Path to the Pete Recaps From Monday 2/22

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, February 23, 2016 | 1:49 AM

OK, so technically this second year of consolation games to determine PIAA playoff berths from the WPIAL is not the Path to the Pete. That ended in the district Quarterfinals for these teams. who bounced back to keep their season alive into Thursday or into the PIAA postseason and which teams ended their season on a two game skid? Here are recaps from the the two Consolation Semifinals game from each playoff bracket.

A special thanks to Mark Uriah, Kyle Dawson, Rob Matzie, Dennis Fischer, Bob Orkwis, Paul Paterra, Brandon Showers, Bob Gregg, Nate Regotti, Josh Rowntree, T.J. DiStefano, Sean Meyers and Don Rebel for their help on these recaps.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS AAAA Consolation Semifinals:

Bethel Park Black Hawks 69 – Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings 60 
Bethel Park started fast and built a 15 point lead in the 2nd quarter, then fought off several Central Catholic comebacks in the victory at Chartiers Valley High School. Keying the Black Hawks’ victory was good shooting and excellent free throw shooting. Plus, four Bethel Park starters scored in double figures, and the fifth starter scored nine points. Bethel Park connected on 22 of 44 shots and 18 of 21 free throws. Jacob Dixon paced Bethel Park with 19 points, 15 in the 2nd half. His point total included two slam dunks. Josh Duda added 16 points, 12 in the second half. Levi Metheny chipped in with 11 points and Chance Wright added 10. Matt Bilyak led Central Catholic (16-8) with 21 points. Luke Nedrow added 10. Bethel Park (18-7) plays Chartiers Valley Thursday with the winner qualifying for the PIAA tournament.

Chartiers Valley Colts 77 – Plum Mustangs 67 
Following a quick turnaround after being ousted from the WPIAL Quad-A Tournament on Saturday, the Colts used a strong finish in the second quarter to lead 39-32 at halftime and carried that momentum to a 10-point win at Fox Chapel High School. Plum led 17-13 after the first quarter, but junior Nick Jesslowski came off the bench for Chartiers Valley to score all 10 of his points in the second quarter to help the Colts gain a lead they would never surrender. All told, five Colts including Jesslowski scored in double figures in the win. Senior Eddie Flohr led the way with 18 points, Junior Ross Wilkerson finished with 17 points including a pair of first quarter treys, while Coleman Vaughn added 13 points and 5 rebounds. Caleb Zajicek finished with 10 points and the 5-10 junior guard nailed 3-three pointers to help the Colts outscore the Mustangs 20-11 in the third quarter. Joey Antonucci just missed being the 6th Colts player to hit double figures, finishing with 9 points while pulling down a team-high 6 rebounds. A pair of Mustang seniors led the way scoring in double figures. Forward Robbie Deemer scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for Plum. Guard James Edwards, an Air Force Academy recruit, ended his fine scholastic career with a game-high 27 points, including 3-three pointers. The loss ends the season for Plum as the Mustangs finish with a (17-7) record. The win improved Chartiers Valley’s record to (20-5) and marks the eighth consecutive season that the Colts have had a least 20 wins. The win earns the Colts a Thursday night rematch with Section 4 foe Bethel Park. The Blackhawks defeated Pittsburgh Central Catholic to advance in the PIAA Play-in-Tournament. During the regular season Chartiers Valley beat Bethel Park twice, winning 73-52 at home and defeating the Blackhawks 79-72 at Bethel Park. Thursday’s game will be played as a site and time to be determined. The winner will represent the WPIAL as the fifth seed in the PIAA AAAA Tournament.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS AAA Consolation Semifinals:

