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Unbeaten Laurel Highlands pulls away from Highlands, into WPIAL Class 5A final

By: George Guido
Monday, February 28, 2022 | 10:11 PM

Highlands overcame a couple of dry spells last Thursday in its quarterfinal victory against Penn Hills.

But it was a different story Monday night as top-ranked Laurel Highlands had a hot shooting touch and a minimum of turnovers as the Mustangs defeated Highlands, 61-44, in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals before an overflow crowd at Peters Township’s AHN Arena.

Laurel Highlands (24-0) will face New Castle in the championship game at 9 p.m. Friday at Petersen Events Center.

Highlands (18-7), shooting for its third finals appearance in the past seven seasons, already has qualified for the PIAA playoffs.

Laurel Highlands didn’t commit a turnover or a personal foul until the second quarter. Highlands tied the score 7-7 late in the first, but a three-point play by junior Keondre Deshields with 2.5 seconds left gave the Mustangs the lead for good.

Highlands had just one field goal in a five-minute span of the second quarter as the Mustangs raced to a 28-14 lead before a 3-pointer by Jimmy Kunst reduced the Laurel Highlands’ lead to 28-17 at halftime.

Kunst, a junior guard, scored 11 of Highlands’ 17 points in the first half, and Bradyn Foster scored the other six.

“I thought we played hard, but we had some shots didn’t go our way,” Highlands coach Corey Dotchin said. “With their experience, they stepped up and made their shots, and that was kind of the difference in the game.”

Laurel Highlands continued its hot shooting as the second half started, hitting its first four shots to take a 36-21 lead. The Golden Rams, however, weren’t through yet. A put-back by Foster cut the Mustangs lead to 37-29 with 4:02 left in the third.

But that was as close as Highlands would get. The Golden Rams didn’t score for the remainder of the quarter.

A 3-pointer by Brandon Davis put the Mustangs up 40-29. On the following possession, Rodney Gallagher got a loose ball and found Joe Chambers on a fast break. Following that, a steal by Davis put Laurel Highlands up, 47-29, at the end of three.

“We knew we had to play hard, stay to ourselves and not let the crowd get to us,” said Davis, a transfer from First Christian Academy. “We just had to play our game. We wanted to play our pace and not at their pace.”

Dotchin said: “We just came out a little flat in the second half, and they have three really good guards who can handle the ball. They can shoot from all three levels, and it was tough on the defense.”

The triumvirate of guards led the way with Davis scoring 21 points and contributing four steals, Gallagher had 19 points and four assists, and Deshields had 14 points and six rebounds.

Kunst led Highlands with 16 points and Foster added 14. Chandler Thimons gathered 10 rebounds for the Golden Rams.

Laurel Highlands won the Class 5A title two seasons ago before the covid crisis hit as Highlands won Class 4A honors. The Mustangs also won a WPIAL title in 1968, just the school’s second season of existence.

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