Shady Side Academy surges past Avonworth to claim WPIAL Class 3A championship

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, March 4, 2022 | 6:35 PM

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Peter Kramer saw Eli Teslovich dribble into the open court with only one defender ahead.

Kramer quickly sped up as the fast break developed.

When Teslovich spotted his trailing teammate, the pair of Shady Side Academy guards orchestrated the play of the night.

Dare they call it, “The Pete”?

Kramer took a lob and stuffed it through for the alley-oop late in the first half as the third-seeded Bulldogs took command and went on to win their second WPIAL title with a 66-54 victory over No. 8 Avonworth on Friday night in the Class 3A championship at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

“I went up and called for it,” Kramer said, “and he gave me a great pass.”

Teslovich finished with 20 points and Kramer had 18 points and eight assists as the Bulldogs (19-6) claimed their first title since 1999.

They outscored Avonworth, 23-10, in the third quarter and swelled the advantage to 22 in the fourth before a late flurry by the Antelopes (18-7) closed the gap.

Shady Side Academy coach David Vadnais was confident in his sophomore pair, who have meshed well with the upperclassmen.

Teslovich made 9 of 15 shots, while Kramer shot 7 for 15. The Bulldogs made 29 of 56 shots for 51.7%.

“The stage wasn’t too big for them,” Vadnais said. “We hold them to a higher standard. We have a lot of faith in them.”

Here's that Eli Teslovich-to-Peter Kramer alley-oop. ????????????@shady_side @TribLiveHSSN @AvonworthA https://t.co/hFLSP5HaUg

— Bill Beckner (@BillBeckner) March 5, 2022

Avonworth, which upset No. 1 Ellwood City to reach its first final since 1962, led the entire first quarter.

The Antelopes also were seeking their second title, the first coming in 1959.

Senior Jordan Kolenda led the Antelopes with 25 points. Freshman Rowan Carmichael had 19.

Avonworth made 19 of 50 shots.

“They turned up the heat a little bit,” Avonworth coach Mike Mancuso said of Shady Side. “We did some things that were not common for us. (Shady Side) played hard and got after it.”

Getting to the rim and driving the baseline came with some ease for Shady Side Academy, which had 54 points in the paint.

Pick-and-rolls and constant movement on the offensive end led to quality baskets. They only made one 3-pointer.

The Bulldogs had eight players score and produced 18 points off the bench to the Antelopes’ two.

“The lanes were wide open,” Teslovich said.

Shady Side Academy took a 24-20 lead into the break with the help of eight bench points from its reserves.

“At halftime, we focused on not being timid,” Vadnais said. “We’re not a team that’s going to hold the ball.”

A 17-4 run in the third helped the Bulldogs build a 47-30 lead after 24 minutes.

Teslovich had nine in the third, including a three-point play to end the quarter.

Senior Alex Kramer hit a jumper to stretch the lead to 21 in the fourth, and Peter Kramer followed with a drive to make it 60-42.

Kolenda, who also grabbed six rebounds, had 15 in the fourth for the Antelopes, who scored the final 10 points.

Another sophomore, Nate Mallory, added eight points for Shady Side.

Vadnais hopes to continue to build around his sophomore pair — and others — moving forward.

“Let’s run it back next year,” he said. “We have a number of guys ready to step up.”

Watch an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Avonworth, Shady Side Academy