Hampton Talbots 83 – West Allegheny Indians 70 
The Hampton Talbots have earned their second straight trip to the PIAA Triple A boys state basketball tournament, and fifth consecutive overall, with an end-to-end 83-70 win over the West Allegheny Indians on Monday night at North Allegheny High School.  The Talbots scored the first 13 points and never looked back, ending the first quarter with a 26-12 lead.  After the Indians narrowed the gap to seven to start the second period, Hampton took charge and went into the half with a 16 point lead, 44-28. The Talbots further extended their advantage through three quarters, leading 64-45 before holding off a late Indians charge that narrowed the score to seven in the fourth quarter before Hampton secured the win.  Hampton was led by juniors Antonio Ionadi with 28 points, Ryan Murray with 14, and Ben Huber with 11.  West Allegheny was paced by senior Alijah Crowe with 21, senior Jared Lanni with 12, senior Terence Stephens with 10, and sophomore Isaiah Crowe also with 10.  Hampton (17-8) will play West Mifflin on Thursday night, the winner being awarded the fifth seed out of District 7 in the state playoffs, while the losing team will be seeded sixth.  West Allegheny (12-12) will meet Steel Valley also on Thursday, the winner taking the seventh and final seed while the losing team will have its season come to an end.

West Mifflin Titans 82 – Steel Valley Ironmen 78  in Overtime 
Losing twice to Steel Valley in the regular season, it looked like West Mifflin was going to get sweet revenge against their AAA-4 rivals with a laugher in the Consolation Semifinals. However the Ironmen roared back from an 18-point second half deficit to tie the game, only to see the Titans steady the ship and hold on to a four point victory in overtime Monday at Baldwin High School. It was a nightmare first half for Steel Valley as a combination of poor shooting, turnovers against pressure, hideous free throw shooting and four trouble had the Ironmen trailing 40-22 at the half. First year coach Dale Chapman rolled the dice and put leading scorer Ja’Mier Fletcher back in the game in the second quarter with three fouls, only to watch the sophomore pick up his fourth foul with six minutes left in the half. Steel Valley played better in the third quarter, but still trailed 58-44 after three. The Ironmen amped up their pressure defense and it hurried West Mifflin into turnover and bad shots, a combination that saw the game deadlocked at 70-70 when the Ironmen outscored the Titans 26-12 in the final quarter. But the momentum for SV did not carry over into overtime as West Mifflin took back control thanks in part toa couple of key baskets, including a dagger 3-point shot by senior Josh Long. Karlyn Garner led all scorers with a magnificent performance and 35 points. Long added 23 and fellow senior Ken Rouse-Strothers scored 13 points. Sophomore Amonte Strothers came off the bench to lead Steel Valley with 18 points while Kennedy Smith had 17, Dylan Smith ended up with 11 and Ryan McCallister had 11, including three big 3-pointers in the second half comeback. Steel Valley falls to 16-7 and will face West Allegheny on Thursday with a PIAA playoff berth on the line. West Mifflin is now 14-8 and has clinched a state postseason spot and will face Hampton Thursday for the #5-seed out of the WPIAL.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS AA Consolation Semifinals:

Washington Little Prexies 68 – Seton-LaSalle Rebels 53 
After letting an early 15-point lead get away, Washington rattled off six fast break baskets and hit 11 straight fourth-quarter foul shots to down Seton-La Salle, 68-53, clinching a berth in the upcoming PIAA tournament.  An 11-3 run early in the second quarter has WHS up 28-13 with five minutes left in the half, but the Rebels answered with a 15-4 stretch to get back in the game.  Twice, the Little Prexies pushed the advantage back to six points, but Cletus Helton’s three-pointer to open the fourth quarter gave Seton-La Salle’s its first, and last, lead.  Helton closed the game’s scoring with another trey, his fourth of the game, but between his long-range jumpers in the fourth, the Rebels managed just 9 points.  Washington (18-7) forced turnovers, grabbed rebounds and turned them into points, and made free throws.  Markel Pulliam led the Little Prexies with 20 points, eight in the fourth including 6-for-6 at the foul line.  Matt Popeck drained all five of his last-period free throws, part of his 19-point effort.  Nate Swart, saddled with his fourth foul early in the third. came off the bench in the final period and scored half of his 12 points for the winners.  Helton’s 20 paced Seton-La Salle (15-11).  George Mike added 14.  The Little Prexies, winners of 15 of their last 17 games, take on Quaker Valley in Thursday’s PIAA Play-In Second Round.  The winner takes the WPIAL’s 5th spot in the state tournament.  The loser is sixth.  After an 0-3 start, Wash High is 15-4, with all four losses coming against teams in WPIAL semifinals:  Bishop Canevin (twice), Aliquippa and Quad-A Pine-Richland.

