Noah Felentzer leads Southmoreland boys to 1st playoff win since 2017

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 | 9:49 PM

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Southmoreland’s front man wanted another show, and he got it.

“This felt like it was going to be a special night,” high-scoring junior guard Noah Felentzer said. “We wanted to keep the band together.”

Now comes the encore.

Before fouling out, Felentzer scored a playoff career-high 31 points, including 12 of 16 free throws, to propel the sixth-seeded Scotties to a 58-50 victory over No. 11 Carlynton in the WPIAL Class 3A first round Tuesday night in Alverton.

Fresh off their first section title since 1992, the Scotties (18-5) rang up their first playoff win since 2017.

“This is our best seed, and we won our first section,” Southmoreland coach Frank Muccino said. “We showed some nerves tonight. Hopefully, after the first game, the jitters are gone. This means a lot.”

Those jitters might have had something to do with Carlynton (9-13), a Class A quarterfinalist last year that was was nothing short of pesky in its upset bid.

“We wanted to win by a lot more,” Felentzer said. “We work hard for these moments. We had some close games this year that helped us tonight.”

Southmoreland advances to play No. 3 Mohawk (18-5) in Friday’s quarterfinals. The time and site will be determined.

Mohawk beat No. 14 Waynesburg, 59-40.

Southmoreland’s largest lead was the final score. The Scotties led for most of the night, including the entire second half, but were hardly comfortable.

“It seemed herky-jerky tonight,” Muccino said. “We couldn’t get over the hump and extend (the lead). We didn’t get stops when we needed to.

“This time of year, though, it’s survive and advance.”

Felentzer, who left the game briefly in the third after turning his left ankle, knocked down a 3 from the wing with 4:45 remaining to give the Scotties a 49-42 advantage.

Ishaga Barre made another 3, and Dewayne Fisher tipped in a miss for Carlynton to cut it to 51-47.

Devonte Dean kept the Cougars close, scoring inside to make it 53-49 with about two minutes left. Dean led Carlynton with 19 points and added eight assists.

But Southmoreland didn’t waver on its home floor.

“It’s our first playoff game, so there were some nerves,” Felentzer said. “It just felt like another game to me.”

Freshman Luke Stinnett made a layup to extend the lead to six, and his free throw made it 54-49 with 50.1 seconds to go.

Junior Brady Sherbondy and freshman Brock Pritts made two free throws each inside the final 20 seconds to ice it for the Scotties.

“There are some things we need to clean up,” Muccino said. “But we’ll work on that. Noah is a scorer. That is what he likes to do. But everyone chipped in something different tonight.”

The rest of the band accounted for 27 points alongside Felenzter, who also marked career highs for free throws made and attempted in a game.

Southmoreland as a team made 25 of 33 free throws.

There were three ties in the third, the last at 32-32 after Felentzer made two free throws. The Scotties managed a 41-40 lead heading to the fourth despite making only three field goals in the third.

Barre hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the Cougars at the end of the third, but Southmoreland quickly regained momentum as Felentzer opened the fourth with a three-point play.

Southmoreland took a 19-13 lead after a turnover-plagued first quarter and led 28-24 at the half.

There were five leads changes and three ties in the first half.

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

Tags: Carlynton, Southmoreland