WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps From Friday, February 15th

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 16, 2013 | 1:24 AM

Sound the trumpets, the 2013 WPIAL Basketball Playoffs are underway. 25 games got the ball rolling literally on the District 7 postseason Friday night with the focus on Boys Class AAA, Boys Class A, Girls Class AAAA and Girls Class AA. Once again this playoff season, MSA Sports will recap the nightly action…including these lid lifters from Friday night.

Thanks to Don Rebel, Lanfer Simpson, Brandon Showers, Mark Uriah, Matt Vandriak, Scott Briggs, Terry Neary, Bob Gregg, Sam Hall, Mike Krcil, Bob Orkwis, Lee Mohn, Greg Kuntz, T.J. DiStefano, Jim Frederick, Melissa Carle, Johnny Lee and Bob Barrickman for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL BOYS CLASS AAA Preliminary Round:

Knoch Knights 52 – Mount Pleasant Vikings 40 
Most teams who finish the regular season at 1-4 would not consider that a positive as they headed into the WPIAL Playoffs – but first-year head coach Ron McNabb’s Knoch Knights did just that – and it may have been the best thing that could have happened… It may have taught then just how to win. Knoch played perhaps its most complete game of the season as they defeated the Mt. Pleasant Vikings 52-40, in a game where the Knights were in control from the start. After finishing the season with losses to AAAA #3 Hampton, AAA#1 Chartiers Valley, AAA#2 Mars, and the best defensive team in the WPIAL in Plum, Knoch used all that experience to overpower the Vikings behind junior guard Austin Miller’s 17 points (including three-3’s to spark the Knight’s 11-3 run to open the third quarter), and senior forward Dakota Bruggeman’s 16 points.  The Vikings were led by Ryan Gambita (15) and Cody Monroe (10).  Knoch used only six players in the game as guards Miller and David Gallagher, and swingman Chris Kier never left the floor. Knoch will face #1 Chartiers Valley Tuesday night – in a re-match of a game from two weeks ago where the Knights led most of the first three quarters. Mt. Pleasant finished the season at 13-10, while Knoch improves to 12-11, and wins their first playoff game since 2006 – the final season of long-time head coach Les Shoop. You can hear the game on WISR 680am, and as always – on the MSA Sports Network.

Indiana Little Indians 59 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors 56 
Trailing by seven points headed into the fourth quarter, Indiana rallied big and outscored Elizabeth Forward 25-15 to pull out a three point victory Friday night at Yough High School. Darrious Carter led all scorers with 21 points for Indiana while teammate Riley Stapleton chipped in 15 points, including 10 in the Little Indians big fourth quarter. JaQuan Davidson had 19 points to lead Elizabeth Forward while Matt Bernadowski added 12 points and Austin Matta scored 11 for the Warriors, who see their season end at 12-11. Indiana, which won a WPIAL playoff game for the first time in seven years, moved on to Round One where they will face 4th-seed Beaver on Tuesday night at a site to be determined.

Kittaning Wildcats 77 – Yough Cougars 56 
The Kittanning Wildcats jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back, dismantling the undersized and mistake-prone Yough Cougars Friday evening at Gateway High school by the score of 77-56.  Senior standout Sterling Henry delivered a game-high 23 points with sophomore Noah Kunst pouring in 18 off the bench.  The pair combined to sink all six of the team's 3-pointers.  Kittanning's lead stretched to 25 at one point and Yough was never really able to come back, committing turnovers on key possessions.  They were also not able to take advantage of multiple trips to the free-throw line, going 10 for 22.  Junior Josh Sterner led Yough with 16 points, including four treys.  Senior Dom Miele fouled out in the fourth quarter with 13.  Senior Ben D'Amico scored 11 in his final high school game.  Kittanning ups its record to 19-4 and will play Central Valley, while Yough concludes the year at 8-15.

