Mt. Lebanon boys win rubber match with Norwin, advance to WPIAL Class 6A quarters

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, February 17, 2025 | 10:15 PM

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Mt. Lebanon’s Sam Deibert scored a game-high 24 points as the sixth-seeded Blue Devils ran away with 61-34 victory over No. 11 Norwin in a first-round rubber match Monday night in the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs.

The section foes split their two regular-season matchups starting with a two-point overtime win by Norwin in early January. But this one finished more like Game 2, which Mt. Lebanon won by 24 points.

Key again was the Blue Devils’ efficiency.

Mt. Lebanon closed the first half with a tiebreaking 12-2 run to lead by 10 points at the break and then outscored Norwin, 17-8, in the third quarter.

The Blue Devils led 47-28 after three.

“To me it’s an advantage (facing a section team in the playoffs) because you know them pretty well, and they know us,” Mt. Lebanon coach Joe David said. “I think it kind of equates. But we didn’t have to go out and study a whole bunch of tape on someone from Section 1.”

Mt. Lebanon (16-7) advances to face No. 3 Imani Christian in the quarterfinals Thursday at a site and time to be announced. Mt. Lebanon also split its section series with Imani.

The Blue Devils built a lead over Norwin by scoring in the paint, converting on offensive rebounds and forcing Norwin into 16 turnovers. Deibert, a 6-foot-5 senior, went 10-for-10 shooting from the field in the final three quarters with a handful of putback baskets.

Norwin coach Cam Auld pointed to communication breakdowns by his team’s defense.

“They’re too good of a team to have miscommunications,” Auld said. “They do a lot of off-ball screening. A lot of stuff that’s going to put you one way and the ball’s going to go back the other way.

“There’s that lack of communication defensively and then there’s rebounding. Fundamentally, not getting a body for a body. I don’t even want to know the number (of offensive rebounds).”

Mt. Lebanon freshman Jacob Zaber scored 17 points, including 14 in the first quarter. He accounted for all but two of the Blue Devils’ points in the opening quarter, giving them a spark off the bench.

The Blue Devils were also boosted by the availability of leading scorer Liam Sheely, who was doubtful to play after injuring his left shoulder last week. Wearing a brace, the junior came off the bench and scored seven points in limited minutes.

Sheely scored five points in the third quarter as Mt. Lebanon pulled away.

“I felt fine in there,” Sheely said. “I banged with them. Limited minutes, but I still felt like I could do what I wanted to do.”

Junior Mario Csukas made four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 14 points for Norwin (10-12).

Norwin played short-handed without one of its top players, junior Chris McKnight, who suffered a thumb injury in practice over the weekend.

A 3-pointer by Csukas had forced an 18-18 tie with 6:40 left in the second quarter. But the Knights made only one more shot before halftime, and they went 2-for-8 shooting in the third quarter.

Mt. Lebanon went 7 for 11 in the third.

“That’s not good math,” Auld said, “for trying to win a basketball game.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. lebanon, Norwin