Moon gets past Thomas Jefferson in star-studded semifinal

By: Kyle Dawson
Monday, February 26, 2024 | 10:47 PM

Previous Next

After missing a pair of free throws with 47.8 seconds to go, Aiden Reesman re-toed the line with 6.5 seconds to go with a chance to give the top-seeded Moon Tigers the lead in the waning seconds of a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal Monday night at the AHN Arena at Peters Township.

Reesman sank both and Thomas Jefferson senior Evan Berger missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds, sending the Tigers to the WPIAL championship game Friday night at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center against No. 2 Franklin Regional with a 67-65 victory.

“He missed the first two, so I knew he was going to make up for it someway,” said Moon senior Elijah Guillory. “I didn’t know how it would happen, but he got a chance again and I had full faith in him.”

Tigers coach Gino Palmosina echoed his star’s sentiments.

“We didn’t tell him anything,” Palmosina said. “Full confidence in that kid … a senior captain. Since I’ve been hired, he’s given me everything he has every single day.”

Beyond Reesman’s free throws, it was the Guillory show at Peters Township. Moon was fueled by Guillory’s 39-point night, which included seven 3-pointers — maybe the performance of the WPIAL basketball playoffs so far.

Guillory said he’s been off recently, but not tonight. He said once he got into a rhythm, he just kept shooting.

“When it comes to him, that’s very unsurprising that he scored that many in this game,” Palmosina said. “There’s a lot of colleges … ‘He can’t play here.’ I don’t know what else he has to do. When we need a bucket, it’s him.”

Thomas Jefferson’s coach Dom DeCicco said Guillory was phenomenal.

“We tried everything. You run two at him and they have other guys that can shoot it,” DeCicco said. “He was just phenomenal.”

Guillory’s star counterpart, Berger, the Jaguars’ all-time leading scorer, poured in a team-high 26 in the loss.

“They’re two of the best regardless of classification,” DeCicco said.

Moon raced out to a 17-9 lead after eight minutes before TJ used an 11-1 run to close the second with a triple by Brody Evans and take a 32-29 lead to the locker room.

A 24-16 third quarter advantage allowed Moon to lead by five, and the Tigers’ cushion stayed at least that big until a late spark from the Jaguars, who, down 65-58, tied the game at 65-65. That included a 3 by Noah Prosser, a pair of Sean Sullivan free throws and a bucket by Nick Trklja.

Ultimately, it was the two Reesman free throws that sealed the deal to finish what DeCicco described as a great high school basketball game.

“The only thing I would say, and I’m biased … but I think we’re the best two teams in 5A. That’ll be proven or not Friday if Franklin can beat them,” DeCicco said. “That’s a great team. I hope we get a chance to play them again.”

Guillory’s effort was aided by a 10-point night from Caden Schmidt, his second double-figure game of the season —both in the postseason. Schmidt had 14 in a quarterfinal win against Fox Chapel.

The focus for the Jaguars turns to the state playoffs and a third-place game with Shaler. For the Tigers, it’s their first title-game appearance since 2019 (a loss to Mars). Friday’s title game will be played Friday at 9 p.m.

“It’s a different environment down there, but it’s just one day at a time,” Palmosina said. “They have two really good players and a good supporting cast. It’s going to be a good game.”

Guillory will try to follow tonight’s performance.

“It’s a big feeling for us. We’ve been working so hard for this,” Guillory said. “We just stuck together the whole time. We just have to build on what we did today, stick together and play how we know we can play.”

Tags: Moon, Thomas Jefferson