No. 1 North Hills reaches WPIAL finals with low-scoring win over Mt. Lebanon
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Tuesday, March 1, 2022 | 10:38 PM
North Hills’ Royce Parham dunks over Mt. Lebanon’s Joseph Peters during their WPIAL Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Alex Smith celebrates in the final seconds of a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal against Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Will Blass celebrates after hitting a three-pointer to end the third quarter during a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal against Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Will Blass scores against Mt. Lebanon during a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Alex Smith works past Mt. Lebanon’s Christian Powers during their WPIAL Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Will Blass works against Mt. Lebanon’s Zach D’Alesandro during their WPIAL Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Alex Smith shoots a three-pointer in front of the Mt. Lebanon bench during their WPIAL Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Devin Burgess (left) and his teammates celebrate a three-pointer during their WPIAL Class 6A semifinal against Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Will Blass battles Mt. Lebanon’s Zach D’Alesandro for a loose ball during their WPIAL Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Alex Smith blocks a shot by Mt. Lebanon’s Christian Powers during their WPIAL Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
The North Hills student section cheers during a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal against Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Matt Seidl pressures Mt. Lebanon’s Christian Powers during their WPIAL Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Royce Parham dunks over Mt. Lebanon’s Joseph Peters during their WPIAL Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Alex Smith celebrates in the final seconds of a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal against Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
Mt. Lebanon is notorious for consuming clock with long possessions, but when the Blue Devils did so Tuesday night, it was often because they found no easy route to the rim.
No. 1 seed North Hills leaned on a stout half-court defense, allowed only three points in the first quarter and defeated No. 4 Mt. Lebanon, 48-36, in a low-scoring WPIAL Class 6A semifinal that drew a capacity crowd at North Allegheny.
Grabbing an early lead was key for the Indians.
North Hills scored 12 consecutive first-half points and led 14-3 by early in the second quarter, taking away Mt. Lebanon’s ability to play a ball-control style.
“That was the game plan right away,” North Hills senior Alex Smith said. “We knew if we got behind, they control the pace really well. They’re probably the best defensive team we’ve played all year. We got a couple of quick buckets and it was huge.”
Royce Parham had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Will Blass also had 13 points for the Indians (24-0), who now have a chance to win the program’s first WPIAL title. North Hills faces No. 2 Fox Chapel (23-1) in the finals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
The win takes the Indians to the championship for the first time since finishing as runner-up in 2016. Their matchup with Fox Chapel is a rematch from Dec. 11 that North Hills won 87-57, but Indians coach Buzz Gabos somewhat downplayed the significance of that first game.
“Games in December, there’s no prep, you just come out and play,” Gabos said. “That very easily could have gone the other way. … It got away from them a little bit, but they haven’t lost since.”
Mt. Lebanon (16-9) was trying to reach the WPIAL finals for the third time in four years but was undone by two single-digit quarters. Along with their three-point first quarter, the Blue Devils scored only five points in the third.
North Hills led 10-3 after one quarter, 21-16 at half and 34-21 after three.
“They’re No. 1 in the state for a reason,” Mt. Lebanon coach Joe David said. “You’ve got to give them credit for their defense. They’re a very good defensive team. With Royce behind them, they can take chances out front and know once you get there, they have got a (6-foot-6) shot-blocker.
“They’re a good team and they’ll probably end up winning this whole thing.”
Christian Mallon led Mt. Lebanon with 12 points and Christian Powers had 11. The Blue Devils went 1 for 8 shooting in the first quarter and shot just 32% from the field overall (14 of 44).
They went 6 for 19 from beyond the arc.
Despite the slow start, Mt. Lebanon narrowed the gap to three points just before half with a 10-0 run. But North Hills answered with another 12-0 run that stretched into the third, pushing the Indians’ lead to 31-16.
North Hills shot 54% from the field.
Blass had two 3s in the third including a buzzer-beater for a 13-point lead after three.
“We wanted the early lead,” Gabos said. “That was the focus. We said to the guys, let’s see if we can get out and make them play from behind. They can spread you out (with the lead), and then they’re really good at just getting into that middle and finding cutters.”
North Hills averages 74 points per game and hadn’t scored fewer than 63 all season.
Yet, the Indians were content with the methodical pace and ran some long possessions themselves. They don’t press defensively, so it became a half-court game
“We’ve got to rely on how we guard in the half-court and making enough shots and getting enough stops,” Gabos said. “That’s kind of how it played out.”
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, North Hills
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