Unbeaten Laurel Highlands rallies past Highlands in OT, moves into quarterfinals
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Friday, March 11, 2022 | 10:06 PM
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher celebrates after scoring against Highlands during a PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher scores against Highlands’ Chandler Thimons and Bradyn Foster during their PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Keondre Deshields scores over Highlands’ Jimmy Kunst during their PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher shoots a three-pointer against Highlands during a PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher celebrates during a PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game against Highlands on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Jayden Pratt celebrates after scoring against Highlands during a PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Brandon Davis drives past Highlands’ Bradyn Foster during their PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Highlands’ Jimmy Kunst drives past Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher during their PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher drives to the basket against Highlands’ Chandler Thimons during their PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
The Laurel Highlands student section cheers on the Mustangs against Highlands during a PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Joe Chambers blocks a shot by Highlands’ Chandler Thimons during their PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Nico Johns celebrates during a PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game against Highlands on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Highlands’ Jimmy Kunst drives against Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher during overtime in their PIAA Class 5A second-round game.
Highlands’ Cam Reigard is pressured by Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher during their PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Highlands’ Carter Leri (14) and Jimmy Kunst walk from the court after their overtime loss to Laurel Highlands in a PIAA Class 5A second-round game Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Jayden Pratt celebrates after scoring against Highlands during a PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher celebrates after scoring against Highlands during a PIAA Class 5A second round state playoff game on Friday, March 11, 2022, at Norwin High School.
Laurel Highlands celebrated its 27th consecutive win Friday night, but this victory over Highlands followed a different script than the first 26.
This time, the Mustangs were down by double digits early.
A hot shooting start let Highlands jump to a 13-point lead, yet Laurel Highlands battled back behind star junior Rodney Gallagher’s 30 points to defeat the Rams, 71-66, in overtime in a PIAA Class 5A second-round game at Norwin.
This was a rematch of a WPIAL semifinal game that Laurel Highlands won by 17 points two weeks ago. But this time, hot-shooting Highlands led 36-23 late in the second quarter.
Laurel Highlands leaned on its defense, forced five fourth-quarter turnovers and took its first lead with six minutes left in regulation.
The Mustangs then outscored Highlands, 11-6, in overtime.
“They had to show something they hadn’t had to show before,” Laurel Highland coach Rick Hauger said of his undefeated WPIAL champions. “They were down 13 points. … It just shows the belief that they have in themselves and each other. There was no panic.”
Keondre Deshields scored 15 points, and Joe Chambers added 13 for Laurel Highlands (27-0), which next faces Gateway in a PIAA quarterfinal Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
“We showed that the first time we played them wasn’t the real team we are,” Highlands coach Corey Dotchin said. “We gave them our best shot today. They made a couple of more plays than we did down the stretch.”
Highlands (19-8) led by double digits for much of the second quarter and never trailed until the fourth. Hauger said he couldn’t remember his Mustangs trailing by 13 points at any other time this season.
“We just had to stay calm,” Gallagher said. “We’d never seen it all season, but I knew Coach Hauger was going to put us in a great position, and I knew our fans were going to be behind us. … We just did a great job of continuing to fight.”
The game drew a standing-room crowd to Norwin’s gym.
Highlands had five scorers in double figures. Jimmy Kunst scored 14 points, Carter Leri and Brayden Foster each had 13, Chander Thimons had 12 and Cameron Reigard added 11.
In the WPIAL semifinals, Laurel Highlands defeated Highlands, 61-44, on Feb 28. This time, the Rams led 19-11 after the first quarter when Reigard made a buzzer-beating 3, and their lead peaked at 13 points on a 3-pointer by Foster in the second.
Highlands shot 65% from the field in the first half, making 15 of 23 attempts, including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.
“We had to force harder shots (in the second half),” Gallagher said. “They were still hitting some tough 3s, but it wasn’t as much as the first half. We really had to step it up.”
Laurel Highlands took its first lead with six minutes left in the fourth on a free throw by Brandon Davis, breaking a 53-53 tie, and the Mustangs’ lead then quickly grew to five. Two Highlands turnovers led to consecutive baskets by Gallagher, first a jumper and then a driving layup to lead 58-53 with five minutes left.
Highlands had five turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Laurel Highlands’ lead was 60-56 with less than 30 seconds left in regulation, but Highlands rallied to tie. Thimons made one of two free throws with 28 seconds left. After a steal by Thimons, Reigard made a game-tying 3-pointer with 17 seconds left.
Gallagher had two chances to retake the lead but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds left and a long jumper at the buzzer. The teams were tied 60-60 after four quarters.
Laurel Highlands opened overtime with a 6-1 run. A jumper by Deshields, a driving layup by Gallagher and a put-back basket by Pratt gave the Mustangs a 66-61 lead with less than two minutes left in overtime.
A 3-pointer by Highlands’ Kunst cut the margin to two points with 80 seconds left, but the Rams got no closer. Laurel Highlands scored the game’s final five points including a driving layup by Joe Chambers with 51 seconds left.
Deshields went 3 for 4 at the line in the final 23 seconds to seal the win.
“I’m really so proud of their resilience and the way they hung in there and battled back,” Hauger said. “That was against a really good basketball team.”
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: Highlands, Laurel Highlands
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