Neighborhood Academy makes most of beautiful day, beats Serra Catholic for 1st WPIAL title
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Thursday, February 27, 2025 | 7:11 PM
Neighborhood Academy celebrates beating Serra Catholic in the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Courtney Wallace drives past Serra Catholic’s Owen Dumbroski during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Courtney Wallace blocks the shot of Serra Catholic’s Mark Johnson during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Courtney Wallace hits a 3-pointer over Serra Catholic’s Brayden Graham during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Kedron Gilmore drives on Serra Catholic’s Tyler Sapida during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Shamar Simpson scores over Serra Catholic’s Tyler Sapida during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Serra Catholic’s Mark Johnson blocks the shot of Neighborhood Academy’s Derrick Hardenman during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Syncer Nicholson celebrates with Courtney Wallace after dunking against Serra Catholic during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Derrick Hardenman scores past Serra Catholic’s Tyler Sapida during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Courtney Wallace scores over Serra Catholic during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Courtney Wallace blocks the shot of Serra Catholic’s Brayden Graham during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Neighborhood Academy’s Derrick Hardenman and Serra Catholic’s Tyler Sapida fight for the loose ball during the WPIAL Class A championship Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at Petersen Events Center.
Somewhere, Mister Rogers is smiling as it is indeed a beautiful day in the Neighborhood.
Thursday’s WPIAL Class A boys basketball championship game was a microcosm of the season for top-seeded Neighborhood Academy as it dominated the middle two quarters in defeating No. 2 Serra Catholic, 67-44.
Senior and Yale commit Courtney Wallace started slow but came on big in scoring 21 points.
“To be honest with you, we have the best player in the WPIAL,” Neighborhood Academy senior Shamar Simpson said. “We trust Courtney in whatever we do, and I feel like we could do anything and stack up against any team.”
It was the Bulldogs’ third win of the season over the Eagles after meeting twice in Section 2-A games this winter.
Neighborhood Academy won 73-44 at Serra Catholic on Jan. 10, and then beat the Eagles at home 84-58 on Feb. 4.
Wallace combined to score 70 points in the three victories.
The game was tight through one quarter with Kedron Gilmour hitting a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in the first eight minutes to give the Bulldogs an 11-10 lead after one.
Neighborhood Academy took the lead for good early in the second on a Wallace 3-pointer.
The Bulldogs’ defense was a big part of them staying in the game early when the offense was struggling and why they were able to separate and build a double-digit lead by halftime.
“I think our defense as a collective is really good,” Wallace said. “We had a goal to hold them under 40, so our defense carried us because while we weren’t scoring (early on); they weren’t scoring either.”
In the second quarter, Neighborhood Academy went on an 11-2 run that turned a three-point lead into a 28-14 halftime advantage thanks to a Simpson 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“Honestly our shots weren’t falling,” Serra Catholic coach A.J. Corso said. “We missed some open 3s, we missed free throws throughout the game and we’re down 14 at the half. It then starts to set in here we go again.”
At the midway point of the title game, the Eagles were 7 of 20 from the field and 0 for 7 from behind the arc.
Neighborhood Academy scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 21-point lead.
The exclamation point in the TNA victory came in a 15-second span one minute into the fourth quarter.
On a two-on-one break for Serra Catholic, Wallace timed his jump perfectly and smacked the attempted layup off the backboard.
He then hustled backed and tipped a lob pass into the hoop from underneath. He then got a quick steal and slammed home two more points to put the Bulldogs up 54-30.
Serra Catholic senior Owen Dumbroski, who was averaging 21 points per game, was limited to 14 points. Sophomore Mark Johnson added 14 while fellow sophomore Brayden Graham had 11 points for the Eagles.
With the loss, Serra Catholic settled for district silver again. In six WPIAL boys basketball championship games, the Eagles are 1-5 with the lone title run coming in 2008 with a win over Wilkinsburg, 76-61.
Three of the Eagles’ four losses came at the hands of Neighborhood Academy, with the other loss coming against Class 3A finalist South Allegheny.
Simpson scored 14 points for the Bulldogs, and senior Syncer Nicholson added 10 points.
The championship run for the small Neighborhood Academy, located in Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood, is the first district title for the program that joined the WPIAL in boys hoops in 2020.
It also is the first WPIAL championship in any sport in the history of the school that opened its doors in 2001.
A year ago, the Bulldogs reached the Class A title game only to lose to Imani Christian, 78-49, despite a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds from Wallace.
“We worked so hard to get here from the last three years,” Simpson said. “We were the hunters and now we are the hunted, and we made sure we weren’t killed and continued on the process of being the best team.”
Serra Catholic (21-4) will open the PIAA Class A boys basketball playoffs March 7 against the runner-up from District 6, St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy (14-11).
The WolfPack lost in the District 6 finals to Conemaugh Valley, 70-58.
Neighborhood Academy (23-1) also will tip off March 7 in the PIAA first round against the No. 3 team from District 5, Shanksville-Stonycreek (9-16).
The Vikings qualified with a District 5 consolation game win over Fannett-Metal, 52-46.
“The biggest thing with these guys is there’s this misconception that we recruit,” Neighborhood Academy Jordan Marks said. “We have three starters that have been with this school since sixth grade and nobody on this team has played a minute of varsity basketball with anybody else, so they’ve been together and that’s what makes this so special.”
Tags: Neighborhood Academy, Serra Catholic
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