Belle Vernon holds off Farrell to keep dream season going in PIAA Class 4A 1st round

By: Adam Brewer
Friday, March 7, 2025 | 11:02 PM

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If there’s one phrase that best describes the 2024-25 Belle Vernon boys basketball team, it’s “battle-tested.”

The Leopards rode all the emotions in their PIAA Class 4A first-round contest against Farrell at home Friday night, but, at the end of the day, their poise pulled them through.

Belle Vernon tightened things up defensively in the final eight minutes and found its offense at key times, pulling away from Farrell, 74-63, to continue the Leps’ “Last Dance” season.

“I think our last couple of games have been really close,” Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino said. “We know how to win these close games and come out on top. We did a lot of things well tonight, but then on the flip side, we struggled a bit with some things.”

The Leopards (22-4) had to come off the high of winning the school’s first WPIAL title in 47 years last week and all the emotions of this potentially being Salvino’s final game in his coaching career.

“We had a good start tonight and got things rolling in our favor,” Salvino said. “They looked sluggish, and that two-hour bus ride can sometimes be tough to overcome. But they are a scrappy group, and we knew they were going to give it their best in the second half.”

Belle Vernon upped its winning streak to 16 games, went a perfect 9-0 at home this season and improved to 6-8 all-time in the state playoffs.

The victory was the first in the PIAAs since a triumph over Obama Academy in 2022.

Up next for the Leopards is a second-round matchup with District 10 runner-up Sharon on Tuesday at a time and site to be determined. Sharon improved to 19-8 after an opening-round 82-74 victory over Avonworth.

“We had a great crowd tonight, and we fed off all of those emotions,” said Belle Vernon senior Tommy Davis, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. “It was our last home game of the season, and we wanted to come out with a big W.”

Trevor Kovatch also notched 18 points for the Leopards, and Zion Moore added 17. Dominic Ghilani had a monster game in the paint with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

“I love playing with Dom, and he makes me elevate my game,” Davis said. “He is muscular and just fights for those rebounds. We knew we both had to control the boards and played good defense on the inside tonight.”

Trae Cousin and Juelz Johnson tallied 19 points apiece for the Steelers (12-12), and Malcolm Norman chipped in with 15 off the bench.

There was no hangover for Belle Vernon to begin the contest, as the home team was clicking on all cylinders and scored the first 13 points.

Kovatch and Moore had treys in the early run, and a shot from beyond the arc by Curtis Wade extended the Leopards’ lead to 13-0. After the visitors cracked the scoreboard, Belle Vernon responded with a 3-pointer from an unlikely source, Ghilani, which drew a smirk from Salvino.

“Dominic played a really good game and was his normal physical self,” Salvino said. “He is a man possessed when he fights for those rebounds. I could not help but smile when he hit that 3 in the first quarter. I do not usually smile in games, and Dominic usually does not hit 3s. I think that was his second 3 of the season.”

Belle Vernon ended the opening eight minutes with a 24-10 lead, as seven players scored.

Farrell grabbed the opening bucket in the second quarter before Belle Vernon rattled off eight straight points to increase its advantage to 32-12. The Steelers ended the first half with an 11-5 spree, but the Leopards held a 37-23 lead going into halftime.

The visitors found their shooting touch in the third quarter and quickly made it a single-possession game by scoring 17 of the first 26 points in the frame.

Kovatch nailed a pair of free throws to make it 48-40 at the 3:13 mark of the third, but, two minutes later, it was 50-48 after an 8-2 spurt by the Steelers. Both teams made a pair of free throws to end the quarter as the Leopards held onto a 52-50 edge.

After Kovatch started the scoring in the fourth quarter with some free throws, Farrell answered right back with a corner 3 by Norman.

Leading 54-53, Belle Vernon found its defensive presence and alertly ran a more low-risk offense through the interior. The Leopards went on an 11-3 run as Moore compiled seven points.

Norman knocked down another trey by the visitors to make it 65-59, but Belle Vernon secured the state playoff win by ending the game on a 9-4 rally. Davis scored four points in the late surge, two of which on a dunk that proved to be the exclamation mark for the home team.

“We played really well on defense in the final eight minutes,” Davis said. “We got stops when we needed them, and we communicated well with each other around screens. We came from a big high of winning a WPIAL title last week, but we were locked in for this game from the start. It means the world to win with this group and to win for coach on his last run.”

The Leopards had some struggles at the free-throw line in the first three quarters by going 9 for 20 but bounced back with a 9-for-10 effort in the final frame.

“It got tight in the second half,” Salvino said. “We had that big lead in the first half, and then we started to panic a little bit. I think the guys just like to make it close, and they like hearing me scream at them. But, in all seriousness, we are glad to be still playing in the playoffs.”

Tags: Belle Vernon