South Park Eagles 67 – Steel Valley Ironmen 60 in Double Overtime 
After regulation with the score tied 45-45, the clock operator mistakenly put 8 minutes up on the clock for overtime. The officials corrected him and told him overtime was only 4 minutes in length. Seems like the guys knew what he was doing when South Park finally escaped with a 67-60 double overtime win Friday night in a Class AAA Preliminary Round game at Peters Township High School. South Park missed 3 front ends of a 1-and-1 late in regulation to allow Steel Valley to tie, then the Ironmen’s Ashan Smith hit one of two free throws with 14 seconds left in OT to force a second extra session. But with guards Dorian Broadwater and Smith fouling out, the Steel Valley offense was out of sync in the later stages of double overtime as the Eagles pulled away. Ryan Smider, who also fouled out in the first overtime, led South Park with 18 points while Carter Grote added 17 and Justin Gorny ended up with 14 points, including 7 in the second overtime. Derek Taylor came off the bench to lead Steel Valley with 15 points while Dominique Keyes added 13 points, including 9 in the fourth quarter and Broadwater scored 11 points before fouling out. Steel Valley ends their season with a record of 12-9 while South Park improves to 13-9 and earn the #15 seed. The Eagles will face the 2^nd-seed Mars Fighting Planets Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

Ambridge Bridgers 65 – East Allegheny Wildcats 53 
Sophomore guard Stephon McGinnis shot 6 treys in the first half and finished with a career high 30 points in pacing Ambridge to its 14th win of the year, 65-53 over East Allegheny in a WPIAL Boys AAA tournament game. The Bridgers continued to impress under veteran coach Mark Jula in his first season as the team spurted to a 35-20 lead late in the first half. But East Allegheny had plans for a comeback as the Wildcats behind the threesome of Jordan Williams, Joel Randolph and Malik Pope made a run.  Williams scored 7 and his two teammates added 6 each in a 21-12 run to close the margin to 47-44 after 3 quarters. But Ambridge prevailed with clutch foul shooting in the 4th quarter as the Bridgers hit on 12 of 18 from the line to seal the contest. Another sophomore, Daylon Carter, scored 21 off the Ambridge bench as the Bridgers move on to face 3rd seed Montour on Tuesday night. Randolph had 17, WIlliams 14 for East Allegheny, which ended at 12-11 for the year.

WPIAL BOYS CLASS A Preliminary Round:

Mapletown Maples 49 – Leechburg Blue Devils 29 
What was anticipated to be a close match up of teams turned out to be a blowout following the ability of maple town to pull away down the stretch in this match up of A opponents here in the first round. Through three quarters this game lived up to the anticipation. The first quarter left the score Mapletown 10 Leechburg 8. With only 7 players Mapletown had to contend with a full court press from about midway through the first quarter throughout the winter game. It was obvious Leechburg coach Davies was trying to wear out the Maples. Leechburg would substitute at every opportunity. The second quarter scoring mimicked the first quarter leaving the half time score at Mapletown 20 Leechburg 16. The third quarter allowed Mapletown to continue to build their lead as they were able to pass around the press and Leechburg was unable to score inside against the 1-3-1 defense of the maples. Third quarter score was Mapletown 31 Leechburg 25.  In the fourth quarter Mapletown pulled away as Ridgley was able to hit a few 3 pointers and the Mapletown attack was able to get to Leechburg. The finals score was Mapletown 49 Leechburg 29. Up next for the maples is number one seed Lincoln Park.

WPIAL BOYS CLASS A First Round:

Union Scotties 78 – Quigley Catholic Spartans 60 
Quigley Catholic gave a decent showing for most of three quarters but the Spartans lack of height and the athleticism of Union eventually took its toll as the Scotties cruised to a 78-60 first round WPIAL boys A playoff contest on Friday evening at Aliquippa.  Markel Peace scored 31 points to lead Union, which will carry a 17-5 record into its Friday quarterfinal matchup against Clairton.  Tre Major added 20 while Joe Salmen contributed 16 for the Scotties.  Quigley, which trailed by only eight points after three quarters, was led by Zach Herman’s 18 points.  The Spartans ended their season at 11-12.

