Khalil Dinkins’ double-double helps North Allegheny top North Hills in overtime
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Tuesday, January 26, 2021 | 10:00 PM
North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins scores past North Hills’ Devin Burgess during overtime on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins drives to the basket past North Hills’ Alex Smith (5) and Devin Burgess during overtime on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins smiles after defeating North Hills in overtime on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Royce Parham battles North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins for a rebound during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Allegheny’s Greg Habib battles North Hills’ Matt Seidl for a loose ball during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Allegheny’s Greg Habib drives to basket past North Hills defenders during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Royce Parham scores over North Allegheny defenders during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Royce Parham blocks a shot by North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Allegheny’s Greg Habib battles North Hills’ Royce Parham for a rebound during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins works against North Hills’ Matt Seidl during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins battles North Hills’ Royce Parham for a rebound during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins smiles after defeating North Hills in overtime on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, at North Allegheny High School.
As a future Penn State football player, there’s no questioning Khalil Dinkins’ athleticism. But his basketball coach has told him there’s one flaw in his game: He’s too nice.
North Hills might disagree.
Dinkins made a game-saving block at the end of regulation Tuesday night and then scored the first five points of overtime as No. 2 North Allegheny defeated rival North Hills for the second time in three weeks, 74-65.
Both wins came in overtime.
This time, Dinkins and teammate Greg Habib each scored 25 points and Dinkins added 11 rebounds to keep North Allegheny (7-2, 5-0) undefeated in Section 1-6A.
North Hills was outscored 9-0 in overtime thanks in large part to Dinkins, whose double-double included five points and four rebounds in the extra period.
“The last few games, he really has stepped up,” NA coach Dan DeRose said. “We were kind of on him early. We didn’t think he was really being aggressive enough. I told him you’re too nice for your size. You need to start getting a little bit meaner out there and more physical, playing with some passion and emotion.”
Tied at 65 with 20 seconds left, North Hills’ Matt Seidl had an open lane to the basket until Dinkins came crashing hard from the right and blocked his shot.
Dinkins said he accepted the “too nice” label as challenge and decided to get physical. In the final minutes Tuesday, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior proved he can play with an edge.
“I take it not as an insult but somewhere that I can get better,” Dinkins said. “I’ve been getting more rebounds, getting more touches.”
His coach agreed there’s been a difference.
“I told him he’s got to go out there with a killer instinct,” DeRose said. “I told him, go ask my wife and daughter about when we have family game night. I’m out for blood. I’m not losing. You’ve got to have that same mentality.
“I think ever since we had that talk he’s been stepping it up. He took over there in the fourth quarter. He kind of dominated in there.”
This was the second time in 19 days that the two teams played an overtime game. North Allegheny won the first 82-79 on Jan. 8.
In the rematch, North Allegheny led 40-26 early in the third quarter. However, North Hills erased that 14-point deficit and held a three-point lead late in the fourth. Ethan Chmura’s 3-pointer gave North Hills a 65-62 lead in the final 2 minutes. A banked 3-pointer by NA’s Robby Jones with 55 seconds left forced overtime.
The teams were tied at 57, 62 and 65.
“I think it just comes down to matchups,” Habib said. “They match up with us real well and they play really hard to the end, as you saw. We kind of let them slide back into the game.”
Alex Smith and Royce Parham each scored 20 points for North Hills (0-4, 0-3). The Indians played part of the fourth quarter and all of overtime without Parham, a 6-6 freshman who injured his left knee. North Hills led 61-59 when Parham left.
Seidl added 10 points.
“The end result isn’t what we want,” North Hills coach Buzz Gabos said, “but I like the way they kind of hung together and dealt with some adversity. Not only on the scoreboard but we lost a guy who’s been a major part already of what we’re trying to do.”
Gabos said he didn’t know the extent of Parham’s injury but remained hopeful it wasn’t serious.
The Indians are winless through four games but have faced a tough schedule. Along with two losses to North Allegheny, they also lost to No. 1 Upper St. Clair and at Seneca Valley following a covid-19 shutdown.
“We’re getting there. We’re close,” Gabos said. “I told them a couple of weeks ago, before we got shut down again, that I’d give them until Feb. 1 and then we’ll see where we are. I think we’re on our way.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: North Allegheny, North Hills
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