Penn Hills enjoys home-court advantage, routs DuBois in state playoff opener

By: Josh Rizzo
Friday, March 10, 2023 | 11:01 PM

Previous Next

Noah Barren was happy to be comfortable on a snowy night in Penn Hills.

During the Indians’ run through the state playoffs last season, Penn Hills scored a first-round upset on the other side of the state, then got stranded on the side of the road on their way home waiting for a backup bus driver to get there.

But Friday night in Penn Hills, the Indians wouldn’t have to worry about getting home at 4 a.m. Playing behind an aggressive defense, the Indians forced 17 turnovers and grabbed a 63-20 home win over DuBois in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs.

Because Penn Hills won the WPIAL this season, the Indians were able to earn a home game to open states.

“That felt good,” said Barren, who scored a game-high 15 points. “It’s hard, driving hours and hours in travel to the other side of the state. It felt good playing in front of our fans.”

The Indians, who will play District 3’s third-place qualifier Hershey next Tuesday at a site and time to be determined in the second round, made DuBois’ trip to Penn Hills a miserable one. The Beavers were limited to 26.7% shooting (9 of 35) from the field and 6.7% (1 of 15) from beyond the arc.

DuBois coach Dave Benett was pleased with how patient his team was on offense.

“We didn’t want to take quick shots, but you have to take the open shot because you don’t know when you’ll get another open shot,” Bennett said.

Penn Hills (22-3) never trailed. Lamire Redman opened the scoring by making a 3-pointer with 6 minutes, 52 seconds left in the first quarter. Tyson Kennis, who led DuBois with 12 points, cut the lead to 5-4 when he made a layup with 4:38 left in the first quarter.

But that’s when Penn Hills’ defensive pressure turned up. The Indians ripped off an 8-0 run, keyed by two steals.

Barren, who finished with two of Penn Hills’ 12 steals, though the Indians gambled at the right times.

“It’s just timing, to be honest,” Barren said.

Penn Hills coach Chris Giles said playing in the first round of states is always a challenge because of the information available. Scouting opponents from outside the district is an imperfect science.

“I always say the first round is the most difficult round. You have to get over that hump,” Giles said. “You also aren’t familiar with your opponent. The thing about the state playoffs is that film is scarce. You can’t really get it.”

Penn Hills especially put the clamps on in the second quarter. The Indians outscored DuBois 15-2 to take a 33-9 lead into halftime.

Turnovers hurt the Beavers.

“That was going to be the big struggle,” Bennett said. “We knew that for us to keep it a game and be around in the second half, we couldn’t have live-ball turnovers. That was going to be a struggle because they are long, athletic and played with good motors.”

Giles was happy with how Penn Hills handled DuBois’ zone. The Indians shot 52% (29 of 52) from the field. Penn Hills also ended up with a 28-21 edge in rebounding.

Penn Hills stretched the lead to over 30 points, 40-9, on a layup by Robert Thomas, who finished with 12 points. Much of the second half was played with the mercy rule in effect.

“We’ve done a good job on the offensive end,” Giles said. “We’re trying to stay disciplined to who we are. Man or zone, we want good shots. I think our guys are starting to figure that out and buy in.”

Tags: Penn Hills