Latrobe upsets Class 6A No. 2 Penn Hills

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 17, 2018 | 9:41 AM

This was a gut check for the Latrobe basketball team.

After an embarrassing loss at Fox Chapel on Friday, the Wildcats were down 10 points midway through the second quarter Tuesday to No. 2 Penn Hills (16-1, 6-1) at home.

But Latrobe (10-4, 5-2) didn't melt under pressure. The Wildcats rallied for an impressive 80-66 victory in Section 3-6A.

Junior Bryce Butler scored a game-high 27 points, 14 in the second half, and junior Reed Fenton added 16 for the Wildcats, who outscored Penn Hills, 25-10, in the third quarter to erase a 39-36 halftime deficit.

The Penn Hills players were heard singing as they walked to their locker room at halftime. Latrobe had the Indians singing the blues at the end.

“The second half of the second quarter was the difference,” Latrobe coach Brad Wetzel said. “We came home last Friday after being humiliated at Fox Chapel. Everyone was in a bad place.

“We talked to the players when we got back, and we knew we had the best team in the section coming to our place. When we got down 10, I wondered if the effect of the Fox Chapel game was still with us. But we crawled back and got back into the game. It was a big win for us.”

Anthony Fannie started the run in the second quarter with a 3-pointer, and Jason Armstrong followed with a basket to close the gap to 33-28.

Baskets by Butler and Armstrong trimmed the Penn Hills lead to 39-36 at halftime.

Latrobe carried that momentum into the second half as Butler scored eight points and Fenton added seven.

With the score tied at 44-44 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter, Butler hit two driving layups, and Fenton added a basket to push the lead to 50-44. Butler's field goal and Fenton's two free throws completed a 10-0 run.

Latrobe led 61-49 after three quarters and maintained a double-figure lead throughout the final quarter.

Marcus Dudzinski, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, punctuated the win with two dunks in the final minute.

Armstrong finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Fannie added 15.

Latrobe has another tough test Friday at Woodland Hills, which is tied for first place with Penn Hills.

Penn Hills was led by Cam Wiley, who scored 15 of his team-high 21 points in the first half. Cory Fulton added 14 points for the Indians, who suffered their first loss of the season.

The game was delayed a half-hour after Penn Hills arrived late because of construction on Route 30.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Latrobe, Penn Hills