Falls the number two seed moves on to the semi finals to face number three Mars.

Mars Fighting Planets 67 – Steel Valley Ironmen 44 
The Mars Planets were 48 points better than Laurel Highlands in a first round playoff win. They had a bit of a tougher test tonight against 6th seeded Steel Valley but Mars passed with flying colors, using a strong defensive effort to defeat the Ironmen 67-44 at North Hills High School. Mars came into the game the highest scoring team in Class AAA averaging 76.8 points-per-game but the Planets had only 28 points at halftime leading Steel Valley by seven. Even though it took a while for the offense to find its groove, the Planets defense was solid throughout and Mars went on a 14-0 run in the third quarter to pull away from the Ironmen. Sophomore Robby Carmody battled foul trouble in the first half but finished with 13 points, one of three Planets to score in double figures. Senior Christian Schmitt nailed 3-three pointers and finished with 12 points but forward John Castello was the big constant for Mars in this quarterfinal matchup. The 6-5 senior score 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to help Mars improve to (19-5) on the season. Castello, who has over 1,000 rebounds in his career, now has 1,330 points adding to his school leading total for the Planets. Senior guard Kennedy Smith was the only Ironmen player to finish with double figures, finishing with a team high 15 points. The loss dropped Steel Valley to (16-6) and pushed the Ironmen into the PIAA Consolation Tournament where the Ironmen will face section rival West Mifflin with a chance to qualify for the state playoffs. The Ironmen and the Titans will play Monday night at a site and time to be determined. With the win, Mars moves into the semifinals for the first time since 2013 and the Planets will face #2 Beaver Falls at a site and time to be determined next Tuesday.

WPIAL CLASS A Quarterfinals:

Monessen Greyhounds 112 – Union Scotties 62 
On paper, it looks like just another “old-fashioned butt-whippin'” for the  defending WPIAL champion Monessen Greyhounds. However, the Union Scotties had other plans on who would be the top dog in this quarterfinals matchup. After the top seed Greyhounds raced out to an 8-0 lead in the first 90 seconds, Union responded with a 12-3 run of their own to cut the lead to 15-12. Coach Joe Salvino called a quick timeout to calm the troops, and the Greyhounds would finish the final two minutes of the first stanza on a 13-4 run. Monessen’s dribble penetration proved to be too much in the end, getting easy buckets in the lane and going to the line consistently (22-31 from the charity stripe) throughout the contest. The Big Four Greyhound scorers of Dwight Moore, Jaden Altomore, Lavelle Rush, and Justice Rice all had double digit points by halftime, and all finished with 20+ tallies. When the drive was not available, the outside shot was, as Monessen drained ten 3-pointers in the contest. Altomore had four of those triples and finished with a game high 25 points and 7 rebounds. Rice followed with 24 markers, and Rush and Moore put up 22 points and 7 rebounds apiece. The Scotties played extremely well in the first half, but just could not keep up with Monessen and their stifling pressure defense. Monessen forced 31 Scottie turnovers, ten in each of the first two quarters. The Greyhounds led 57-34 at the half, and 89-23 after three. The Scotties held strong, but Monessen ran away in the fourth quarter. Two Justice Rice free throws simultaneously put the Greyhounds over the century mark and into the mercy rule with 5:36 remaining the the contest. Coach Salvino immediately called off the dogs with the running clock in effect. Sophomore Tre Charles led the way for Union with 22 points. Senior Garrison Bell scored 13 and pulled down 8 rebounds, followed by Constantin Padure with 12 tallies and 6 boards. Devin Wilson had a game-high 13 rebounds for Union. With the win, Monessen advances to face 4-seed Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic in the semifinals of the WPIAL Championships. That game will be played on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. While the Path To The Pete ends for Union, the season does not yet come to a close. The Scotties will play Clairton on Monday night in the consolation PIAA play-in bracket. The winner of the four-team tournament between Union, Clartion, Vincentian, and Eden Christian will earn the 5-seed out of the WPIAL in the state tournament.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans 56 – Clairton Bears 38 
Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic got contributions from eight players and rode a 12-0 run late in the 2nd quarter to put this game away early and go on to defeat Clairton.  With the score 15-10, Trojans, CWNC rattled off the next six buckets to take a comfortable 27-10 halftime lead.  The Trojans would extend their lead to 19 points in the 2nd half en route to an easy victory.  CWNC’s Erick Taylor led all scorers with 12 points.  Tristan Newcamp (10 pts) and Kenny Fukon (9 pts) also added a solid offensive punch for the Trojans.  Head Coach Dave Long’s stated goal was to hold Clairton to no more than 40 points and they did just that, with a combination of staunch man-to-man and full-court zone defenses.  Clairton’s Jyleel Hall led the Bears with 9 points off the bench.  Clairton finishes the 2015-16 season with a 16-4 record while CWNC (16-8) will face Monessen in the semi-finals, a team that they lost to by three points back on December 16th.

