No. 1 South Allegheny shows championship form, swats away Shady Side Academy

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, February 2, 2021 | 11:28 PM

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Last season, South Allegheny got a taste of championship basketball. Now, the Gladiators are ready to quench their thirst at the golden fountain.

South Allegheny proved it is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A for a reason as it disposed of previously undefeated Shady Side Academy, 56-49, Tuesday night in a game that was a double-digit lead for the Gladiators for most of the second half.

The victory put SA (6-1, 5-0) alone in first place in Section 3-3A, one game ahead in the loss column of both SSA (6-1, 4-1) and Apollo-Ridge.

“I’d be lying if I said we don’t talk about it or the kids aren’t aware of it,” South Allegheny coach Tony DiCenzo said. “After the success we had last year and being one step away from the WPIAL championship game and with the whole team back and being ranked No. 1, it’s known.

“But we try as much as possible to take it on a game-by-game basis, knowing we have to be playing our best basketball entering into the playoffs to have a chance to compete for a championship.”

After winning its first five games, South Allegheny was coming off its first loss of the year, a two-point defeat at the hands of Class 5A No. 4 Mars on Saturday.

The Gladiators were very defensive on Tuesday. They made life miserable for the Bulldogs in the half court all night.

Shady Side Academy was averaging over 54 points per game in its first six contests, yet the Bulldogs were held to only 18 points in the first two quarters.

“That’s our backbone,” DiCenzo said about the Gladiators’ half-court defense. “We take a lot of pride in stopping the team and making them earn, and that’s been fairly consistent for us night in and night out.”

The Bulldogs were also playing some good defense early, limiting the Gladiators’ scoring and keeping the game within one possession for most of the first half.

However, a Bryce Epps five-point possession with a couple of minutes left in the second quarter widened the South Allegheny lead from three to eight points and Shady Side Academy never recovered.

The sophomore Epps hit a putback after his senior brother Antonio missed a free throw. The younger Epps was fouled on the bucket, but he also missed the free throw, and when he tracked down the loose rebound and hit a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 24-16, it had a dagger-type feel.

Coming into the game, Bryce Epps was averaging 18 points per game while Antonio averaged just over 15 points per game.

The roles were reversed on Tuesday with Antonio leading all scorers with 20 points and Bryce adding 16 points.

If those two are the dynamic scoring duo for South Allegheny, 6-foot-5 senior Omar Faulkner is the great eraser. He takes points away from other teams by swatting shots left and right.

“He’s a factor on the defensive end every single night,” DiCenzo said. “As long as I’ve been coaching, I don’t think I’ve seen an impactful player like him on the defensive end, so he’s consistent with that each night.”

Faulkner added eight points for the Gladiators, with most of them coming in the third quarter when South Allegheny established a double-digit lead, building it as high as 18 points on several occasions.

This was the start of a big week for top-ranked South Allegheny. They have another big section contest Friday when they visit Apollo-Ridge, and then on Saturday, they take on one of the top teams in Class 4A in Lincoln Park.

Despite the rough day offensively, the Bulldogs did have three players finish in double digits.

Shady Side Academy’s youth was on display on the score sheet with a pair of freshmen leading the team on Tuesday.

Eli Teslovich led the Bulldogs with 16 points while fellow ninth grader Peter Kramer scored 13 points. Sophomore Ethan Salvia added 10 for SSA.

Tags: Shady Side Academy, South Allegheny