Latrobe settles in, beats Franklin Regional for 7th straight win

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, January 7, 2025 | 10:06 PM

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Latrobe did not defend well early in Tuesday’s Section 1-5A boys basketball game against visiting Franklin Regional.

The third quarter, though, was a different story.

The Wildcats limited the Panthers to one field goal in the quarter and stepped on the gas offensively on the way to a 68-49 victory, their seventh in a row.

Max Butler scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the second quarter, John Wetzel added 14 points and Andy Tatsch chipped in 13 for Latrobe (12-1, 4-1), which began the night tied for second place in the section with Gateway.

The Wildcats scored 22 in the third to pull ahead for good, upping their attack a gear to stamp out the once-hot Panthers (5-7, 1-4).

“It was a matter of us taking accountability, looking each other in the face and telling each other to pick it up,” Latrobe coach Brad Wetzel said. “Everybody was a step late and flat-footed early, and we needed to pick it up.”

Franklin Regional’s Connor Crossey was limited to zero points in the second half after scoring 15 in the first two quarters.

“John (Wetzel) self-assigned to him in the second half,” Brad Wetzel said. “But it was a team effort. We didn’t want to let one guy beat us.”

A 12-0 run early in the quarter, which included a 3-pointer from Kyle McNeil and a layup from Butler, helped the Wildcats take a 44-38 advantage as the game began to turn.

With Franklin Regional struggling to get quality looks, the Wildcats added to their advantage. Andy Tatsch completed an and-one play before Wetzel canned a 3 to make it 50-40 with 2 minutes, 40 seconds to play in the third.

“We struggled with their pressure in the second half and got hesitant,” Panthers coach Jesse Reed said. “We lost our sense of urgency.”

In the fourth, Tatsch, Ian DeCerb and Wetzel scored consecutive hoops to push the advantage to 58-43.

The lead quickly ballooned to 21 as Tatsch scored on a break off a nice feed from Kyle McNeil, and Ian DeCerb flushed a two-handed dunk to make it 68-47.

Franklin Regional started fast, scoring 20 in the opening eight minutes, and took a 35-30 lead into halftime.

The Panthers led by nine late in the opening frame before Latrobe went on an 11-0 run to tie it 20-20.

Jonah Johnston had 10 for the Panthers, who have lost 3 of 4.

Latrobe lost twice to the Panthers last season.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Latrobe