Sewickley Academy Panthers 76 – Vincentian Academy Panthers 70 in Double Overtime 
It took 6 quarters of basketball for the Sewickley Academy Panthers to defeat the Vincentian Academy Royals on Friday night. A 76-70 double overtime victory puts the #2 seed Panthers one win away from The Pete. Chris Groetsch was on fire in the first half. He hit four 3-pointers and had 16 points at the break. Sewickley seemed to build around him as he touched the ball and got multiple open shot looks. Vincentian had a more balanced scoring attack and seemed to take care of the ball at crucial times. They had just 4 turnovers in the first half, but forced their opponent to turn it over 8 times. This counter acting like play led to a 40-35 lead for Sewickley at half. In the second half, the pace slowed a bit and Vincentian was able to limit Groetsch and the rest of the Panthers offense to just six third quarter points. They also found constant contribution from Garret Barto down low. The sophomore big man stood out in this game with his Abu,it’s to play the low post. Barto’s most noticeable moment came at the end of the game though. With around ten seconds left to play in regulation it was a tie score and Vincentian basketball. David Jen cut to the right wing around a screen from Garret Barto and the whistle was blown. Barto had been charged for a moving screen foul, which was his fifth. The call was questionable to say the least, and especially tough to swallow for Vincentian fans considering the point where the game stood. The teams went into the first overtime trading buckets. Declan Hickton was solid off the bench and gave Sewickley another scoring option as Vincentian continuously double teamed Groetsch. Also, Vincentian had a standout scorer of their own in Zach McDonough. The tenth grader finished with 27 points, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime. Gridlocked in a very physical second overtime, Sewickely was able to force 4 turnovers and convert important free throws down the stretch ultimately sending them to the semifinals. In a classic and memorable  high school game, it is ended just how it should, in double overtime. Sewickely will now face Jeannette in the semifinals on Tuesday with a time and place to be determined.

Jeannette Jayhawks 64 – Eden Christian Academy Warriors 59 in Overtime 
For the second consecutive year, Jeannette eliminated Eden Christian Academy from the WPIAL playoffs – this time, needing overtime to do so.  David Ritchie got things started early for the Warriors, scoring 10 first quarter points, eight of which coming from the free throw line.  Jeannette hung in with Eden Christian, though, on contributions from Mike Pompei, Anthony Schmidt, and Mark Wormack off of the bench.  The first quarter came to a close with the Warriors leading the Jayhawks, 18-15.  Offenses on both sides heated up in the second quarter.  Ritchie continued his streak from the foul line, while Blake Carpenter found success from beyond the arc.  Swade Redman captained Jeannette’s fast-paced offense, assisting Pompei and Schmidt in big second quarter performances.  Despite a 25-point quarter by the Jayhawks, the Warriors maintained a 40-38 lead headed into the half.  Eden Christian continued to grow its lead in the third quarter, as Jeannette began to find foul trouble.  The Warriors led, 53-49 at the end of three, as Mark Wormack, who had been a key contributor for the Jayhawks off of the bench, picked up his fourth foul.  The Warriors pressed on, leading by as many as six points in the fourth quarter.  But the Jayhawks persisted.  Eden Christian big man Josias O’Brien was at risk with four fouls, leaving the inside open for Jeannette big man Anthony Schmidt, who posted five points in the quarter.  Jayhawk shooting specialist Mike Pompei had been cold from beyond the arch since the second quarter, but came up big with a deep three-pointer with 1:24 to go to pull Jeannette within two, 59-57.  Then, Wormack was fouled with :49 to go, sending him to the line for two.  He converted, tying it at 59 all.  Eden Christian turned it over, with Jeannette regaining possession with :30 to go.  Pompei and sophomore Kennedy both got shots off, but fell short, and headed to overtime.  The Jayhawks picked up where they left off in the extra period, led by another huge three-pointer by Pompei.  The Jayhawks went on a 10-0 run, upping their lead to 64-59.  Swade Redman added six free throws to add to Jeannette’s lead.  The Warriors did not go away easily though, fighting until the end before falling, 73-67.  David Ritchie led all scorers with 28 points, including an impressive 20/21 from the foul line.  Josias O’Brien added 10 points for the Warriors.  Eden Christian falls to (20-4), and will face Vincentian Academy in the PIAA play-in game Monday night.  Anthony Schmidt led Jeannette with 21 points.  Mike Pompei added 19.  Swade Redman posted 13 points, and Mark Wormack chipped in 11 points off of the bench for the Jayhawks.  Jeannette improved to (18-6), and will advance to the semifinals for the second consecutive year, where it will take on Sewickley Academy Tuesday night.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA Quarterfinals:

