WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps for Tuesday, March 1st

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 | 12:00 AM

Four boys game and four girls game that set the table for four championship games this weekend. Two defending girls champions head back to Duquesne University looking for more gold while four tradition rich strong programs with plenty of district titles were sent packing on the boys side. Here are recaps from all eight boys and girls playoff games from Championship Tuesday.

Thanks to Bob Gregg, Bob Barrickman, Johnny Lee, Jim Frederick, Josh Rowntree and Greg Kuntz for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL BOYS CLASS AAA Semifinals:

South Fayette Lions 56 – New Castle Red Hurricane 42
Mike Lamberti led all scorers with 22 points as South Fayette advanced to the WPIAL Finals with a 56-42 win over New Castle. The West Liberty recruit hit for eight points in the first quarter as the Lions (22-1) rolled up a 7-point lead. Every time New Castle challenged the defending PIAA champions, South Fayette answered. When the Red Hurricanes pulled to within eight point in the middle of the third, Lambert and Josh Patterson responded with a trey, two deuces and four foul shots. Patterson finished the game with 17 points. Halfway through the fourth, the Lions had built a 22-point cushion, keeping New Castle without a point for more than five minutes. Corey Eggleston's first three-pointer broke the drought, but it was far too little far too late. The Red Hurricanes, who made a living this season from beyond the arch, hit just five three-pointers in the game, two in the final four minutes. Pat Zedreck added 10 points for the Lions who face Montour in the WPIAL Finals. Shawn Anderson scored 13 for New Castle.

Montour Spartans 49 – Blackhawk Cougars 44
Blackhawk enjoyed an 8-point lead after three quarters but was outscored by Montour 21-8 in the fourth as the Spartans won the boys WPIAL AAA semifinal Tuesday night, 49-44. Montour's pressure defense took its toll on the Cougars, which led by as many as 10 in the third period. The Spartans held a 14-7 advantage before Blackhawk caught fire. Sophomore Devin Wilson led Montour with 21 points and hit four free throws down the stretch. Dillon Buechle added 11 tallies for the 18-7 Spartans, which will face once beaten South Fayette on Friday at 9 p.m. at the Palumbo Center for the title. Cory Ostach scored 14 points while fellow junior Nick Martin pitched in with 12 in a losing cause for the 17-8 Cougars. Blackhawk will join Montour in the PIAA playoffs next week but must have the Spartans upset South Fayette to avoid being involved in a play-in game next Tuesday.

WPIAL CLASS A Semifinals:

Vincentian Academy Royals 69 – Clairton Bears 54
The Clairton Bears can throw a pretty good poker hand at you, but Tuesday night at West Allegheny HS, with a trip to Palumbo Center on the line, the Bears were hit with a Royal Flush. That would be a Vincentian Royal flush, as the Vincentian Royals raced to a 16 point halftime lead and defeated the Clairton Bears 69-54. Coach George Yokitis and his Royal Basketball team were "all in" as their relentless full court pressure continually forced turnover after turnover by the Bears, and by adding a great offensive night by 6'4 SR John Bray to the mix, simply proved too much for Clairton. Bray finished the night with 31 points, consistently giving Clairton match-up problems with his ability to hit from long range and power his way to the basket. His off balance buzzer beater at halftime gave Vincentian that 16 point lead, and although the Bears would valiantly make a number of runs in the second half, the Royals would always find a way, mainly through their pressure "D", to right the ship. The Royals got outstanding performances from Chris Koryak, who played his usual hardnosed game, and Adam Dian, who really stetched the Bears defense in the first half with 3-three pointers. Koryak ended the game with 13 points and Dian had 11. The statistics column can not define the contributions of SR Guard Mike Molnar and the impact he had in helping the Royals realize their dream of making it to Palumbo. The Bears, were led in scoring by Desimon Green, who at times, single handedly kept the Bears within striking distance. Green finished with 23 and Parrish Middlebrook 13 for Clairton. The Vincentian Royals will play Lincoln Park School of Creative and Performing Arts at 7pm Friday for
the WPIAL Single A Championship.

Lincoln Park Leopards 55 – North Catholic Trojans 53
Lincoln Park and North Catholic battled to the final second in a bid to move onto the WPIAL Class A title game this weekend. Sophomore guard Brandt Gribbin had given the Trojans the late lead in nailing a trey with just 15 seconds left as North Catholic led for the fourth time on the evening..53-52. But the Leopards were not done. After calling a time out with 8 seconds left at halfcourt…Lincoln Park put the ball in the hands of its three-year starter and top scorer…Chaquille Pratt. The 6-3 senior swung to the right and from beyond the arc arched a 22-foot jumper under intense pressure from North Catholic. It sailed thru with less than a second left to rally Lincoln Park to a dramatic 55-53 win at North Hills . 17-6 Lincoln Park advances to the title game for the second straight year and will face 4th seeded 23-1 Vincentian for the championship. Lincoln Park led 21-14 after one quarter following a 57-foot jumper from beyond half court at the buzzer by Sharron Moreland-Jones. He would score 11 points on the night. But after the Leopards built a 10 point advantage…North Catholic refused to wilt. The margin was 1 at the half…33-32 and just 45-43 going into the final period before the heroics of Gribbin, who had 21 points to lead the 18-7 Trojans. Teammates Ryan Lewis and Martin Long added 13 and 12 points, respectively. But it was Pratt…averaging 25 points in two playoff games, who came to the rescue with the game-winning shot. He ended with a 25 point night. The game was tied 5 times and saw the lead change hands 8 times.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA Semifinals:

Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 64 – Oakland Catholic Eagles 43
For the first-seeded Mt. Lebanon girls basketball team, this is the same old story.The Lady Blue Devils advanced to the WPIAL Championship Game for the third-consecutive year, cruising to a 64-43 victory in the WPIAL semifinals over the fourth-seeded Oakland Catholic Eagles in front of a packed house at West Allegheny High School. Mt. Lebanon, after missing several early layups, would get hot from the land of three, knocking down seven of their first eight three-point attempts. The Blue Devils stellar shooting, combined with not turning the ball over until the 4-minute mark of the second quarter, propelled them to a 38-20 halftime lead. The Lady Eagles would never make a run in the second half, as Mt. Lebanon would never lead by less than 14 in the second half. Madison Cable, the Notre Dame recruit, would play a fantastic game for the Lady Blue Devils, scoring 25 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Along with Cable, Anna Kestler would score 13 and Kelly Johnson would contribute 12. Six of Mt. Lebanon's nine turnovers occurred in the fourth quarter, when the game was already put away. Bobbi Baker would lead the way for Oakland Catholic with eleven points and five rebounds; the only player to reach double-digits. Mt. Lebanon, now 20-5 on the year, moves on to the WPIAL Championship game against second-seeded Shaler on Saturday night at the A.J. Palumbo Center. Oakland Catholic will see their WPIAL season end at 16-9, but will still advance to the PIAA Playoffs.

Shaler Titans 47 – Bethel Park Black Hawks 45
The Girls' Quad-A semifinal matchup between the Bethel Park Black Hawks and the Shaler Lady Titans had all the makings of an epic matchup between the #3- and #2-seeds respectively, and this one certainly did not disappoint. BP turned the defense up a notch in the early going forcing a number of Shaler turnovers and converting them into pivotal early points. The Lady Black Hawks outscored Shaler 10-4 in the first quarter. The Lady Titans started to overcome their early nervousness in the 2nd quarter as they were able get the ball in the hands of 6' 0" senior F Val McQuade, and she scored all of Shaler's 13 points in that period, personally outscoring all of Bethel Park by one and reducing the deficit to 5 at the break, 22-17. Shaler would get to within 2 in the 3rd as both teams went back and forth, but the Lady Hawks regained a little momentum and increased the lead to 8 at the end of three. Bethel Park led throughout the game until Shannon Powell, who was held to just 2 points in the first half, hit a clutch lay-up with 75 seconds to go to put the Lady Titans up for good. Kara Rayburn of the Lady Hawks had a chance at the free-throw line to tie the game, but missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Shaler held on for the victory. For the game, McQuade had 22 points, and Powell, who was locked in a fierce battle with Bethel Park's Megan Marecic throughout the game, eventually won that battle by scoring 10 of her 12 points in the 2nd half and holding Marecic to just 8, all in the first half. Justine Carroll came off the bench to lead Bethel Park with 18 points while Rayburn 11 in the losing effort. Bethel Park's is not over, however, as they will be one of 5 teams along with Shaler representing the WPIAL in the PIAA State Playoffs. Their record drops to 20-5 while the Lady Titans advance to the WPIAL Finals on Saturday at the A-J Palumbo Center where they will battle the Mt. Lebanon Lady Blue Devils. The Lady Titans record with the win is now 23-2.

WPIAL CLASS AA Semifinals:

Seton-LaSalle Rebels 61 – Bishop Canevin Crusaders 38
Naje Gibson scored 27 points leading #1 Seton-LaSalle past Bishop Canevin, 61-38. The teams were all square at 15 halfway through the second quarter when the Rebels sprinted on a 13-3 run to close the half. The run followed the Crusaders having five looks at the basket and coming away empty. Gibson had six points in the second quarter along with Amy O'Keefe, plus another four from Alexa DelGreco. Seton-LaSalle (23-2) pushed the lead to 39-20 with three minutes to play in the third. The Crusaders (20-5) scored the next 13 points making it a six-point game. Carly Forse, who finished the game with 17 points, had six in the comeback. The Rebels locked up their WPIAL Title Game berth with a 22-5 advantage in the fourth, including 14-of-16 at the free throw line, half of them by Gibson. Seton-LaSalle has won 19 straight games and will take on Jeannette, a 63-52 winner over Beaver Falls.

Jeannette Jayhawks 63 – Beaver Falls Tigers 52
The defending WPIAL AA girls champion Jeannette Lady Jayhawks erased a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and defeated Beaver Falls in a semifinal contest held at North Allegheny Tuesday night, 63-52. Sophomore guard Ciara Gregory sparked the comeback for Jeannette and finished with 21 points. Chelsea Sommer added 13 points for the winners while sophomore Ayana Vaughn paced the Lady Tigers with 19 with Alexis Lake chipping in with 12. The 15-8 Jayhawks will have a rematch with Seton-LaSalle in the WPIAL championship on Friday at Duquesne University's Palumbo Center with tip off at 5 p.m. Beaver Falls fell to 19-7 but will participate on March 11 in the first round of the PIAA AA playoffs.