OLSH dominates Springdale in battle of Class 2A’s best
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Friday, February 5, 2021 | 9:30 PM
OLSH’s Dante Spadafora celebrates after scoring against Springdale on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s Jake DiMichele scores next to Springdale’s Logan Reddinger during their game Friday.
OLSH’s Dawson Summers blocks a shot by Springdale’s Demitri Fritch during their game on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s Dante Spadafora celebrates a thrre-pointer in front of the Springdale bench during their game on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s Jake DiMichele scores over Springdale’s Ryan Reinsfelder during their game on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s Dante Spadafora scores on a break-away layup against Springdale on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s Rocco Spadafora celebrates a three-pointer past Springdale’s Demitri Fritch during their game on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s Bryson Kirschner drives past Springdale’s Demitri Fritch during their game on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s Dante Spadafora scores over Springdale’s Logan Reddinger during their game on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s Jake DiMichele watches a three-point shot next to Springdale’s Ryan Reinsfelder during their game on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s B.J. Vaughn shoots a three-pointer during the first half against Springdale on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
OLSH’s Dante Spadafora (11) celebrates with B.J. Vaughn after a Chargers score next to Springdale’s Logan Reddinger during their game on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at OLSH High School in Moon.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is one of the highest-scoring teams in the entirety of the WPIAL for a reason, and the Chargers showcased their scoring prowess on Friday as they blew out Section 1-2A opponent Springdale in dominating fashion.
Dante Spadafora and Jake DiMichele scored 29 points apiece as the No. 1 Chargers handled the No. 2 Dynamos, 91-60, to keep their undefeated season alive.
“When we play a game like that, I mean it’s a statement season for us this year,” Spadafora said. “We want to prove that we are the best, and I know Coach Rod (Mike Rodriguez) gets mad at me for saying it, but when you play with a chip on your shoulder, it can take you a long way.”
The Dynamos (9-4, 4-2) were playing without junior swingman Logan Dexter, who’s been out of the lineup with an ankle injury since early in the year. Senior Demitri Fritch paced the Dynamos with 23 points.
Coming into the game, the Chargers (12-0, 8-0) were averaging 78.1 points per game, and they showed how quickly they could score by jumping out to a 7-0 lead.
The Dynamos stayed alive, though, as senior Ben Myford scored seven of his team’s 10 points in the first quarter, and his second layup of the game pulled the Dynamos within two points at 12-10.
But Spadafora responded and scored eight straight points, and the Chargers finished the first quarter on a 14-0 run.
“It was important for us to get off to a good start,” Rodriguez said. “We wanted to make sure that we continued to push the ball. That’s our style of play. I’m sure they wanted to slow us down quite a bit. They started off in a triangle-and-2, then they went to a box-and-1, but we expected it. So we tried to isolate our bigs, and I think they scored the first couple baskets, so it worked out.”
OLSH got even hotter in the second quarter with 32 points. DiMichele paced the Chargers midway through the quarter as he scored 16 points during an 18-0 run. Spadafora interrupted the streak with a layup of his own. DiMichele capped off the run with three straight 3-pointers that allowed his team to build its lead to 47-15.
Spadafora said the only thing on his mind during a run like that is to get DiMichele the ball.
“It’s easy when Jake gets hot,” Spadafora said. “He’s the best shooter in the WPIAL, and he shows night in and night out that he can shoot at a real high percentage. So when he gets hot, all I have to do is look down the court and find him.”
The Chargers went into halftime with a 58-32 lead and dominated the second half to cruise to their 12th victory of the season.
“It seemed like they didn’t miss for a while,” Springdale coach Aaron Epps said. “Our defense wasn’t great, but there were times that we did play good defense and it was just, they’ve just got a very good team. Before the game, I told them we had to have an A-game because a B-plus game will not beat them, and obviously tonight we had a C-minus, D-type game and it’s just not enough to beat a team like that.”
Although it might have been a disappointing loss for the Dynamos, they know they still have room to grow.
“We’ve had a good year so far, and we’ve beaten good teams,” Epps said. “We’re still a good team, and we know that it’s just that they are better. They are clearly a better team than us, and we gotta keep working.”
Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Tags: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Springdale
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