Norwin Knights 56 – Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 54 
It appeared that the defending WPIAL champions and #1 seed Norwin Knights were on their way to a victory after leading the #9 seed Mt Lebanon Blue Devils 32-25 at the half. However, the Knights would let the Blue Devils hang around and make a run in the 4th quarter, but in the end Norwin would survive with a two point win 56-54 Friday night at Fox Chapel High School.  The first quarter featured an up tempo pace and lots of scoring as the Knights would lead 18-17. However, the second and third quarters saw a slower pace, sloppy play and both teams struggling to score.  The Knights outscored the Blue Devils 14-8 in the second quarter and both teams put up eight points in the third frame. The Knights would hold a seven point lead 40-33 going into the final period. The tide would turn in the fourth as Norwin went cold from the field only managing two 3 pointers, which allowed Mt Lebanon to hang around and make a comeback led by 12 points from Alyssa Hyland. The Knights were able to escape with the victory thanks to going 10 of 15 from the foul in the 4th quarter and 17 of 22 for the game. The Knights defense, which holds the lowest average in Quad A at 31.8, held the Blue Devils duo of McKenzie Bushee and Kate Sramac to 11 total points. The duo averages 26 ppg. Bushee, who averages 16 ppg, was a non factor the whole game and scored 4 points late in the fourth quarter. Norwin was led by the Pitt recruit Alayna Gribble with 20 points. Jenna Cole added 10. Mt Lebanon was paced by Alyssa Hyland with 19 points coming off the bench. Maura Wallace chipped in 15. Norwin improves to 23-0 and will take on #5 seed Pine Richland Tuesday night at site and time to be determined. Mt Lebanon falls to 14-9 and will take on Hempfield in the PIAA play in game Monday night at a site and time to be determined.

Pine-Richland Rams 56 – Hempfield Spartans 40 
After riding into the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs, high off of their first round upset of Peters Township, the bubble burst for the Hempfield Spartans.  Pine-Richland dominated the Spartans from start to finish, never trailing in the game and coasting to a 56-40 victory at Chartiers Valley High School.  Hempfield’s dynamic duo of Aubree Halusic and Michelle Burns, who averaged 36 ppg between them coming into the game were shut down by an inspired Rams defense.  Halusic (10) and Burns (5) couldn’t get any rhythm going.  The combo of Chelsea  Rourke (17) and Amanda Kalin (12), however, combined for 29 points for Pine-Richland and Gianna DeTemple also chipped in with 11 points.  The Rams burst out to a 15-5 lead after the first quarter.  Allison Podkul led the way for Hempfield with 14 points.  With the loss, Hempfield’s season ends with a record of 15-9.  Pine-Richland (18-5) advances to the semi-finals and will face top-seeded Norwin on Tuesday.

North Allegheny Tigers 44 – Bethel Park Black Hawks 41 
Freshman Rachel Martindale scored nine points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:29 to play, to lift North Allegheny to a 44-41 win over the Bethel Park Black Hawks in the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL playoffs on Friday night. Martindale finished with a 13 points, but no bucket was bigger than her 3-pointer that gave North Allegheny a 43-41 lead in the waning minutes. Trailing 44-41 with 6.8 seconds remaining, Bethel Park still had a chance to tie the game but Shannon Conely’s desperation heave from the top of the key was off target and the Tigers hung on to advance to the WPIAL semifinals for the third consecutive season. North Allegheny and Bethel Park battled in a seesaw affair with no team leading by more than five points at any stage of the game. Black Hawks junior Justina Mascaro did the heavy lifting for her team and scored 23 of BP’s 41 point output. The one-woman show of Bethel Park was not  enough, however, as Martindale and senior Abby Gonzales spearheaded the North Allegheny attack in the second half. Gonzales totaled 14 points, including 12 in the second half. With the win, North Allegheny improves to 21-3 overall and advances to the WPIAL semifinals to face the Penn Hills Indians on Tuesday night. Bethel Park falls to 18-6 overall and will play Canon-McMillan on Monday night in the PIAA Play-In Bracket.

Penn Hills Indians 58 – Canon-McMillan Big Macs 47 
Desiree Oliver and Jade Ely combined for 44 points to lead Penn Hills to a 58-47 win over Canon McMillan in the Quad-A quarter-finals of the WPIAL girls basketball playoffs. Canon McMillan trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half but cut the deficit to four at halftime, 26-22. But the Indians started the third quarter on a 14-2 run to pull away. Oliver led all scorers with 27 points. Ely added 17 before fouling out in the fourth. Penn Hills (22-2) ,  WPIAL runner-up a year ago, advances to the semi-finals to face North Allegheny, a 44-41 winner over Bethel Park. The Big Macs (15-8) will face section foe Bethel Park Monday in the PIAA play-in bracket. The top five teams in girls Quad-A qualify for the PIAA Playoffs. Cheyenne Trest led Canon McMillan with 16 points. Rebecca Turney added 12.

