WPIAL Basketball Playoff Summaries for Friday 2/24

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 24, 2017 | 11:56 PM

Day Two of Round Two brought forth some hot action on the hardcourt. OK, so temps in the upper 70's in Southwestern Pa may have had something to do with the 'hot' aspect, but it was a great night for the 'Super Sections' in boys hoops while a couple of top four seeds were eliminated on the girls side. Here are recaps from Boys 5-A, Boys 2-A, Girls 6-A and Girls 1-A Quarterfinals game on Friday around the WPIAL.

A special thanks to Josh Rowntree, Bob Gregg, Steve Nagler, Cory Campano, Dennis Fischer, Dave Floyd, Sam Hall, Nate Regotti, Matt Vandriak, Don Rebel, Tom Hays and Brian Mroziak for their help on these recaps.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS 5-A Quarterfinals:

Mars Fightin' Planets 64 – Laurel Highlands Mustangs 47 
The Mars Planets made it three straight years with a playoff win over Laurel Highlands defeating the Mustangs 64 to 47 in a Boys 5A Quarterfinal Round Playoff Game Friday Night at Canon McMillan High School.  After trailing 14 to 3 after 1 quarter of play, the Mustangs played even with the Planets and pulled to within 6 points of the top seed midway thru the 3rd Quarter.  But the Planets got 21 of his game high 29 points from Robbie Carmody in the 2nd half to pull away for a 64 to 47 win.  Bryce Laskey lead Laurel Highlands with 16 points.  The Mustangs could get a PIAA 1st Round playoff rematch with the Planets if Mars wins the WPIAL Championship.

Hampton Talbots 78 – McKeesport Tigers 70 
Trailing 19-4 midway through the first quarter, the #5 seed Hampton Talbots outscored the #4 seed McKeesport Tigers 74-51 the rest of the way to advance to the semifinal round of the boy's 5A basketball tournament with a 78-70 win on Friday night at North Allegheny High School.  Hampton's comeback began in the later stages of the first period as the Talbots closed the gap to two, 23-21, at the start of the second quarter.  However, McKeesport increased its lead over Hampton at the half to six, 43-37.  But the Talbots raced out to a 62-55 lead at the end of the third period, withstood a Tigers' rally in the fourth quarter that narrowed the lead to three, 66-63, before Hampton pulled away for the win.  Hampton (15-9) was led by seniors Antonio Ionadi with 27 points, Ben Huber with 14, and Mark Shehady with 11, and freshman Isaac DeGregorio with 11.  McKeesport was paced by juniors John Harper with 19, Terron Taylor and Layton Jordan with 14 each, and senior Raquin Elliott with 13.  Hampton will take on Section 2 foe, Mars, a 64-47 winner over Laurel Highlands, next Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined.  McKeesport (18-5) will qualify for the PIAA tournament if Hampton wins the WPIAL title.

