Greensburg Central Catholic boys assert themselves in PIAA win

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, March 9, 2024 | 6:41 PM

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Tyree Turner dribbled into the open court with nothing between himself and the rim but gravity.

While he just barely missed the slam dunk, he immediately recovered, came up with a steal at midcourt and was ready to try again.

“I’m like, ‘If I miss this one, I won’t hear the end of it,’ ” the senior point guard from Greensburg Central Catholic said with a chuckle. “I just wanted to make sure I made (the layup).”

Turner drew a hard foul and finished the three-point play in the fourth quarter on the way to a 25-point afternoon as GCC downed visiting Windber, 57-42, in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A boys basketball playoffs Saturday.

Like Turner, the rest of the Centurions (24-3) are appreciative of a second chance. They didn’t miss this one.

After losing in the WPIAL championship, GCC bounced back in its final home game of the season, holding back cold-shooting Windber (16-10), the District 5 runner-up, to earn a rematch with a rival.

GCC will see a familiar foe in the second round as Jeannette (18-9) will play the Centurions on Wednesday at a time and site to be announced. GCC beat Jeannette twice during the section season with the 30-point mercy rule coming into play both times.

“In three years, we have one state win,” Turner said. “We want another chance. After the WPIAL loss, I’m looking at it like, we’re 23-3, where did we go wrong? We took a couple days and went at it in practice. How can we get better?”

Looking more organized, more like themselves, than they did against Aliquippa, the Centurions took a 14-4 lead after the first quarter and led 25-13 at the half before closing out the Ramblers.

“Today was about turning the page,” GCC coach Christian Hyland said. “We’re not going to forget (the WPIAL title game loss), but we can learn from it.

“We gave up 13 points in the first half. It’s hard to complain about that.”

Turner eclipsed the 1,400-point mark for his career, scoring 16 in the second half. He converted layups, pull-up jumpers and tough fadeaways.

“He’s a strong, tough kid with senior leadership,” Windber coach Steve Slatcoff said of Turner. “When it gets tough for them, they want the ball in his hands. He is a handful defensively.”

Windber struggled early despite getting quality looks — it started 1 for 10 from the field — but cut the lead to 27-20 early in the third after five straight points from senior Tanner Barkley.

But junior Sean Walker knocked down a 3-pointer, and Turner made back-to-back jumpers before making a 3 of his own to push the lead to 16 (38-22).

Senior Franco Alvarez was assertive offensively for GCC, taking the ball hard to the rim and finishing. He had 14 points.

“We knew (GCC) was a very talented team,” Slatcoff said. “We knew what we were getting into with them. Shots didn’t fall for us early, but our kids put it all out there.”

Alvarez opened the fourth with layup and, after Turner’s 3-point play, another basket preceded a 3 from junior Liam Gallagher to make it 52-33 with just more than two minutes to play.

Gallagher finished with nine points.

Junior Grady Klosky had 13 points and Barkley added 12, eight in the third, for the Ramblers. Junior Garrett Kirkwood finished with nine.

GCC wasn’t overly pleased with how it shot the ball, but advancing in the state bracket isn’t always about presentation.

“Playing at home, we knew after awhile that the shots would fall,” Turner said. GCC will take a 19-game home winning streak into next season.

Said Hyland: “We needed that 8- or 6-0 run to pop things open. We got some easy baskets. Guys came in and gave us a spark. The plan was to attack early. We didn’t want to settle.”

Settling for second in the state doesn’t look like an option, either.

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

Tags: Greensburg C.C.