Clairton Bears 74 – St. Joseph Spartans 38 
Clairton was too much for the WPIAL's leading scorer tonight.  St. Joseph's John Arcuri came into tonight's game averaging a WPIAL-best 25.7 points per game.  Arcuri met his average once again, but with his teammates combining for only 12 points, the Spartans had little hope.  The Bears got hot early and never looked back, leading 45-19 at the half.  Clairton's speed and athleticism forced 18 turnovers of St. Joseph's.  The bright spot for the Spartans came late in the fourth quarter when Arcuri hit a three that gave him his 1,000th career point.  He would finish with 26 on the night.  Clairton rolled to a 74-38 victory, and improved to (14-6).  St. Joseph's ended its season at (9-14).  Four Bears scored in double figures, including Bryon Clifford (21), Titus Howard (16), Terrish Webb (12), and Tyler Boyd (10).  Clairton will face Union next Friday at a site and time to be determined.

Vincentian Academy Royals 106 – Western Beaver Golden Beaver 73 
The #2-seeded Vincentian Royals put the rest of the Class A bracket on notice that they are gunning for the championship, and they worked their patented run-and-gun style of offense to perfection as they destroyed the Western Beaver Golden Beavers, 106-73.  The Beavers attempted to stay stride-for-stride with the Royals in the early going, but they had a difficult time trying to solve Vincentian's full-court press, which caused 25 total turnovers by WB.  The Section 2 Champion Royals put up 32 points in the 1st quarter and went on a 20-7 run to start the 2nd period.  At the half, the Royals were up 64-36, and they had 4 players in double-figures led by Ryan Wolf with 28 points and Tony DiNardo with 22.  Jim Kenna ha a very steady game with 17, and Matt Rathz added 16.  Despite the loss, Nick Miller gave the Beavers every chance to stay in the game as he exploded for 43 points including 23 in the 1st half.  They also got great contributions from Brtandon Sheeler with 11 and Zach Perry with 10.  Vincentian moves on to the 2nd Round with a 22-1 record while WB's season ends at 6-15.

Monessen Greyhounds 60 – Sewickley Academy Panthers 52 
This season had been a case of Good Hound, Bad Hound for Joe Salvino and his Monessen Basketball Team.  On Friday night it was Good Hound time as his Monessen Greyhounds showed well in an preliminary round victory against the Sewickley Academy Panthers.  The Hounds got off to a fast start behind the knockdown perimeter shooting of Justice Rawlins who finished the game with 18 points.  The second half belonged to teammate Clintell Gillespie who finished with a game high 25.  The Panthers fought hard in the second half to close the gap, but behind the solid play of the Greyhounds were never able to cut an early deficit to less than five points.  Monessen advances to play the Vincentian Royals next Friday 2/22/2013 at a site and time TBD.  The Panthers were led by Keenan Hickton and John O'Malley with 18 and 12 points respectively.

North Catholic Trojans 55 – Rochester Rams 48 
The #3 seed North Catholic Trojans got a scare from the #14 seed Rochester Rams but avoided the upset with a 55-48 victory Friday night at North Allegheny High School. The Trojans were without one of their top players Danny Savulchak, who was under the weather and decided to sit out of the game. The first quarter was low scoring and ran at a slow pace with the Trojans leading 10-6 after one. The Rams Brent Johnson injured his right ankle early in the quarter, but continued to play the rest of the game after sitting out several minutes to get taped up. North Catholic would outscore Rochester 15-10 in the second quarter and led 25-16 at the break, but the Rams continued to hang around. Dominic Robb, Jon Savulchak and Ryan Long combined for all 15 second quarter points for North Catholic. The Rams continued to battle in the third quarter outscoring the Trojans 15-10 and after three North Catholic led 35-31. North Catholic would eventually start to wear down Rochester with their size and speed in the fourth quarter and the Trojans held on to avoid the upset. The Trojans were led by Dominic Robb with 16 points. Robb was a force on the boards and also managed several blocks. Jon Savulchak scored 12 and Ryan Kirby added 10. Rochester was led in scoring by Alyjah Elmore who netted 15 points. Dalton Paxson scored 10, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. North Catholic improves to 15-5 and will face #6 seed Our Lady of the Sacred Heart next Friday night at a site and time to be determined.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 56 – Trinity Christian Falcons 40 
Cameron Johnson scored 15 points to lead the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers to a 56 – 40 victory over the Trinity Christian Falcons in a first round WPIAL Class A playoff game Friday at Cornell High School.  The Chargers raced out to a 19 – 9 lead after one quarter and never looked back.  Defense was a key as OLSH held Falcon sharpshooter John Wallace to only 8 points, well under his average of 22.  Wes Lavrinc led the Falcons with 11 points, while Kendall Paige added 10 for the Chargers (19 – 4), who advance to a quarterfinal game next Friday.  Trinity Christian ends its season at 9 – 14.

