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New Castle boys dominate 2nd half, hand Fox Chapel 1st section loss of season

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Friday, January 10, 2025 | 10:18 PM

The scoreboard had a tied score at half, yet the game ended under the mercy rule.

That disparity proved just how well New Castle played after halftime Friday night. Freshman Kai Cox scored 13 of his game-high 19 points after the break, and the Red Hurricanes used a dominant third quarter to hand Fox Chapel its first section loss, 72-41, in a tight game that suddenly turned lopsided.

The Foxes began the day alone atop the Section 1-6A standings but ended the night in a three-way tie that included New Castle.

“We needed a win like this against a really good basketball team,” said New Castle coach Ralph Blundo, whose team suffered its first section loss last week. “Obviously, the loss to Seneca Valley stung pretty good. I don’t know if tonight happens if that doesn’t happen last week.”

Senior guard Ralphie Blundo and junior Damian Harrison scored 17 points apiece for No. 3 New Castle (10-1, 5-1). Senior Caden Kaiser led No. 5 Fox Chapel (10-3, 5-1) with 14 points, and senior Asher White added 11.

The student section serenaded the New Castle coach with “Happy Birthday,” before the game, and the now 52-year-old counted the win among his gifts.

“It’s a good one,” Blundo said.

Tied 27-27 at halftime, New Castle pulled away with successive 3-pointers by Cox, Harrison and Kyrell Harris in a three-minute span in the third quarter. The big shots helped the Red Hurricanes outscore Fox Chapel, 21-7, in the decisive quarter, breaking from a first half that featured six lead changes and five ties.

Overall, New Castle won the second half 45-14.

“I wasn’t displeased with the first half either. They’re good,” Blundo said of Fox Chapel.

“Sometimes you’re playing well, but the other team is playing well, too. So you have a tie ballgame at the half. Nothing changed. We just played better basketball in the second half.”

New Castle made 8 of 15 shots in the third quarter, forced six turnovers and rebounded better. Fox Chapel went 2 for 7 shooting. As a result, New Castle led 48-34 after three.

The Red Hurricanes scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, quickly pushing their lead to 19 points. The final quarter started with a breakaway dunk by Harrison.

“We quit playing physical, and we settled for jump shots,” Fox Chapel coach Zach Skrinjar said. “They kind of got in their rhythm. We just didn’t do a good job. … We just kind of quit defending.”

Fox Chapel had led 14-11 after one quarter.

The teams were later tied at 27 after a 3-pointer by Fox Chapel’s White with 10 seconds left before half.

The Foxes rebounded well in the first half and used second-chance points to keep pace with New Castle. Those chances became harder to find after halftime.

“Look at the board right there,” said Blundo, pointing at the dry erase board in New Castle’s locker room, where rebounding was circled.

“We know they’re coming (for rebounds), and they obviously did a good job in the first half,” Blundo said. “I thought we got a lot of challenged rebounds in the second half that got us out in transition and got some easy buckets.”

Fox Chapel was making its first trip to New Castle in almost two decades. The teams hadn’t met since Feb. 3, 2006, which was the last time they shared a section.

The team rematch Feb. 4 at Fox Chapel.

Ralphie Blundo sparked New Castle’s offense with nine points in the first half on three long 3-pointers. Kaiser had eight first-half points for Fox Chapel.

The back-and-forth pace defined the first half.

Harrison scored the game’s first two baskets, the second being a breakaway dunk to lead 4-0. Fox Chapel answered with a layup by Kaiser and a 3-pointer by Grant Fenton to take a 5-4 lead.

The teams were tied at 7, 14, 18, 24 and 27.

New Castle scored the first four points after halftime and never trailed again. The Red Hurricanes’ lead reached 30 points late in the fourth quarter, enacting the mercy rule.

“The score is what the score is,” Skrinjar said. “I thought we played a really good half, but they took it to us pretty good and we didn’t do enough in that second half to put up any resistance.”

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.

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