New Castle’s 8th WPIAL Championship is Perfect As Canes Sweep Past Hampton

By: Bruce Markey
Friday, March 2, 2012 | 10:47 PM

It was a packed house at the AJ Palumbo Center as fans filled the stands to catch a glimpse of the highly touted New Castle Red Hurricane, as they battled the Hampton Talbots for WPIAL Class AAA gold.  The Talbots kept pace with the Red Hurricane throughout the first quarter, trailing New Castle 14-10 at the end of the period.

New Castle began to flex its muscles in the second quarter, however, extending the lead to 26-14 with 3:15 to go.  The Red Hurricane stepped up their full court pressure defense, causing the Talbots continued struggles offensively.  Ryan Luther hit a three pointer with 1:20 to go, ending a two minute scoring drought for the Talbots.  New Castle spent the remaining minute of the quarter taking seconds off the clock, until Shawn Anderson converted a layup with five seconds to go.

The Red Hurricane took a 30-17 lead into the locker room.  Anderson led New Castle in the first half with 12 points.  Mark Pilarski had six points for the Talbots heading to the break.

The third quarter showed much of the same for New Castle, as it continued its stifling 2-3 zone defense.  Hampton worked it inside for PIlarski, who was fouled after the basket.  Pilarski missed the free throw, but pulled his team to an 11 point deficit, 39-28 with 3:30 to go in the third quarter.  New Castle answered with a quick three-pointer by Brandon Domenick—his second three-pointer of the quarter.  Pilarski hit the double digit mark with 1:45 to go, making the score 42-30 in favor of the Red Hurricane.

The speed and athleticism of New Castle overcame Hampton in the fourth quarter, as the Talbots tried to keep up in a man-to-man defense.  The Red Hurricane offense took nearly two minutes off the clock before Pilarski came up with a big block, and converted for two at the other end, closing the gap to 44-34 with 5:45 to go.  New Castle attempted to run the clock with each possession, which further frustrated Hampton.  The Talbots called a timeout with 4:22 to go, trying to regroup, but turned the ball over on the inbounds.

New Castle and Hampton exchanged baskets the rest of the way, but the differential was too much for the Talbots to overcome.  The Red Hurricane wrapped up their seventh WPIAL title with a 57-44 victory.  Shawn Anderson led all scorers with 24 points.  Corey Eggleston chipped in 13 for the champs.   New Castle moves to (26-0) and will enter the PIAA tournament against the #3 team from District 10.

Ryan Luther led Hampton with 14 points.  Mark Pilarski and Collin Luther also hit double digits for the Talbots, with 12 and 10 points, respectively.  Hampton falls to (22-4) and will face the District 10 runner up in the PIAA tournament.
Score By Quarter:
Hampton  :  10 – 7 – 13 – 14 = 44
New Castle  :  14 – 16 – 12 – 15 = 57

Tags: Hampton