Mount Lebanon Takes Chester To OT Before Falling in Boys AAAA Championship

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, March 26, 2011 | 12:00 AM

In a game that some so-called experts said would be a rout, went to overtime as Chester prevailed, winning their 7th PIAA championship with a 72-60 victory over Mount Lebanon in the Boys Quad-A title game on Saturday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Both teams had a chance to win the game in regulation, Lamon Church was called for a charging foul, the Blue Devils had the basketball with 12 seconds under their own basket, but Tyler Roth committed a violation, running the baseline on a designated spot throw in. The Clippers got two shots, Church missed a jumper and Rondae Jefferson couldn't connect on a layup, sending the game to an extra session at 57 all.

In the overtime, both teams were unable to score in the first minute, Mount Lebanon took a one point lead when Luke Hagy went 1-2 from the line, Chester forced two turnovers which ignited a 12-0 run to seal the victory.

Erikk Wright led all scorers with 22 points as Chester moved to 31-1, the District 1 champions finished the season with 26 consecutive wins. Church added 14 points, Walker scored 13. Church said the Blue Devils surprised the Clippers a little bit by staying with them, he admitted Chester played nonchalant, even with the semifinal victory over District 1 rival Penn Wood.

Chester jumped out early, leading by 9 midway thru the opening quarter, both teams went cold over the final two plus minutes with neither team able to muster a field goal, Chester took a 19-12 lead at the break.

In the second quarter, the fouls continued mount up against Chester as Mount Lebanon was in the double bonus for most of the period. The Blue Devils were only 7 of 21 in the half from the field but 14 of 16 from the free throw line. Mount Lebanon also got a gift three pointer at the end of the quarter when Luke Hagy hit what appeared to be a running two pointer from inside the circle, but the officials ruled it was behind the arc, much to the dismay of Clippers head coach Larry Yarbray.

The Blue Devils evened the game in the first two minutes of the third, Hagy with a drive to the basket and a 35 all tie. But Chester took the lead back on a Lamon Church drive and following a Chester timeout, forced a Lebo turnover on a Maurice Nelson steal and two free throws, plus a Tavaune Griffin steal to go up by eight midway thru the third quarter. But Mount Lebanon rallied once again, tying the game at 44 and were able to grab a one point lead on a Paul Lang dunk to end the quarter.

The final quarter saw three lead changes and five ties, neither team able to take more than a three point lead. Roth tied the game with 1:11 left in regulation with a three-pointer. Dequann Walker missed a floater, following a time out but Hagy had the ball stolen by Nelson who layed it in for a 57-55 lead with 34 seconds left. Lang missed a jumper on the next possession, Evan Eaton got the offensive rebound and was fouled, sinking both free throws and tying the game at 57, setting up the wild end of regulation.

The Blue Devils placed four players in double figures, Lang scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, Hagy added 16 points, Eaton pumped in 12 and Roth scored 11 and just missed a double double with 9 rebounds. Mount Lebanon shot 18 of 50 from the field, including 5 of 18 from behind the arc. The Blue Devils were 14 of 16 from the line in the first half, but finished 19 of 28 for the game. Mount Lebanon committed 17 turnovers, but forced 13, they end the season at 27-4 and become the first team to come from the play-in round to make the state championship.

Head coach Joe David said how proud he was of his players, how many people thought they couldn't play with Chester. He mentioned how they played up the underdog role and had success in playing their game. Chester head coach Larry Yarbray said the Blue Devils were a good team and played hard from beginning to end.

The Clippers got 14 rebounds from Jefferson and 8 from Church. Nelson went 2 of 15 from the field, missing all 11 shots he took from behind the arc, the team was 1-19 from the land of three, but added 4 assists and 3 steals. Chester shot 26 of 73 from the field and outrebounded Mount Lebanon 54 to 32, with the Clippers grabbing 27 offensive rebounds.

It was the first overtime game in Quad A since 2003 when State College defeated Chester 76-71 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Score by Quarters
Chester : 19 – 15 – 11 – 12 – 15 = 72
Mount Lebanon : 12 – 19 – 15 – 11 – 3 = 60