Franklin Regional, Greensburg Central Catholic duos seek redemption in state playoffs

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, March 6, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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A fast break for Franklin Regional can move like a five-lane highway. And it’s usually Cam Rowell or Cooper Rankin finishing at the rim.

At Greensburg Central Catholic, Tyree Turner sets the pace when he brings the ball upcourt, and if he isn’t creating off the dribble, he is finding Franco Alvarez inside for high-percentage shots.

Two of the top scoring tandems in Westmoreland County will look to continue their 1-2 punching as they lead their teams into the PIAA playoffs this weekend.

With several days gone by since WPIAL championship losses, the teams and their go-to scorers are ready to get the state tournament started.

One benefit to finishing second in the district is a home game in the first round. It gives the seniors one more game on their home court.

Franklin Regional (23-3), the WPIAL Class 5A runner-up, hosts Warwick (17-8), the sixth-place finisher out of District 6, at 5 p.m. Friday.

GCC (23-3), which finished second in the WPIAL in Class 2A, will host District 5 runner-up Windber (16-9) in the state opener at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Rowell and Rankin have been referred to as “R&R” by the media, and CR2 and CR3 — their jersey numbers are 2 and 3 — by Panthers’ public address announcer Dean Berardinelli. They’ve been nothing less than dynamic in leading the Panthers to one of their best seasons.

But they want more. The 53-48 loss to Moon in the WPIAL final stings like a stubbed toe, and Rowell and Rankin feel a state run can help the team ease the pain.

“It was right there,” Rankin said. “It isn’t that we lost. It’s how we lost.”

The Panthers haven’t won a state-playoff game since 2017.

They felt like their first WPIAL title slipped from their grasp.

“It sucks,” third-year coach Jesse Reed said. “These guys have been playing together since third grade, and they wanted (a championship). I can relate. I came this far and lost, too.”

Reed, who made the finals when he played at Greensburg Central Catholic, had little criticism for his players after the tough loss. In fact, he doesn’t think they could have played much better.

Sometimes, he stressed, the ball just doesn’t go in the rim.

“They made some big plays at the end; we had a couple of shots that didn’t fall,” Reed said. “But I thought we executed our game plan exactly how we wanted. We held a really good team to 51 points. If you’d had told me that before the game, I would have been extremely pleased. And I am pleased with how we competed and how we defended.”

While R&R have left an indelible mark on the program already, they think simple tweaks could have allowed them to preserve a 10-point lead in the second half last Friday at Petersen Events Center.

“It came down to defense,” said Rowell, who averages 19 points. “We gave up some open shots. We weren’t fundamentally sound (in the WPIAL final).”

Rankin (17 points per game) concurred.

“Bad help defense,” he said. “We needed more help to get more defensive stops. We already feel like we’re the best team to play here, but we want finish strong and get to the finals.”

Turner (22 ppg) and Alvarez (15 ppg) looked dejected after a 69-32 loss to Aliquippa in the WPIAL title game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.

The game got out of hand early, and the Quips, who won their WPIAL record-tying 14th title, hit GCC with a thousand little cuts.

“They let us know,” Turner said of Aliquippa. “They have been here and won. We need to take that personally. I have to play better. We get another shot. We have an opportunity, and we need to take advantage of it.”

GCC lost in the PIAA first round last season to Otto-Eldred, 67-54. A bus ride home of more than four hours was quiet but pensive and reflective.

A similar feeling came over the team on the way home from Oakland on Saturday.

“We needed to come out and play harder,” Alvarez said. “Things got out of control. They shot the ball unbelievably well.”

The Centurions had a 14-game winning streak snapped, which clears the road for a new string of wins.

It takes five more from here to win it all.

“Not many teams get down here,” GCC coach Christian Hyland said of the WPIAL finals. “I am super proud of our four seniors. Our goal was to get back here, and we did that. State is the ultimate goal.”

Turner and Alvarez both reached the 1,000-point milestone this season.

Rowell quietly scored his 1,000th career point in the finals defeat, needing 14 but finishing with 15.

“I would have rather won the championship,” he said.

Franklin Regional shot 2 for 13 in the fourth quarter, including going 0 for 7 on 3-pointers.

Rankin led the Panthers with 16 points, getting to the rim through traffic like Rowell.

Moon shot 63% in the second half and made six 3-pointers.

“We’re not done,” Reed said. “These guys still want to play with each other and make a run at state.”

Reed made the WPIAL finals twice and the state finals once as a player at GCC, but the Centurions came up short.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C.