Quaker Valley Quakers 69 – Neshannock Lancers 54 
No. 3 Quaker Valley (20-5) combatted two high-scoring quarters by No. 10 Neshannock (17-7) with two overbearing, defensive frames to run away with a 69-54 win on Monday night at Keystone Oaks High School. With the win, Quaker Valley clinches a PIAA Class AA Playoff spot and will meet Washington on Thursday to decide which team will be the 5th or 6th seed from the WPIAL. The Quakers were led by a group of four players in double figures, including Amos Luptak, who scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Neshannock got off to a blistering hot start, knocking down six three-pointers in the opening quarter, three of which were by Jason Swope. Swipe would score 15 points in the quarter and a game-high 27 points and add 11 rebounds in the loss. But the second quarter belonged to the Quakers. Behind 8 forced turnovers, Quaker Valley would outscore the Lancers 18-4 to end the half and grab the lead on a buzzer-beating jumper by Wolfie Moser, taking a 34-32 lead into the half. But Neshannock would again heat up, scoring 18 points in the third quarter, with Swope contributing ten points and Jake Rylott adding eight of his 13 points. After three quarters, Neshannock clung to a 50-46 lead. In another big swing, the game’s final quarter would be dominated by Quaker Valley, which outscored the Lancers 23-4 over the final eight minutes, securing the victory. Frustration would boil over in the final minutes for the Lancers, as they would be hit with a flagrant foul and technical foul after Swope pushed Quaker Valley’s Ricky Guss. It was the second technical foul of the quarter given to a Neshannock player. Quaker Valley would receive double-figure contributions from Coletrane Washington (13 points), Guss (12 points) and Mitch Luton (10 points). The Quakers were 18-of-27 at the foul line to just 3-of-5 for Neshannock. The loss for Neshannock breaks a streak of two consecutive PIAA Playoff appearances, while Quaker Valley, with just two seniors, will be making their fifth straight showing in the state postseason.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS A Consolation Semifinals:

Clairton Bears 52 – Union Scotties 43 
The Clairton Bears were 20 minutes late to arrive to the Ambridge High School Field House to face off with the Union Scotties in a play-in game to determine the fifth place team to advance to the PIAA State Playoffs.  They started with making one of two free-throws after Union was charged with a technical foul for dunking in the pre-game warm-ups and won a fast paced game 52-43.  The first half was very sloppy as the score was tied 6-6 at the end of the first period after both teams were auditioning for the track team going back and forth up and down the court.  Clairton would place Union in the double bonus midway thru the second quarter, however Union was just 1 of 12 from the line in the first half and would finish 3 of 16 on the night.  The Bears lead the Scotties 20-16 at the half and held off a couple of runs late to advance to play another day.  Clairton was lead by 11 points from Sophomore Center Maurice Reeves, 9 points by Freshman guard Khori Fusco and 8 points by Senior Forward Aaron Mathews.  Union was led by Senior Guard Garrison Bell’s 19 points and Sophomore Guard Tre’von Charles 19 points including three 3 pointers.  Clairton will play another team out of Section 1 as they draw Eden Christian Thursday to determine the fifth team to qualify for the state playoffs out of Class A.

