Defense holds key to playoff run for Sewickley Academy

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, March 23, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Two of the boys basketball teams that were in the running for a spot in the Class 2A state semifinals made the WPIAL proud.

In the PIAA quarterfinal round held March 15:

• Sewickley Academy (23-5), the WPIAL’s third-place team, rallied past Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 42-35.

• Greensburg Central Catholic (26-3), which lost to Union in the WPIAL quarterfinals, defeated WPIAL champion Jeannette, 46-35, for a third time this season.

Sewickley Academy and GCC advanced to a PIAA semifinal clash March 22 at Peters Township with the winner going on to the title game March 28 at Giant Center in Hershey.

“I think our kids grew up a lot,” Sewickley coach Mike Iuzzolino said. “We haven’t played from behind most of the season. We prepare for these situations all the time in practice, but until you go through it, especially in a playoff atmosphere, you never really know how your team will react.

“I really loved the contributions we received from two freshmen in Drew Steals and Connor Tull. Drew was awesome defensively and made some big plays on the offensive side, and Connor hit a big 3 in the first half when we were really struggling offensively.”

The Panthers won six of seven postseason games prior to their matchup with GCC and took a four-game winning streak into the contest.

The seven-point win against OLSH was the 19th time Sewickley limited its opponent to 40 points or fewer this season. The Panthers’ defensive average through 28 games was a sparkling 37.6 ppg — the best mark in the WPIAL.

None of the teams Sewickley defeated in the first three rounds of the state tournament — Windber, Lakeview and OLSH — were able to move the scoreboard past the 36-point mark.

“Defense wins games; offense just determines by how much,” Iuzzolino said. “That is what we preach every day. I know in today’s game everyone wants to see big offensive nights. Everyone wants to score, and believe me when I say I would love to score lots of points and get lots of stops.

“Our coaching staff focusing on defense is a big adjustment for these guys because we demand maximum effort on that side of the ball.”

Greensburg Central, like Sewickley, won six of its first seven postseason games and drove into the semifinals riding a five-game winning streak.

The Centurions started out 8-0 and held a 15-1 record in late January.

GCC won 11 of 12 prior to playing the Panthers, who lost their season opener before racking up nine consecutive victories and taking a 15-2 record into the month of February.

The Centurions held a 43.1 ppg defensive average and limited 12 teams to 40 points or fewer. Four section opponents — Clairton, Bentworth, Springdale and California — didn’t make it past a 29-point total against GCC.

A defensive struggle — a defensive fight for survival, if you will — between two talented and determined teams was anticipated in the semifinal round.

Sewickley allowed just 36.1 ppg in the postseason; GCC wasn’t far behind at 43.3 ppg. In their six previous playoff wins, the Panthers surrendered just 26, 39, 37, 36, 35 and 35 points.

Sewickley dashed the postseason dreams of OLSH thanks in large part to the inside performance of 6-foot-2 senior forward Nolan Donnelly and the twin tower tandem of 6-8 freshman Mamadou Kane and 6-8 sophomore Adam Ikamba.

Donnelly scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. He did all of his damage offensively in the second half, netting seven points in each of the third and fourth quarters.

It proved to be a milestone game for Donnelly, who isn’t afraid to grind it out in the frontcourt.

“Nolan, without a doubt, played his best half of basketball this season and what a great time to do it,” Iuzzolino said. “In addition, he scored his 1,000th point for his career. What a great accomplishment to score 1,000 points and win a state quarterfinal playoff game. I couldn’t be happier for him.

“Mamadou continues to improve and impress me with the things he can do on the court. It’s easy to forget he is a freshman and that he missed close to 10 games early in the season. His skills and development have me excited for our future.”

Kane was a force particularly after halftime with the Panther trailing 19-15. OLSH had jumped out to a 12-5 first-quarter lead. Kane finished with 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Ikamba made his presence felt on defense thanks to an unmatched dose of height, quickness and length.

“Adam can guard multiple positions, which is a great advantage,” Iuzzolino said. “He has done an excellent job of protecting the paint, and he is a big factor why our defense is so solid. He makes up for a lot of our defensive mistakes. His development has just begun, and he has such great upside potential.”

Kane tossed in a game-high 22 points in his team’s 56-35 win against District 10 champion Lakeview in the second round of the PIAA tournament.

Sewickley’s full-court pressure limited OLSH to single-digit production in the second, third and fourth quarters. The contest was tied at 28-28 at the end of the third period before the Panthers doubled up on the Chargers, 14-7, in the final eight minutes.

Greensburg Central Catholic has been a guard-oriented team this year and was led by the backcourt tandem of 5-10 junior Samir Crosby (13 points) and 6-3 sophomore A.J. Tarpley (12) against Jeannette.

The Centurions trailed only briefly in the opening minutes before stretching the lead to double figures for most of the second half.

GCC finished in fifth place in the WPIAL, then defeated McConnellsburg, 54-43, and Neshannock, 66-52, in the PIAA bracket.

Against Neshannock, 6-2 senior guard Liam Gallagher netted 22 points, connecting on six of eight triples in the second half. Tarpley scored 16, Crosby contributed 12 and 6-5 senior G/F Brady O’Rourke added 10.

GCC last reached the PIAA semifinals in 2014.

Tags: Sewickley Academy