WPIAL GIRLS CLASS AAAA Preliminary Round:

Franklin Regional Panthers 60 – Albert Gallatin Colonials 32 
11 different players scored for Franklin Regional while the Panthers defense held Albert Gallatin to 16 points through the first three quarters en-route to a blowout win at Penn-Trafford. Sarah Stephens led the Panthers with a career high 12 points while Maggie Kimmmich added 11 more in the victory.  Franklin Regional's Baylee Buleca had 8 blocks in the victory.  Albert Gallatin's Courtney Haines led all scorers with 14 points. Franklin Regional (11-12) now moves on to play #1 seed Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday night.  Albert Gallatin finishes 2012-13 with a final record of 11-12.

Baldwin Highlanders 59 – Latrobe Wildcats 39 
Latrobe scored the first 4 points in this contest. Baldwin countered with a 9-0 run and the Highlanders never looked back on their way to the win in this Preliminary Round match-up at Penn-Trafford High School. Baldwin missed their first 5 three-point attempts but finished with eight treys on the game and the Highlanders zone defense hardly allowed the Wildcats inside the paint the entire game. Three Highlanders finished in double figures led by Nikki Corcoran’s game-high 15 points, 10 of which came in the third quarter. Mandi Johnston added 12-points and sophomore Amanda Larkin chipped in with 10-points and 7-rebounds for the Highlanders. Sophomore Rachael Kollar was the only Wildcat in double figures, pacing Latrobe with 10-points. Latrobe’s season ends at (9-14) while Baldwin evened its record at (11-11). The Highlanders now slot in as the 15^th seed in the WPIAL Girls Class AAAA tournament. Baldwin will face 2^nd seeded North Allegheny on Tuesday night in the first round.

Norwin Knights 68 – Penn Hills Indians 56 
Norwin had three players score in double figures en route to a 68-56 preliminary round win over Penn Hills in Quad-A action Friday evening at Gateway High School.  Freshman Alayna Gribble led the way for the Knights, scoring 15 of her 18 points in the first half.  Seniors Rachel Keto and Madi Guffey each contributed 14.  The Knights led by as many as 23 before Penn Hills clawed back to within 11 after 3 quarters.  The Indians were led by freshman Jade Ely, who led all scorers with 26 points.  Senior Gloria Schifino was the only other Penn Hills player with double digit points, chipping in 11.  Norwin improves to 13-10 on the season and will face Bethel Park in first round action.  Penn Hills' season ends with a mark of 9-14.

WPIAL GIRLS CLASS AAAA First Round:

Upper St. Clair Panthers 53 – Hempfield Spartans 48 
The #13 seeded Upper St. Clair Panthers provided the first upset on Friday night defeating the 4th seeded Hempfied Spartans 53-48.  USC battled back from a 8 point deficit in the second half to stun the Spartans.  USC was led by Rachel Mazzie with 14 points, Jordan Serio with 13 and Madison Serio with 12.  Hempfield's Monica Burns scored 17 for the Spartans.  Hempfield's season ends at 19-4 while USC will move on to the quarterfinals and play section foe Chartiers Valley next Friday night.