Moon Tigers 75 – Franklin Regional Panthers 61
Coming off a first round bye and making its first playoff appearance since 2011, the Moon Tigers were undeterred in defeating the Panthers 75-61 at North Hills High School in this WPIAL Boys (5A) quarterfinal match-up. Moon broke open a back and forth first half by outscoring Franklin Regional, who led by 2 after the game’s first eight minutes, 19-7 in the second quarter, a quarter the Tigers closed out with a 16-2 run. Senior Nick Castelveter was hot from the start in the game for Moon, as he scored the first 16 points of the contest for the Tigers. The 5-10 guard finished with a game-high 27 points, which included 6 three-pointers. Not to be outdone, Moon’s other sensational senior, forward Jarrod Simmons posted quite the stat line of his own. The 6-8 Penn bound forward scored 21 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and added a pair of steals and an assist to help the Tigers to their first playoff win since 2009. Sophomore guard Jioni Smith was the third Moon player to finish in double figures, as he scored 11 points as the 3rd seeded Tigers improved to (18-5) on the season.  #6 Franklin Regional (13-11) showed a balanced scoring attack in the game as seven Panthers found the scoring column. Senior Simon Behr scored 13 points and led the Panthers with 5 rebounds. Junior Hunter Stonecheck and Nate Leopold also chipped in 13 points apiece for the Panthers, with Leopold hitting team high 3 three-pointers. Senior David Baker finished with 12 points in the Panthers loss. For Franklin Regional’s season to continue in the state playoffs, the Panthers now have to root for Moon to win the (5A) WPIAL Championship to become the fifth seed from District 7. Moon clinched a berth in the PIAA Tournament with the win and the Tigers return to the semifinals for the first time since 2009. A familiar opponent awaits Moon in the final four, Section 2 rival Chartiers Valley. The Colts bested Gateway in overtime to reach the semifinals once again. The two teams split the season series, with the Colts winning 57-55 on their home court, and Moon defeating Chartiers Valley at home 56-37 in what Coach Adam Kaufman called “probably our best game of the season.” The news is not all good for the Tigers as they will be shorthanded against the Colts. Castelveter was poked in the left eye during midway through the fourth quarter and did not return to the game. Coach Kaufman said Castelveter’s eye was very swollen and his status for the semifinals is uncertain. Additionally, starting forward Brady Sunday will not play for Moon in the next round of the playoffs. He was charged with his fourth personal foul of the game with 1:59 remaining and the sophomore was then charged with a flagrant technical foul on the same play. Coach Kaufman said that Sunday would not be eligible to play in the semifinal game against Chartiers Valley because of the flagrant technical foul assessed in the win. 

Chartiers Valley Colts 46 – Gateway Gators 43 in Overtime 
Chartiers Valley dug themselves a double-digit first quarter hole, but slowly dug their way out and ended up edging Gateway in overtime 46-43 Friday at Baldwin High School in a Class 5-A Quarterfinals matchup. The #6-seed Gators took a big bite out of the Colts early on as sophomore guard Courtney Jackson slashed and dashed to ten first quarter points and Gateway led after one quarter 19-6. But Chartiers Valley turned up the defense and started hitting shots behind the three point line to pull to within two at the half 21-19 as the Gators were held to only 2 second quarter points. The two teams scored only 14 combined points in the third quarter as the Colts took their first lead and were up 28-26 after three. Still up two late in the fourth, Jackson scored with 33 seconds left to tie the game 41-41. CV held for the final shot,  but a Ross Wilkerson three point shot from the top of the key rimmed out before the buzzer to send the game to OT. Wilkerson made up for that miss with an early left corner three point shot to put the Colts up for good. The Gators missed several chances down the stretch that could have tied the game. Wilkerson, who only had 4 first half points, led the Colts with 18 points, while Caleb Zajicek added 9 points. Jackson had a game high 21 points for Gateway as the Gators drop to 11-13 and now must have Chartiers Valley win the WPIAL title if they are to qualify for the PIAA Playoffs. Meanwhile the Colts improve to 17-6 and have earned a berth in the state playoffs and a third matchup with Section 2 foe Moon in the WPIAL Semifinals on Tuesday. The Tigers and Colts split the two games in the regular season.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS 2-A Quarterfinals:

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 57 – Neshannock Lancers 37 
For the fifth time in the last six seasons, Greensburg Central Catholic will be playing in the semi-finals after the top seeded Centurions turned what was a close game in the first half into a run away victory. The Lancers opened the game running a very slow paced, ball control offense to try and dictate the tempo of the game. It worked early on, as GCC led 14-13 after the first quarter and 24-21 at halftime.  But in the 2nd half, the Centurions picked up the pace and pulled away, outscoring Neshannock 33-16 in the final two quarters.  Neal McDermott led the way for GCC, scoring a game high 26 points. Ben Hertzog added 12 points for the Centurions in the win. Neshannock was led by Ean Oprean, who netted 16 points in the loss. With the win, the Centurions improved to 23-0 on the season.  This was the first undefeated regular season in Greensburg Central Catholic history, who is also looking for their first championship in school history as well.  GCC lost in the Class-AA semi-finals the past two seasons to Aliquippa, and also fell in the WPIAL Championship and PIAA semi-finals to Seton-LaSalle in 2014. For the 4th straight season, Neshannock (16-8), fell in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.  The Lancers were looking for their first semi-final appearance since 2009 while a member of Class-A.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 71 – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 39 
Our Lady of Sacred Heart nailed 11 three-pointers, 8 of them in the first half, in route to a dominant 71-39 win over Chartiers-Houston on Friday night. C-H's Andrew Clark hit a three of his own to begin the game, but the tall and athletic OLSH squad finished the first quarter on a 19-2 run and never looked back.  Junior Desmond Ross finished with 19 points for the Chargers, and teammates Ethan Harrell and Donovan Johnson each added 18. C-H's Cam Hanley bucketed 16 and AJ Meyers added 14, but the rest of the Bucs' roster combined for just nine points.

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 85 – Summit Academy Knights 54 
The Bishop Canevin Crusaders defeated The Summit Academy Knights 85 to 54 on Friday night. The first quarter was close, and ended with Bishop Canevin clinging to a 16-14 lead, but it didn't stay close much longer after that. BC hadn't played since February 11th and it showed in the first, but they quickly shook off the rust and started to knock down shots. The Crusaders widened their lead to 9 points as it was 31-22 at the half. BC never looked back from there. They out scored Summit Academy 54 to 32 in the second half in rout to a huge victory. Everyone was a contributor. Mitchell King led the way with 26 points, followed by Walter Bonds with 18, Eugene Goodwine with 15, and Kellen Gustine with 12. The Crusaders hit 15 three pointers as a team and forced Summit to commit 26 turnovers. It was a dominating performance by Bishop Canevein. Their focus will shift to the semifinals and a familiar opponent in Sewickley Academy on Tuesday 2/28 at a time and place to be determined.

Sewickley Academy Panthers 80 – Jeannette Jayhawks 51
The Sewickley Academy Panthers outscored the Jeannette Jayhawks, 26-11, in the first quarter and never trailed in earning a 80-51 quarterfinal victory on Friday night at Northgate High School.  The Panthers hadn’t played a game since February 10th, but never looked rusty in the least.  Nine players got in the scoring column for Sewickley Academy.  The Panthers were led by senior Chris Groetsch who scored 21 points.  Fifteen of his 21 points came in the 3rd quarter which saw Sewickley Academy extend their 18-point lead to 31 points heading into the 4th quarter.  Also landing in double-figures for the Panthers were Isaiah Smith (16 points) and Nate Ridgeway (13 points).  Smith scored 14 points coming off the bench in the first half.  The Jayhawks were led offensively by Mike Pompei with 20 points.  Pompei reached the 1,000 point mark in the 3rd quarter and scored 15 points after the halftime break.  Robert Kennedy added eight points off the bench for Jeannette.  Jeannette’s (12-12) hopes remain alive for the PIAA basketball tournament.  Sewickley Academy advances to face a familiar section foe, the Bishop Canevin Crusaders, in the semifinals.  The Panthers and Crusaders split their two section games this year.  That game will be played on Tuesday, February 28th, time and location to be determined. 

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS 6-A Quarterfinals:

North Allegheny Tigers 40 – Hempfield Spartans 16 
In Friday evening’s WPIAL quarterfinal matchup at Fox Chapel, top-seeded North Allegheny showed why it entered the postseason as Class 6A’s top defensive unit. The Tigers held eighth-seeded Hempfield to six points or fewer in every quarter, including just two points in both the first and fourth quarters, en route to a 40-16 victory. With the win, North Allegheny moves on to face Mount Lebanon in the semifinals on Tuesday. The Blue Devils knocked off defending champ Norwin, 47-44. Friday’s contest belonged to the Tigers from the very start, as North Allegheny led by double digits before the Spartans could get on the scoreboard. Sophomore Rachel Martindale nailed two three pointers, and junior Courtney Roman tacked on another to stake the Tigers to a 14-2 lead after the first quarter. Hempfield struggled to cut the Tigers’ advantage to single digits the rest of the way. After four Spartans scored in double figures in their first-round victory, only four Spartans even reach the scoresheet on Friday. Six Tigers registered at least a point, with two reaching double figures. Junior Madelyn Fischer scored eight second-half points to propel her to 11. Martindale knocked down a total of four triples for a game-high 17 points. For her efforts, Martindale earned the honor of Wright Automotive Player of the Game. North Allegheny improved its overall record to 22-1 with the quarterfinal victory. Tuesday’s semifinal matchup with Mount Lebanon will take place at a site and time to be determined.

Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 47 – Norwin Knights 44 
The Mount Lebanon Blue Devils got 18 points from senior center McKenzie Bushee and defeated the Norwin Knights 47-44 at Baldwin high school Friday night. Alyssa Hyland added 14 for Lebo who avenged their quarters loss to Norwin from a year ago. Norwin, the defending champions did not go easily.  Abigail Gabauer had 17 for the Knights in the loss and Taylor Ingel chipped in 11. The Knights fall to 17-6 with the loss and they now become huge Lebo fans as a Mount Lebanon WPIAL Championship would be a Norwin ticket to the PIAA tournament. The Blue Devils improve to 18-5 and will face the top seed North Allegheny in the semis Tuesday night right here on the MSA Sports Network.

Bethel Park Black Hawks 52 – Pine-Richland Rams 44
Behind an explosive third quarter run and menacing defensive play, No. 7 Bethel Park (18-6) upset No. 2 Pine-Richland 52-44 in a WPIAL Girls Class 6A Quarterfinal game at North Allegheny High School. Trailing 24-14 at half, the Blackhawks went on a 20-4 run in the third quarter, advancing to the Class 6A Semifinals, where they will meet No. 3 Penn Hills on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. Bethel Park senior Justina Mascasro, playing in just her eighth game this season following ACL surgery in June, scored a game-hgh 16 points and grabbed ten rebounds. In the first quarter, Pine-Richland (21-2) was able to build a 13-11 lead thanks to hot shooting from beyond the ark, including a pair of three-pointers by Gianna DeTemple. But in the second quarter, the Rams defense took over, holding Bethel Park to just three points. But after the break, Mascaro and junior Kamryn Lach took over. Lach, who scored 10 points, was faced with the task of guarding the WPIAL's second leading score, Duquesne recruit Amanda Kalin. Kalin, who came in averaging 23.6 points per game, scored a season-low 14 points in what may be the final game of her illustrious career in which she set the Pine-Richland all-time scoring record. The Rams were plagued by poor foul shooting in the game, going 8-of-16 at the line, while the Blackhawks were able to knock down 10-of-12 attempts in the fourth quarter, finishing the game 13-of-19. Bethel Park also dominated on the glass, out-rebounding Pine-Richland 33-22. DeTemple scored 13 points, while senior Caitlyn Byerly added 10 for the Rams, who will need Bethel Park to win the WPIAL Championship in order to reach the PIAA postseason. For Bethel Park, the trip to the WPIAL Semifinals is their seventh in the 14 years that Jonn Burke has been head coach. Their last appearance was 2015, when Penn Hills beat the Blackhawks to advance to the WPIAL Championship. 

