North Hills clamps down on defense, stops North Allegheny in clash of 6A contenders
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Friday, January 7, 2022 | 11:21 PM
North Hills’ Royce Parham dunks during the fourth quarter against North Allegheny on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Alex Smith pressures North Allegheny’s Matt McDonough during the second half of their Section 1-6A game on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Alex Smith shoots a three-pointer over North Allegheny’s Anthony Howard during their Section 1-6A game on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Matt Seidl blocks a shot by North Allegheny’s Anthony Howard during the second half of their Section 1-6A game on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Matt Seidl scores over North Allegheny’s Erik Sundgren during their Section 1-6A game on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Royce Parham dunks during the fourth quarter against North Allegheny on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Alex Smith is fouled by North Allegheny’s Ty Iwanonkiw during their Section 1-6A game on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
The North Hills student section cheers on the Indians during their Section 1-6A game against NA on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Will Blass shoots a three-pointer at the buzzer over North Allegheny’s Matt McDonough during the third quarter of their Section 1-6A game on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Royce Parham eyes up the tip-off with North Allegheny’s Ty Iwanonkiw at the start of their Section 1-6A game on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Allegheny’s Connor Casten pressures North Hills’ Royce Parham during their Section1-6A game on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
North Hills’ Devin Burgess heads upcourt after hitting a three-pointer during the second half against North Allegheny on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
Alex Smith knew that if North Allegheny shooter Matt McDonough didn’t cool down, he and his North Hills teammates were in trouble.
“It seemed like every 3 he was shooting, he was making,” Smith said Friday night. “We know how good he is. I said before the game, if he gets rolling, then I want him. I take a lot of pride defensively. I always want the best guy, no matter how big or how small.”
His coaches gave Smith that chance at halftime.
Smith scored a game-high 27 points, but his second-half defense on McDonough was just as vital as top-ranked North Hills defeated rival North Allegheny, 69-59, in a Section 1 clash of the two top teams in WPIAL Class 6A.
North Hills coach Buzz Gabos switched up his defensive assignments after McDonough scored 17 points in the first half including five 3-pointers. McDonough, who finished with 20 points, went 1 for 10 shooting in the second half.
“Alex has at least two inches (over McDonough) and he has long arms,” Gabos said. “That maybe makes it a little more difficult to shoot those 3s off the dribble.”
“I know he’s real crafty,” said Smith, a 6-foot-3 senior. “I tried to run him off the 3 a little bit and beat him to spots. It worked in my favor.”
McDonough missed his first nine shots after halftime before making a 3 with 26 seconds left. But McDonough wasn’t the only NA player whose shots weren’t falling late.
The teams were tied at 54 after three quarters before NA went 2 for 13 from the field in the fourth. NA had led 56-55 with about seven minutes left but went scoreless for almost six minutes.
“In the fourth quarter, we just locked down, everyone on the court,” said North Hills sophomore Royce Parham, who had 16 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks.
Parham’s dunk with 71 seconds left punctuated the win.
Matt Seidl scored 17 points for North Hills (8-0, 4-0), which faces No. 2 North Allegheny (8-2, 2-2) twice more this season. The rivals rematch Jan. 25 at North Hills and Feb. 11 at North Allegheny.
NA’s Kolin Dinkins scored 14 points, Joey Dopirak had 13 and Kyrell Hutcherson added 10.
“I always tell the kids I have to watch film before we talk,” NA coach Dave DeGregorio said. “I’d like to see the quality of shot we got in the fourth quarter outside of a couple. And I don’t know how many turnovers we had in the fourth quarter. I just don’t think we took care of the ball, and we weren’t disciplined enough to get better shots.”
A couple of second-half 3s helped energize North Hills, which went 8 for 18 from beyond the arc. Will Blass made a game-tying 3 at the third-quarter buzzer, and Devin Burgess made another early in the fourth to spark a 13-0 game-winning run.
North Hills turned a one-point deficit into a 68-56 lead with the run.
“This is a really good win because it’s a really good rivalry and it’s against a very good team,” Gabos said. “They’re very good. This section is brutal.”
A red-hot start by North Hills’ shooters had let the Indians sprint to a 24-13 lead in the first quarter. Smith and Seidl each made their first four shots, an early barrage that included five 3-pointers combined.
Smith finished 9 for 16 shooting with three 3-pointers.
North Allegheny rallied back behind McDonough and led 34-33 late in the second quarter on a McDonough 3. The NA senior went 5 for 8 beyond the 3-point line in the first half.
North Hills led 35-34 at half.
McDonough cooled off after halftime, but a couple of his North Allegheny teammates heated up. The Tigers ran out to a 51-42 lead in the third behind Dopirak and Hutcherson.
Dopirak scored nine of his 13 points in the third quarter, and Hutcherson had eight of his 10 in the quarter.
But North Allegheny’s scoring stalled out, North Hills finished the third quarter with a 12-3 run, and NA never recovered. Parham scored 11 points in the second half.
NA went 1 for 7 from the arc in the fourth as the deficit grew.
“Sometimes the game is as simple as that,” DeGregorio said of missing shots. “Early in the game, (North Hills was) shooting at probably a 90% clip. Our kids battled. They didn’t let it bother them. I have to look and see if we had the same poise in the fourth quarter.”
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: North Allegheny, North Hills
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