Chartiers Valley Colts 31 – Shaler Titans 29 
Mariah Wells hit a critical free throw with 19 seconds left enabling Chartiers Valley to hang on to defeat Shaler 31-29 in a 1st round Girls AAAA matchup at North Hills. The Lady Colts had built a 26-12 lead by not allowing Shaler a point in the 3rd quarter but the Lady Titans came roaring back on a 12-0 run and tied the game on two foul shots by Liz Kline with seconds left. However, Wells showed the experience of a 4 year starter in nailing 4 straight free throws in a tense 4th quarter.  She finished with 11 points to lead 17-6 Char Valley. 5-3 senior Courtney Bauer had 12 for Shaler, which finished the season at 11-12..

WPIAL CLASS AA Preliminary Round:

Washington Little Prexies 36 – Ford City Sabers 32 
Mya and Tajah Gordon combined for 25 points leading Washington to a 36-32 win over Ford City.  The Little Prexies used a 15-0 run from the mid-point of the third quarter to come from down five points to a 10-point lead early in the fourth.  Mya Gordon's three-pointer capped the run with 7:14 left to play.  Christina Davis keyed an 8-0 run for the Sabers to pull back to with 31-29.  India March drained a pair of free throws with two minutes to play, and 40 seconds later, Tajah Gordon field goal sealed the win.  Mya Gordon had a game-high 13 points, Tajah Gordon added a dozen for the Little Prexies (13-10) who play #1 Seton-LaSalle in Tuesday's Sweet 16 matchup.  Davis had 12 for Ford City (14-9).  Allyson Cujas had 11 points but just 2 after intermission when the Sabers held a 16-11 lead.

Beaver Falls Tigers 59 – South Side Rams 30 
Leading 13-7 after one quarter, Beaver Falls dominated the rest of the way and defeated South Side, 59-30, in a preliminary WPIAL AA girls playoff game at Aliquippa Friday night.  The Lady Tigers led 30-15 at the half but outscored the Lady Rams 22-4 in the third period.  Beaver Falls had four players with double figures led by Ayana Vaughn with 16 points.  Vaughn’s cousin, Tiffani Vaughn tallied 11.  Kashius Harris and Tiffany Wright also chipped in with 11 points each to aid the Lady Tigers.  Sara Androlia led South Side with 12 points, which ended its season at 7-15.  Beaver Falls, 15-8 will meet Greensburg Central Catholic on Tuesday in a first round playoff game.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 42 – Riverview Raiders 28 
The Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Lady Chargers rode a strong defensive effort to a 42 – 28 victory over the Riverview Lady Raiders in a preliminary round WPIAL Class AA playoff game Friday at Cornell High School.  the OLSH defense limited Riverview to 11 points in the first half to make the difference.  Tia Sciulli and Jackie Mathews led the Chargers with 11 points each while Bri Van Volkenburg chipped in 10. Ashley Bruni scored 10 for the Lady Raiders, who finish the season 13 – 8.  OLSH (19 – 4) advances to meet Deer Lakes (19 – 3) in a first round game Tuesday night.

Steel Valley Ironmen 59 – Avonworth Antelopes 34 
Avonworth did a great job shutting down Steel Valley leading scorer C.C. Dixon for two quarters, However basketball is a four quarter sport. Dixon exploded in the second half for 21 of her game high 23 points as the Ironmen cruised past the Antelopes 59-34 Friday night at Peters Township High School. Dixon scored only two points in the first half as Steel Valley trailed 11-8 after one quarter and led only 26-22 at halftime. But thanks to Dixon, the Ironmen came to life in the second half with the first 9 points as they outscored the Antelopes 14-3 in the third quarter to take control. Steel Valley relied on the scoring of Lacey Gori (13) and Cayley Labishak (11) in the first half as they scored 19 of their combined 24 points in the first two quarters. Avonworth was led by Caitlyn Millers 13 points as they end their season with a final record of 13-9.  Steel Valley, winners of 6 of 7, improve to 15-7 and garner the #12-seed and will face #5 Jeannette Tuesday night in the Class AA First Round at a site to be determined.