Penn Hills Indians 58 – Peters Township Indians 55 in Overtime
Penn Hills scored the first nine points of overtime, then held on to beat Peters Township, 58-55.  PH got to an extra period thanks to Desiree Oliver's coast-to-coast drive that tie the game with 23 seconds remaining in regulation, followed by two stops of PT possessions in the final second.  Ionie Banner's three-pointer opened the overtime, igniting a 9-point run for the Section 2 champions, but Peters Township would not go away quietly.  Lillian Young hit a trey with just over a minute to play, pulling PT within four.  Makenna Marisa drained two foul shots to make it a two-point game.  Oliver then hit from the floor and one of two at the stripe to put PH up 58-53.  Marisa scored with under 10 seconds to play and the Section 3 runnerup got a turnover and an front-court throw-in with 3.2 seconds remaining.  Oliver stole the in-bound pass and the game ended.  The game of runs went back and forth, including PT battling back from a 9-point hole with under five minutes to play.  Oliver led all scorers with 27 points, 13 over the final 13 minutes.  Tayonna Robertson had 14 for Penn Hills (21-2), now winners of 15 straight games.  Marisa's 23 paced Peters Township (14-9), now hoping PH wins the WPIAL title, pulling PT into the state playoffs.

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS 1-A Quarterfinals:

Winchester Thurston Bears 52 – Sewickley Academy Panthers 32 
The Winchester Thurston Bears was able to knock off the rust of not having played for thirteen days and advanced to the semifinal round of the Class 1A WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs by defeating the 9th seeded Sewickley Academy Panthers.  Coach Monica Williams wasn’t happy with their performance, however, the Bears outscored the Panthers 19-9 after the first eight minutes and never looked back after that.  Winchester Thurston forced 28 Sewickley Academy turnovers and survived 16 turnovers of their own.  The Bears were led in scoring by Ayanna Townsend, who came into the game needing 20 points for 2,000 in her career.  Townsend would finish with 15 points on the night.  Kayla Small added 14 points and Luka van de Venne added 11 points for the Bears.  Panther sophomore Alyssa Winter scored 14 points to lead the way for Sewickley Academy.  The Panthers (11-13) now will pin their hopes on Winchester Thurston to make it to the PIAA basketball tournament.  With the win, the top-seeded Bears will take on the West Greene Pioneers in the semifinals on Tuesday, February 28th, time and location to be determined.

West Greene Pioneers 51 – Rochester Rams 37 
The West Greene girls basketball team advanced to the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in program history on Friday night with a 51-37 win over Rochester. The Pioneers' pesky full-court press held Rochester to just twenty points through the first three quarters, and West Greene led 36-20 after three. In the fourth quarter, the Rams stormed back to cut the lead to six, 39-33 but senior forward Marissa Rode scored six points in the final minutes and the Pioneers made their foul shots down the stretch to seal the victory. Sophomore twin sisters McKenna and Madison Lampe combined to score 35 points for West Greene. Freshman Jasmine Mack tallied 17 for Rochester.

Cornell Raiders 64 – Geibel Catholic Gators 33
The Cornell Raiders defeated the Geibel Gators 64 to 33 in a Girls A Quarterfinal Round Game Friday Night at Canon McMillan High School.  The start of the game was delayed over 20 minutes due the the Geibel Bus not arriving at Canon Mac until 635pm, the game itself was scheduled to start at 630pm.  Geibel looked shaky early as Cornell raced out to 7 to 0 run to start the game.  The Gators were competitive through three quarters, trailing 21 to 12 after 1, 33 to 21 at the half and 43 to 28 after 3. The Raiders raced away in the 4th quarter outscoring the Gators 21 to 5 in the final period for the 64 to 33 win.  Daeja Quick lead Cornell with 17 points. Grace Nowicki lead Geibel with 13 points.

St. Joseph Spartans 68 – Quigley Catholic Spartans 65 
In a girls class 1A quarterfinal game, St. Joseph withstood a furious comeback by Quigley to pull out a 69-65 over the overall #2 seed. St. Joseph had a 36-26 half time lead yet saw Quigley take a one point lead midway in the fourth quarter before St. Joseph regained the lead late in the game. Quigley received a heroic effort from Taylor Kirschner, who totaled 29 points to lead all scorers. Ava Haddox and Julia Etherson scored in double digits with 19 and 13 points, respectively. St.Joseph was lead by Lizzy Celko with 23 points while Alex Jones netted 14 points and Chloe Kurpakus had 11. St. Joseph advances to the semifinals against Cornell.