New Castle wins ‘fist fight’ over Penn Hills in low-scoring PIAA quarterfinal
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Wednesday, March 16, 2022 | 2:51 AM
New Castle’s Cahmari Perkins blocks the shot of Penn Hills’ Noah Barren during a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal Tuesday at UPMC Events Center.
Penn Hills’ Noah Barren shoots over New Castle’s Isaiah Boice during a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal Tuesday at UPMC Events Center.
Penn Hills’ Jaden Dugger blocks the shot attempt by New Castle’s Michael Wells during a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal Tuesday at UPMC Events Center.
New Castle’s Isaiah Boice fights for the ball with Penn Hills’ Noah Barren during a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal Tuesday at UPMC Events Center.
New Castle’s Michael Wells scores past Penn Hills’ Robert Thomas during a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal Tuesday at UPMC Events Center.
Penn Hills’ Julian Dugger defends New Castle’s Cahmari Perkins during a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal Tuesday at UPMC Events Center.
New Castle’s Michael Wells grabs a rebound between Penn Hills’ Noah Barren (1) and Jaden Dugger during a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal Tuesday at UPMC Events Center.
How do you describe a game with more than a dozen blocks, more than two dozen turnovers, and the first team to score 40 points won?
“A total fist fight,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said, “and we knew that’s what it was going to be.”
At the end, his Red Hurricanes were still standing. New Castle’s Mike Wells kept his team upright with 17 points, 12 rebounds and a couple of key 3-pointers Tuesday night in a 43-35 win over Penn Hills in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal at Robert Morris’ UPMC Events Center.
Jonathan Anderson made a go-ahead 3-pointer just before half, and Wells added two more in the third quarter, part of an 11-4 run that gave them lead for good.
New Castle led 31-24 after three.
Penn Hills scored only four points in the entire third quarter, but baskets didn’t come easy for either side. New Castle shot 35% from the field (17 for 48), and Penn Hills shot 27% (12 for 44).
“It was a slugfest,” Penn Hills coach Chris Giles said. “Every possession mattered. … We hang our hats on the defensive end. They’re good and strong and physical on the defensive end, so that part is not very surprising.
“Guys locked in on both ends and really competed. I thought (the score) would be low, but not that low.”
Anderson added 11 points. Noah Barren led Penn Hills (20-6) with 10 points.
New Castle had averaged around 70 points per game and Penn Hills averaged nearly 60, yet Blundo agreed that he too wasn’t surprised to see a score so low.
“I think everyone else thinks, ‘OK, New Castle vs. Penn Hills. It’s going to be up and down the court,’” he said. “But when you look in these playoff games, there’s so much material behind you for people to (scout and) prepare. It gets tougher and tougher to score as it goes on.”
The win advances New Castle (26-2) into a PIAA semifinal rematch with Gateway (18-6) on Friday at a site and time to be determined. The two teams met Feb. 28 in the WPIAL semifinals and New Castle won by 10.
Running into a PIAA playoff opponent from another district is often easier than one from your own backyard, Blundo said. New Castle reached the quarterfinals with decisive wins over Northeastern York, 63-50, and Central Mountain, 85-33.
But Penn Hills’ combination of size and athleticism caused New Castle trouble from the start. Penn Hills team statistics credited senior Jaden Dugger with six blocks.
“They protect the rim so well and they’re so good defensively,” Blundo said. “I thought they were the most athletic team we’ve faced since we faced Archbishop Carroll in 2015. They are freakishly athletic and skilled.”
Wells missed his first three shots and went without a basket in the first quarter before heating up. He scored seven points in the second quarter and six more in the third.
“They matched up good with us because they’re really athletic and big,” Wells said. “They blocked a lot of shots. Even when we pump faked, they had the length to block them on the way down or jump right back up.”
Penn Hills led 10-5 late in the first quarter, but New Castle scored nine consecutive points to take the lead. The run finished with a 3-pointer and layup by Wells to lead 14-10.
That was the first of three lead changes in the second quarter. A three-point play by Robert Thomas briefly gave Penn Hills the lead at 17-16, but Wells answered immediate with a layup.
Penn Hills forced a tie at 20 on a layup by Dugger before Anderson made his go-ahead 3 just before half. Anderson’s shot came after recovering a loose ball on an offensive rebound.
New Castle led 23-20 at half.
The teams combined for 12 points in the third quarter, which New Castle won 8-4. The Red Hurricanes then led for the entire fourth quarter. The lead peaked at 43-33 with less than a minute left.
“That was two pretty good teams going at it,” Giles said. “(Class) 5A has been brutal all year.”
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: New Castle, Penn Hills
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