Neshannock Lancers 47 – West Shamokin Wolves 38 
In girls AA preliminary action tonight the Neshannock Lancers were able to defeat the turn-around West Shamokin Wolves.  Both of these teams came off disappointing years last year with Neshannock missing the playoffs and West Shamokin having one win.  The game started off as a tight one riddled with dual possessions and turnovers from both teams.  The Wolves used their up tempo to force five, of a team total twelve, Neshannock turnovers in the first quarter and we ended the first tied at nine points apiece.  It seemed as if the tide had turned late in the first when Neshannock was able to get under West Shamokin’s skin forcing four, of a game high 17, turnovers.  The Wolves at the quarter break seemed to calm down a little bit and took at 24-19 lead into the half.  Senior West Shamokin forward Jill Glover led all scorers at the half with 16 points but was closely followed by Neshannock’s junior Madison McHale taking 10 points into the break.  Lancers coach Luann Grybowski as she said ‘sternly lectured’ her team at the half on needing to step up the pressure defensively and they sure did.  The Wolves were held to two points in the third quarter and that is when Neshannock pulled away taking at 32-26 lead into the fourth.  The fourth would get a little tense in the last minute but with the Wolves in team foul trouble they would send the Lancers to the line to ice the game winning 47-38 going on the face the 2^nd seeded Bishop Canevin Crusaders.  Madison McHale led all scorers with 28 points and Jill Glover finished the game with 26.  West Shamokin ended the season 12-11 with Neshannock went to 12-11 with at least one game left to play.

Beaver Bobcats 45 – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 43 
Beaver (17-4) defeated Chartiers Houston 45-43 in overtime in the first round of the Girls WPIAL AA basketball playoffs. Chartiers Houston outscored the Bobcats 16-11 in the 4^th quarter, including a basket by Tori Foster with two seconds left to force overtime. The Bobcats opened up a 4 point lead in overtime and Chartiers Houston’s last-second basket was not enough. Beaver’s Lexi Posset led all scorers, matching her season average with 17. Eleanor Neely added 11 for the Bobcats. Ashley Balzar and Foster each 12 points for Chartiers Houston (14-9). Beaver advances to face Mohawk Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined.

Carlynton Cougars 33 – Charleroi Cougars 21 
The Carlynton Cougars playing in the playoffs for the first time since 2005 held on to defeat the Charleroi Cougars 33-31 Friday night at Char Valley high school. Carlynton wins the battle of the Cougars to become the 14 seed in the field of 16 and faces the 3 seed Burrell in the first round Tuesday night. Carlynton was led by Jordan Melko's 13 points on the night. Charleroi had several chances in the waning moments of the basketball game to either win with a three or get to overtime with a field goal, but in the final 45 seconds they missed 6 straight shots from the floor. The Cougars of Charleroi were led by juniors Mia Woytovich and Lynsy Wright who each scored a dozen points on the night, but the two combined for just two points in the fourth quarter. Carlynton took a 23-20 lead into halftime and both teams went ice cold from the floor in the third quarter scoring four points each. Carlynton improves to 13-10 on the season with the win. Charleroi sees there season come to a close at 15-7.   

Riverside Panthers 54 – Springdale Dynamos 35 
The Riverside Panthers wasted no time in establishing their dominance as the raced to a 20 point halftime lead and went on to a 54-35 victory against the Springdale Dyamoes.  Led by a strong first half by the very talented Alex Deep and a stingy man to man defense, the Panthers led 30-10 at the break.  Deep led the Panthers with 29 points, on an array of drives and pull up jump shots, and got great support from fellow Senior Nicole Mansfield with 12.  Springdale was led by Maddy Glamp with 12 points.  Riverside advances to take on the McGuffey Highlanders on Tuesday night at a sight and time TBD.