Eden Christian Academy Warriors 78 – Vincentian Academy Royals 66 
Eden Christian Academy outscored Vincentian Academy 28-18 over the final quarter, allowing the Warriors to capture a 78-66 victory in the PIAA Class A play-in bracket game at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School. Prior to that final stanza, the Warriors and Royals engaged in a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to take command. Eden Christian held a one-point edge through the first quarter, aided by a trio of three-pointers, including two courtesy of David Ritchie. The second frame included more even play between the squads, both of whom sustained heartbreaking overtime defeats in the WPIAL quarterfinals on Friday. In that quarter, Thomas Quinlan netted five points for Vincentian, but the Royals squandered a chance to take command, as they misfired on five of their eight free throws. In the third quarter, the offenses heated up on both sides, as the teams found their strokes from behind the arc. Vincentian knocked down five shots from distance in the quarter, while the Warriors nailed four 3-pointers of their own. Ritchie was particularly en fuego for Eden Christian, as he contributed nine points in the quarter to maintain his team’s narrow lead, at 50-48, heading into the final frame. In the fourth, a spark from a reserve player and efficient foul shooting helped the Warriors score the win. Kenny Scott scored seven points in the fourth off the bench for the Warriors, while the team hit 15 of its 20 free throws in the period. Blake Carpenter, who matched Ritchie for a game-high 22 points, added 10 points in the decisive quarter for Eden Christian. In the defeat, Quinlan and Garrett Barto each paced the Royals with 14 points. As a result of the victory, the Warriors advance to face Clairton on Thursday, with the fifth and final PIAA postseason bid on the line.

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS AAAA Consolation Semifinals:

Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 54 – Hempfield Spartans 50 
The Mt Lebanon Blue Devils kept their hopes at state playoff berth alive Monday night at Baldwin High School by defeating the Hempfield Area Spartans 54-50 in the PIAA Play-In game. The first quarter was competitive by both teams and the Blue Devils would hold a slight edge 13-12. Mt Lebanon would add to their lead in the second quarter outscoring Hempfield 13-5 by taking advantage of a smaller Spartan team inside. Junior McKenzie Bushee was a force inside scoring six of her 10 first half points in the second period.  The Blue Devils led 25-18 at the break. Mt Lebanon continued working the ball inside in the 3rd quarter, this time with freshman Jamey Napoleon, who led the way with six points. The Blue Devils outscored the Spartans 11-9 and took a 36-27 lead into the fourth quarter. Hempfield played its best in the 4th outscoring Mt Lebanon 23-18  thanks to five 3 pointers; two from Michelle Burns and one apiece from Alexa Pastor, Aubree Halusic, and Allison Podkul. However, it wasn’t enough as the Blue Devils converted six field goals and 6 of 8 foul shots to hold on for the victory. Mt Lebanon had two players in double figures McKenize Bushee with 14 and Maura Wallace had 12. Hempfield had four players in double digits led by Aubree Halusic with 12. Michelle Burns, Allison Podkul and Sarah Golden all added 11. Mt Lebanon improves to 15-9 and will face Canon-McMillan Thursday night at a site and time to be determined. The winner will get the 5th seed in the PIAA playoffs. Hempfield ends the season at 15-10.

Canon-McMillan Big Macs 57 – Bethel Park Black Hawks 50 
Canon McMillan had four players in double figures as the Big Macs downed Bethel Park in a PIAA play-in game Monday night at Chartiers Valley. Cheyenne Trest and Kierra King each had 15 points for Canon McMillan. Isabelle Allen and Rebecca Turney had 12 each. The Big Macs led by three after three quarters, and pulled away in the fourth, stretching its lead to double-digits. The Blackhawks would get no closer than six in the closing minutes. Canon McMillan held Bethel Park’s leading scorer, Justina Mascaro, to seven  points, only one in the second half. The Big Macs will take on section rival Mount Lebanon Thursday, with the winner getting the fifth and final spot in the PIAA playoffs. Canon McMillan defeated the Blue Devils twice this season, 48-40 and 62-55.

