Belle Vernon boys get off to fast start then hang on to hand Southmoreland its 1st loss

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, January 3, 2024 | 10:13 PM

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From its worst start of the season to nearly its best finish, Southmoreland had an up and down kind of night.

Then again, so did Belle Vernon, which basically experienced the opposite by opening with a flash and then sputtering to the finish line in the Section 3-4A boys basketball opener.

The Scotties, playing without their starting point guard and compounded by foul trouble, couldn’t come all the way back and suffered their first loss of the season, falling 59-57 at Belle Vernon on Wednesday night.

Belle Vernon (6-2, 1-0), which scored the first 11 points and built a 15-point lead (26-11) late in the first half, had to push back the Scotties (10-1, 0-1), who tied their best start since 2014-15.

Senior point guard Ronnie Collins did not play because of an undisclosed medical issue, so the Scotties had to make adjustments in the backcourt.

“We took punches early,” Scotties coach Frank Muccino said. “We were a little out of whack. We didn’t have (Collins), and we didn’t adjust well to that. We were 0 for 6 from the foul line early and 0 for life from everywhere else.

“We’re not going to get any pats on our backs for almost winning. You have to win games. Foul trouble really hurt us late.”

Belle Vernon held leads of 13-3 and 29-19 after the first quarter and at halftime.

But Southmoreland, the highest-scoring team in Westmoreland County (68.2 points per game), began chipping away in the third, trimming a 13-point deficit to 36-34 after sophomore Noah Felentzer hit a 3.

Senior Wyatt Richter scored 13 of his game-high 20 in the third, including two 3s and an and-1.

Junior Zion Moore’s breakaway dunk put the Leopards up 45-40 before they took a 47-44 edge to the fourth.

“We played well in the beginning,” Leopards coach Joe Salvino said. “But we stopped playing defense. I’m having a hard time trying to figure out why we don’t want to put teams away.

“We started to rushing things when we were up (15). We have to know when to shoot and when not to shoot.”

Southmoreland, which scored three points in the first quarter and 25 in the third, took its first lead at 51-49 with 5 minutes, 55 seconds to play in the fourth on a layup by junior Elliott Premus.

But the Leopards, who gave away 21 turnovers, including four travels in the fourth quarter, jumped back in front on a putback by sophomore Curtis Wade.

Wade finished a break off a steal and assist from junior guard Trevor Kovatch to make it 57-53.

After a turnover gave the Scotties life with 1:05 left, a pair of 3-pointers rimmed out before Premus, who face-guarded Moore, and Richter fouled out inside the 40-second mark.

Senior Ty Keffer knocked in a corner 3 with 15 seconds left to get the Scotties to within 58-57.

“We’re up three, and there was a timeout,” Salvino said. “I told them, no 3-pointers. What do they do? They let the kid we don’t want to shoot it get a shot from the corner.”

Kovatch and Moore each made 1 of 2 free throws late to seal it. Moore, who has more than 1,200 career points, took two charges.

“We started to spread the floor and had some success,” Muccino said. “Maybe we should have had the ball in our best player’s hands (late). That’s my fault.”

The Scotties were called for an offensive foul with five-10ths of a second remaining, and the game ended.

Felentzer added 17 points, and Keffer had 15.

For Belle Vernon, Moore finished with 18, Kovatch 13 and junior Alonzo Wade 10. Junior Tommy Davis had eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for the Leopards.

Kovatch added seven assists and four steals.

It was the first game all season that the Scotties did not reach 60 points.

“We need to play better defense as a team,” Salvino said.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Southmoreland