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Franklin Regional boys win 2OT thriller over Shaler

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Friday, January 19, 2024 | 10:58 PM

Uncle Kevin would have been proud. Of a thrilling Franklin Regional win. Of a runaway second overtime by the Panthers in a playoff-like atmosphere. And most of all, of his nephew’s big shot.

Franklin Regional guard Fin Hutchison lost his uncle, Kevin Sebunia, who lived three houses down from the home that exploded in September on Rustic Ridge Drive in Plum.

He was 55 when he died.

Hutchison made sure his uncle’s name was mentioned during the guard’s introduction on senior night, and he was brought to tears talking about him after the No. 5-ranked Panthers topped No. 3 Shaler, 72-62, in double overtime Friday night in a matchup of Class 5A top-five boys basketball teams in Murrysville.

Between a pair of section leaders, Franklin Regional (13-2, 5-1) outscored the Titans, 12-2, in the second OT, ending the game with an impressive 14-2 run.

“He came to all of my games,” Hutchison said of his uncle. “He would have been here to see this.”

With the Panthers leading 63-60 late in the second OT, gutsy Shaler (14-2, 4-2) was primed to take a loose ball and turn it into points. But senior Cooper Rankin swiped the ball back and delivered a dart to Hutchison in the far corner. Hutchison banged in the 3-pointer with 1:47 left to push the lead to six, and the Panthers held the Titans without a field goal in the period to win going away.

“I have been in a slump recently,” Hutchison said. “My teammates have been telling me you’re a great shooter, and they trusted me to make a big shot. To do it in this game, it meant a lot.”

After free throws by junior Drew Devola and Hutchison, senior Cam Rowell put an exclamation point on the win with a windmill dunk with 30 seconds left.

Rowell finished with 28 points, Rankin added 17 and Hutchison 14 for the Panthers, who have won eight of nine.

“This was one of our most complete games of the season,” Panthers coach Jesse Reed said. “It’s a credit to our seniors. I am so proud of our guys’ composure. We knew we had to get stops and get out in transition.”

Both teams had a chance to win it late, both inbounding under their own basket with 2 seconds remaining — Franklin Regional at the end of regulation and Shaler at the end of the first overtime.

But neither could convert, and fans who showed up to the only boys game played in Westmoreland County on a snow-covered night got to see free basketball.

“This was a big one,” Rowell said. “Shaler is where we want to be at (in the rankings). We got a lot of 50-50 balls, and we knew that was going to be a big key. We lost to (highly ranked teams) Butler and Gateway, so we wanted to get this win against another good team.”

It was also teachers’ appreciation night and, as Rowell said, the Panthers “learned from our losses.”

Shaler senior Julian Vizzoca made a 3 with 2:48 to play in regulation to tie it 55-55.

In the first overtime, Rowell had a three-point play, but Vizzoca made another 3 from the wing to give Shaler a 60-58 edge with 1:44 left.

That field goal, though, was the Titans’ last of the night.

Rankin’s pull-up jumper tied it 60-60 for a second OT.

Rowell made a left-handed scoop shot early in the second OT to make it 63-60 before Hutchison’s 3.

“It was one of those no, no, no, yes, yes, yes shots,” Reed said. “We have so much confidence in Fin. He works his butt off. That was a big play for us.

“I thought we were locked in from the jump.”

Franklin Regional led 16-13 after the first quarter and 32-31 at the half.

The Panthers’ lead reached 47-39 in the third as Hutchison and Rankin hit 3s.

Shaler trailed by eight again in the fourth, at 51-43, but senior Sam Himrod’s three-point play along the baseline cut it to 53-52.

Rowell’s layup was canceled out by Vizzoca’s 3, and it went to overtime.

Devola, who had a key steal, gave the Panthers big minutes and helped to contain Shaler senior forward Brandon London, a St. Francis (Pa.) football commit who finished with 18 points.

“We know our roles,” Hutchison said. “We know we have to play hard and play defense. We have to work together as a team.”

Shaler came in allowing 45.1 points per game. The Titans had won three straight.

Colin Masten, another senior, had nine points for the Panthers.

Senior Keegan Smetanka had 13 points, and Vizzoca had 11 for the Titans.

As for Rowell’s game-ending dunk:

“Some kids were talking about me doing something flashy if I got a breakaway,” Rowell said. “I saw a chance. That was my first windmill.”

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

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