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS AAA Consolation Semifinals:

Blackhawk Cougars 59 – Chartiers Valley Colts 53 
The Blackhawk Cougars secured a berth in the PIAA Triple A girls basketball playoffs with a 59-53 win over Chartiers Valley on Monday night at North Allegheny High School.  The Cougars led 18-11 at the end of the first eight minutes and then outscored the Colts 19-6 in the second quarter to take a 37-17 halftime lead.  But Chartiers Valley began a second half comeback, narrowing the Blackhawk lead to 14, 45-31, through three quarters of play.  The Colts continued to chip into the Cougars lead in the fourth period, getting as close as four, before Blackhawk was able to put away the win.  The Cougars were led junior Madison Amalia with 19 points, including four three point field goals, and sophomore Taylor Lambright, who also posted four three point baskets on her way to scoring 14 points.  Chartiers Valley was paced by sophomore Lauren Wagner with 14 and senior Nicole Olkosky with 13.  Blackhawk (18-7) will meet South Park on Thursday, the winner earning the fifth seed among District 7 schools in the state tournament while the losing team will be seeded sixth.  Chartiers Valley (15-10) will play Ambridge, also on Thursday, with the winner nailing down the seventh and last seed and the losing team seeing its season end.

South Park Eagles 66 – Ambridge Bridgers 48 
The Eagles of South Park soared out to a commanding lead over Ambridge in AAA Girls Consolation PIAA Play-In round action. South Park was able to go on a 7-0 run to start the first quarter and they never looked back from there. It wasn’t until two and a half minutes into the opening frame that the Bridgers from Ambridge were able to get onto the board. The first quarter the Eagles were in foul trouble but at the quarter break something must have ‘clicked’ as they went the entire 2nd with out committing a single foul after committing six in the first quarter. Ambridge was able to scratch and claw their way back into the game tying it up a minute and a half into the 2nd quarter only to relinquish the lead and this time for good to South Park. The Eagles wouldn’t look back from there winning the game 66-48. It was a combination of stout defense and inside presence by the Eagles’ Allison McGrath that really lead them to the victory. If she wasn’t scoring points she was preventing them from going in with multiple blocks and steals. The 5’10” senior also led a few fast breaks setting up girls under the hoop for lay ups as well. She also led on the scorers sheet with 22 total points in the contest and was 4/5 from the free throw line. Due to playing from behind most of the second half and the inside presence of McGrath the Bridgers tried a different approach by continuing to shoot threes but seemingly no shots were falling. They finished the contest with four total threes but took many more than that and that led to the final score getting so far out of hand. Both teams luckily will move on to play at least one more game as the Bridgers will face Chartiers Valley for a birth into the PIAA’s while the Eagles assured themselves a PIAA post season birth with the win. The Eagles will face off against Blackhawk to determine seeding for the PIAA tourney. Also scoring for the Eagles were Brittany Andrews who had 16, Natalie Clydesdale with 12, Alyssa Greer with 11, Jessica Jones with 5, and Kacey Kastroll with 2. For Ambridge their leading scorer was Chole Rabold with 14, followed by both Abby Anatolic and Sarah Fischer each with 12, and Sydney Rabold and Dasha Jackson with 5 a piece.

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS AA Consolation Semifinals:

Neshannock Lancers 44 – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 31 
Neshannock (20-4) used a big fourth quarter to defeat Chartiers-Houston (17-8) 44-31 in the first round of consolations on Monday night. The Lancers outscored Chartiers-Houston 15-5 in the final frame to earn the victory. The Bucs used an intense full court press early in the game to jump out to a 9-7 lead after the first quarter, but got into foul trouble early in the game. With the Bucs’ sophomore forward Kearia Walker on the bench for most of the second quarter and the majority second half, freshman Bella Burrelli tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds to help Neshannock get the win. Despite junior Jala Walker leading all scorers with 19 points, Chartiers-Houston shot just 7-17 at the free throw line. The two teams combined for 28 turnovers in the game. With the win, Neshannock clinches a spot in the PIAA tournament and will face Burrell on Thursday night for the WPIAL’s fifth place. The Bucs will face Riverside on Thursday with the winner receiving the seventh and final spot from District 7 for the PIAA-AA bracket.

