No. 5 Canon-McMillan boys hone in on section title after toppling No. 1 Mt. Lebanon

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 | 7:00 PM

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Tucked away in the Canon-McMillan coaches office was an old blue-and-gold banner that commemorated the boys basketball team’s one and only section title, won by the Big Macs in 1973.

This week, coach Rick Bell decided to show it off.

“I had it right out in the middle of our locker room,” Bell said, “so when the kids walked in, they saw this. I didn’t say a word. I just put it right on the floor, so they knew what we were potentially playing for tonight.”

“It was just lying on the ground,” senior Jason Fowlkes said. “As soon as you walked in, you saw: Section champs 1973. It was just a little motivation.”

Forty-five years after its last section title, Canon-McMillan is poised to possibly celebrate another. The fifth-ranked Big Macs made 11 3-pointers Tuesday, built an early double-digit lead and then held on late to defeat No. 1 Mt. Lebanon, 69-64, and take over first place in Section 2-6A.

Canon-McMillan (13-1, 7-1), which has four section games left, leads Mt. Lebanon (14-3, 6-1) by a half-game in the standings.

If both teams win out, they would share the title.

“We didn’t feel we could rely on anybody else in our section to beat them because they’re handling everybody pretty much by double figures,” said Bell, whose team finished second to Lebo in section last season. “We pretty much told the kids: ‘If we want to win the section title … we’ve got to take care of business,’ because they’re probably not going to lose two if we didn’t win tonight.”

Fowlkes led the Big Macs with 24 points, making 8 of 13 attempts from the field, and Ethan Beachy scored 16 with four 3-pointers.

Sean Loughran and Hayden Mitchell each scored 18 points for Mt. Lebanon, and Antonio Garofoli added 11. Loughran had six 3-pointers.

Canon-McMillan lost 63-52 at Mt. Lebanon on Dec. 19. But in Tuesday night’s rematch, the Big Macs jumped ahead early with an 18-3 run. They led 21-10 after the first quarter and 33-13 midway through the second.

“We had to do things to them that nobody has done to them yet,” Bell said. “We had to make them feel uncomfortable. We had to make them play from behind. They’re used to jumping out on people.”

Beachy’s four 3s were key.

The junior led Canon-McMillan’s guard-focused offense, which made 9 of 16 attempts from 3-point range in the first half and led 38-23 at half. Mt. Lebanon, which also thrives on 3s, made just 5 of 13 from the arc before halftime.

Canon-McMillan switched up its defense from the first matchup, choosing to pressure Mt. Lebanon with a zone trap.

“We didn’t press them the first time because we didn’t think we could,” Bell said, “because they love to go. The key to the game was we had to make them score five-on-five baskets. That’s not just your defense but how you handle their pressure. Because if you’re turning the ball over at midcourt, they’re getting a three-on-two or two-on-one.”

Mt. Lebanon rallied in the second half with three 3s apiece from Loughran and Garofoli, and two from Mitchell. Canon-McMillan’s lead, which peaked at 20 points, was down to 52-43 when Blaine Gartley hit a 3 in the closing seconds of the third quarter.

With 55 seconds left in the fourth, Mt. Lebanon trailed 66-61 after consecutive 3s from Mitchell but couldn’t close the gap.

Fowlkes scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half to keep Canon-McMillan ahead. He attacked the rim, and scored 10 in the third quarter and added eight in the fourth.

Canon-McMillan’s original section championship banners were replaced in the gym with new ones that can be updated with each new title. For now the boys basketball banner lists just 1973, but 2018 could soon join it.

“The thing I just told the boys is, it’s not over,” Bell said. “All this has done now is it’s kind of put it in our hands.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Mt. lebanon