Allderdice boys fall short against state’s top-ranked team in Class 6A, Kennedy Catholic

By: William Whalen
Saturday, March 2, 2019 | 10:50 PM

Allderdice boys basketball coach Buddy Valinsky gave his team a bit of a break this past week. Light practice is hardly the conventional wisdom going into a matchup against the No. 1-ranked Class 6A team in the state.

But this time of year, less is more.

The six-time defending Pittsburgh City League champion Dragons gave District 10 champion Kennedy Catholic all it could handle for four quarters but fell short in the end as the Golden Eagles downed Allderdice, 68-55, in a PIAA Class 6A subregional final at Slippery Rock’s Morrow Field House Saturday night.

“We prepared nothing for this game,” Valinsky said. “It just goes to show you, sometimes we over prepare and get blown out. And sometimes, we under prepare and we play like this. This game didn’t mean anything. If this was the end of the season, I think I would be a little bit more upset, but it’s not.”

Allderdice (21-5) will go into the first round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs and face Canon-McMillan. Kennedy Catholic (22-3) will face Fox Chapel. The first round begins March 9 at a site and time to be determined.

“I said before the game that Allderdice is very good and very well coached,” Kennedy Catholic coach Rick Mancino said. “Fortunately, it wasn’t a win or go home game, but I thought at times we gave great effort, and I thought at other times we didn’t give the effort we needed.”

The Dragons let it be known early they weren’t going to be intimidated by Kennedy Catholic’s talent. Senior Bobby Clifford, a Slippery Rock commit, came out on his soon-to-be home court and lit it up. Clifford led Allderdice on an 8-0 run in the first quarter to give the Dragons an 11-9 lead with 3 minutes, 41 seconds on the clock.

Senior Jackson Blaufeld, a Dartmouth commit, swished two free throws and added a 3-pointer to extend Allderdice’s lead to 16-11. Clifford finished with a team-high 17 points, and Jackson pitched in 10.

“It was exciting, and it was like getting my first taste of college,” Clifford said. “I love it here. I thought we played well. If we clean up some mistakes, I feel like we give them a better game.

West Virginia commit Oscar Tshiebwe added a putback and pull-up jumper at the buzzer to tie the game at 16-16 after the first quarter.

Clifford connected on a 3-pointer from the right corner to give Allderdice the lead back at 19-16.

“We know already that it’s a little bit different than the past few years,” Mancino said. “The first round game, the team is going to be pretty good.”

Not enough can be said about first-year senior Dalen Dugger’s job on Tshiebwe. Dugger contested every shot of Tshiebwe’s.

“I knew they were going to try and pass to him, so I had to try and be aggressive back, ” Dugger said. “He’s long, strong and I tried my best.”

Kennedy Catholic senior Matia Acunzo added a basket to give the Golden Eagles the lead for good at 24-23 with just under 5 minutes remaining in the first half. Acunzo finished the night with 14 points and teammate Austin Maceo had 19.

Allderdice junior Josphat Mukogosi added a 3-pointer from the right corner to keep the game close at 28-26. Tshiebwe added a short pull-up jumper to give Kennedy Catholic a 33-29 lead at the half.

Mukogosi drained back-to-back 3-pointers and Clifford added a basket to end the third quarter on a 8-2 run and draw the score to 51-49, Kennedy Catholic.

While Dugger was doing his job on Tshiebwe down low in the paint, there were times where nothing was going to stop the 6-foot-10 center. Tshiebwe dazzled the packed house with a slam dunk off a putback to give the Golden Eagles a 54-49 lead with 6:06 remaining.

Dugger added a spectacular baseline reverse layup to once again narrow Kennedy Catholic’s lead to two points at 54-52.

Tshiebwe and Acunzo paced the Kennedy Catholic offense down the stretch. Clifford added a 3-pointer late to complete Allderdice’s scoring.

“It’s not too often you are happy about a loss,” Valinsky said. “It’s a segue for next week.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Allderdice