Belle Vernon boys basketball survives Ambridge’s rally at WPIALs

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 24, 2018 | 8:18 PM

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Belle Vernon made sure there wouldn't be another second-half playoff victory rally for Ambridge.

The Bridgers, the No. 6 seed in the WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball tournament, came back from a halftime deficit to defeat Deer Lakes in the first round.

On Saturday, the Bridgers trailed the No. 3 Leopards by 15 early in the third quarter before coming back to take a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

But Belle Vernon made several key plays in the final minute to secure a 64-59 quarterfinal victory at West Allegheny.

“We've been talking about holding the rope,” Belle Vernon coach Kyle DeGregorio said. “You hold the rope until your hands bleed, and you can't let go of it. The rope is a sign of strength that holds things together. When they came back and took a lead, I didn't see any panic in my kids.”

Ambridge senior guard Desmond Council sank one of two free throws to break a 57-57 deadlock with 1 minute, 12 seconds left. Ten seconds earlier, fellow senior Monterey Carpenter hit one of his four 3-pointers to tie the score.

Belle Vernon quickly looked for an answer, and sophomore guard Cam Nusser delivered. He nailed a 3-pointer with one minute on the clock to give the Leopards the lead for good.

Nusser then added four free throws to help secure the win.

“I'm not a big timeout guy in those situations,” DeGregorio said. “I believe the game of basketball is just a game of action and reaction. That's the way we've practiced and trained our kids. Sure enough, Cam got an open shot and he made it. Thank God I didn't call a timeout.”

Nusser finished with 17 points as Belle Vernon improved to 18-5. It advanced to the WPIAL semifinals and clinched a spot in the state playoffs for the first time since the 1997-98 season.

“Give that kid credit,” Ambridge coach Mark Jula said. “It wasn't a designed play. He got to an open spot, found it and hit it.”

Leopards senior Joe Sabolek led all scorers with 25 points. He had 16 in the first half as the Leopards built their biggest lead of the game — 34-17 — at the 1:05 mark of the second quarter. They went into halftime with a 13-point advantage.

Ambridge started its second-half comeback with an 9-0 run to cut the Belle Vernon lead to 39-34 with 3:20 left in the third quarter.

Senior Tay Lindsay scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help continue the Bridgers' rally before fouling out with 2:09 to go in regulation.

Ambridge junior forward Aaron Hilzendeger scored a team-high 20 points — his season average — and added 10 rebounds.

“You knew they were coming back,” DeGregorio said. “Mark Jula is a good coach, and they have a good program. The question was, were we tough enough to hold off the fight they were going to bring to us in the second half?”

Despite the loss, Ambridge (13-10) is alive for a possible trip to states.

The four 4A semifinalists qualify for the PIAAs, but the teams who lose to the WPIAL finalists in the quarterfinal round also pick up berths. That means the Bridgers need the Leopards to beat No. 2 New Castle on Wednesday.

“Trying to come back from 13-14 points down, especially against a team like Belle Vernon, is tough to do,” Jula said. “I can't question the kids' effort. They were hustling and diving all over the floor.”

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Ambridge, Belle Vernon