WPIAL CLASS AA Quarterfinals:

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 48 – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 38 
Top-seeded Our Lady of the Sacred Heart used three 7-point runs to down Chartiers-Houston, 48-38.  The Chargers (21-3) advance to Tuesday’s semifinals against Bishop Canevin.  The Bucs (17-7) take on Neshannock Monday night in the first round of the PIAA qualifier bracket.  Courtney Alexander, Anna Lohmann and Bri Van Volkenburg hit three-pointers in the runs in the second and third quarters that enabled OLSH to keep Chartiers-Houston at arms length the rest of the way.  Alexander finished with 19 points to lead the Chargers.  Van Volkenburg added 12, including 9-of-10 at the foul line.  Lohmann scored 11 points in the win, the 14th in the last 15 outings for Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.  Jala Walker scored 25 for the Bucs who closed to within five points early in the third before the Chargers opened up a 16-point gap early in the fourth.  Chartiers-Houston had won five of the last six entering the night.

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 42 – Neshannock Lancers 36 
The Bishop Canevin Crusaders survived another close game Friday night defeating Neshannock 42-36 to move on to the semi-finals.  The Crusaders picked up big performances from two of the under classmen in freshman Shamyjha Price who contributed with 16 points and sophmore Brionna Allen who hit clutch free throws down the stretch and plaed tough defense all night.  Neshannock took the lead at the end of the 3rd quarter 34-33 but would only score two points the rest of the way.  With three minutes to go and the game tied Bishop Canevin was holding the ball at half court with Neshannock playing zone.  After one minute Neshannock woud then pressure and fould and this is when Allen would calmly hit two free throws and the Crusaders would never look back.  Neshannock had a chance to tie with 20 seconds left but Isabella Burrelli’s shot would roll around the rim and the Crusaders would put the game away.  Neshannock will now play on Monday night against Chartiers-Houston in a PIAA play in game.  While Bishiop Canevin will play Tuesday against #1 seed OLSH.

Carlynton Cougars 43 – Burrell Buccaneers 42 
Two foul shots from Abigail Greiner with less than 15 seconds remaining provided to be the game-winning points for Carlynton, as the Cougars upset No. 2 Burrell, 43-42, in the Class AA Quarterfinals at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School. Carlynton took the upper hand early in the contest, as the seventh-seeded Cougars outscored Burrell 26-22 through the first half of play. During that span, Carlynton was the more aggressive team and often controlled the tempo, but the Lady Bucs’ strong shooting from behind the arc allowed them to remain within striking distance. In the third stanza, Burrell seized the upper hand, outscoring its opponent 12-4. In that quarter, the Bucs connected on two more 3-pointers, and received five points from Eliza Oswalt and four from Natalie Myers in the frame. Myers, in particular, tried her best to lead Burrell to victory, as she proved to be a force on both ends of the floor. Her ability to block and alter shots, combined with her dominant rebounding effort, allowed the Bucs to gain a four-point edge heading into the final quarter. In that quarter, Myers scored all eight of Burrell’s points, but Greiner and Ashleigh Wilson totaled 11 for the Cougars. After Greiner converted the tying and go-ahead free throws, the Bucs tried to get both Oswalt and Myers opportunities for the final shot, but the Cougars tight defense prevented either from getting a clean look, and the buzzer sounded before the Bucs attempted a field goal. Myers finished with 17 points for Burrell, while Oswalt added 11. For the Cougars, Wilson paced the attack with 12 points, Diamond Thomas added 11, including nine in the first half, and Greiner contributed 10 points. With the triumph, the Cougars advance to the semifinals, where they will face No. 14 Greensburg Central Catholic on Tuesday. Burrell, meanwhile, will receive second-life, as the Bucs will play in the consolation bracket to qualify for the PIAA postseason.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 57 – Riverside Panthers 44 
In a game that saw Greensburg Central Catholic leading 31-27 at the half, the Lady Centurions gradually pulled away in the final 16 minutes and defeated Riverside, 57-44.  Brittany Stawovy was the scoring star for GCC by tallying 28 points in the girls AA quarterfinal contest held at North Allegheny.  Haley Moore added 15 points for the Lady Centurions while Sydney Wolf paced the Lady Panthers with 19.  Katie Stang of Riverside entered the game averaging over 19 points per game but finished with only 11 and missed most of the fourth period with an injury.  The win clinches a PIAA berth for the 16-9 Centurions as GCC will face Carlynton in the WPIAL semifinals on Tuesday.  Riverside dipped to 20-4 and will take on Burrell in a PIAA play-in first round game on Monday.

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