McKeesport avenges loss to Woodland Hills in Section 1-5A

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 2, 2019 | 5:21 PM

During practice all week, the McKeesport scoreboard showed the score of the Tigers’ five-point loss at Woodland Hills from Jan. 8.

On Saturday, the Tigers used that motivation to return the favor with a 77-73 upset victory over Woodland Hills in Section 1-5A action at Neenie Campball Gym.

“It was real big,” McKeesport senior Thomas Wyatt said. “That’s what kept pushing us all week long, this whole time, seeing them again. I really think that helped us out.”

McKeesport coach Kevin Kovach said the team “felt like we left a lot on the floor” during January’s 96-91 defeat.

That was not the case Saturday afternoon.

“They’re our rivals, they’ve been our rivals since we were kids, since we played as coaches,” Kovach said. “There was no chance of us forgetting it, and we just fought our guts out today. … It was just heart and soul, and Tiger basketball.”

McKeesport (10-8, 7-3) has won four of five. Woodland Hills (9-2, 15-4) saw its five-game winning streak snapped.

Deamontae Diggs grabbed 19 rebounds and paced a balanced Tigers offense with 18 points. Wyatt added 16, Christian Moore had 13 and Robert Robinson chipped in 11 for McKeesport.

“(We play) a lot of team ball,” Wyatt said of the team’s offensive balance. “It really works out good. If we keep passing and keep our teamwork, we’re going to go real far.”

Wyatt, whom Kovach called “the WPIAL’s best on-ball defender” was also charged with guarding WPIAL leading scorer KeAndre Bowles of Woodland Hills.

Bowles, who finished with 40 points, missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 19.7 seconds to play. Sophomore point guard Brison Kisan secured the rebound, was fouled and sank both free throws to give the Tigers a 76-73 lead.

McKeesport then stole the ensuing in-bounds pass, and Edward Dudley clinched the game by going 1 of 2 at the free throw line.

“We bought in, in the second half especially,” Kovach said. “We were all over that basketball. We did whatever we could. I think we did feel more comfortable in the zone at times. We weren’t worried too much about where they were shooting.”

The Tigers held a 44-31 rebounding advantage and that proved essential during a game in which neither team led by more than five points in the second half.

“The key was boxing out,” Kovach said. “We were able to box out better in the second half, and we just had a little bit more fight than they did, I thought, once we made that adjustment.”

Woodland Hills senior Markeife Harvey added 13 points and 13 rebounds in a losing effort.

The back-and-forth contest featured a new leader at the end of each quarter.

Woodland Hills led 22-19 after the first quarter as the Wolverines’ press gave the Tigers fits. It would have been a six-point spread, but McKeesport’s Damon Hertzler hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to pull the Tigers within three.

McKeesport stormed back to close the second quarter on a 16-6 run and took a 41-38 lead into halftime.

Woodland Hills regained the 54-53 lead through three quarters to set the fans and players up for a thrilling conclusion.

“This is a big one for us, it really is,” Wyatt said. “We needed this one to light a spark, and that’s going to light it.”

Jesse Geleynse is a freelance writer.

Tags: McKeesport, Woodland Hills