Burrell Buccaneers 67 – Riverside Panthers 46 
After being ousted by Carlynton in the quarterfinals of the Class AA tournament, the Burrell Lady Bucs secured their spot in the PIAA Tournament for Double-A with a 67-46 win over Riverside in the first round of the Play-In bracket. After going down 1-0 within the first minute, Burrell went on a 12-0 run and never looked back from there en route to securing their spot to play for the fifth or sixth seed in the state brackets. The Lady Bucs were led by senior, Youngstown State recruit Natalie Myers, who as the only senior on the roster, scored 25 points in the win, 10 of which came in a monstrous third quarter for the future Penguin. Perhaps one of the biggest reason the result turned out what it was for Riverside was the absence of Katie Stang, who injured her knee in the team’s loss to #14 seed Greensburg Central Catholic and averaged close to 20 points per game. Sophomore Sydney Wolf led the charge for the Lady Panthers with 20 points. As a result of the loss, Riverside must beat Chartiers-Houston Thursday for the 7th and final seed from the WPIAL to the PIAA playoffs. As for Burrell, next up is a matchup with fellow AA Section Champion Neshannock for the fifth seed. The loser of that game Thursday night will hold the 6th seed in the state playoffs. Both of those games will be played at a site and time to be determined but of course will be on the MSA Sports Network.

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS A Consolation Semifinals:

Riverview Raiders 40 – Ellis School Tigers 30 
In a matchup between two of the top scorers in WPIAL Girls Class A basketball, Dayna Rouse may have won the battle, but Sadie Buchser won the game and advanced to the finals of the PIAA Play-in-Tournament with a 40-30 victory at Fox Chapel High School. Rouse, a 6-foor senior, came into the game averaging 25.3 PPG, finished with a game-high 22 points including 3-three-pointers for the Tigers, Buchser, also a senior, came into the contest with a 19.4 PPG average and finished the game with 15 points for the Raiders. The 5-7 senior also converted 4 free throws down the stretch in the 4th quarter to help seal the win for Riverview. It was sophomore Ariel Rafferty who stole the show for the Raiders, scoring a team-high 21-points, grabbing 9 rebounds, blocking 4 shots and adding a steal as Ellis played a box-and-one defense on Buchser for most of the game. Buchser scored the first 5 points of the game for Riverview and the Raiders led 7-2, before Rouse took over, scoring 8 straight points and the game was tied at 13-13 after eight minutes. The Raiders held Ellis to just 3 second quarter points and Rouse hit just one-free throw as the score was 21-16 Riverview at halftime. Rouse, who is headed to play D1 basketball at Longwood University in Virginia, also pulled down 12 rebounds in her scholastic finale. The only other Tiger to score was freshman Katharine Ferrence, who finished with 8 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Junior Kayley Forster pulled down 10 rebounds for Ellis School whose season ends at (19-4). Nicole Munion was the only other Raider to score as she ended the game with 4 points and 3 steals. Molly Kennedy added 8 rebounds and a pair of assists to help Riverview improve to (15-9). Buchser, who is the second leading scorer in school history, now has 1,449 career points. Buchser also had 7 rebounds, 5 steals and two assists in the win for Riverview. The Raiders will try and qualify for the state playoffs for the second year in a row when they face Winchester Thurston on Thursday night to become the fifth seed from the WPIAL for the PIAA Class A Tournament.

Winchester Thurston Bears 44 – Rochester Rams 42 
Rochester led for much of the game before Winchester Thurston tied it up 42-42 with 51.2 seconds in regulation.  The Bears took the lead 44-42 with 6.4 seconds and held on for the win at Ambridge High School.  The Rams lead at the half 24-19 and 34-31 after three; but foul trouble to Senior Forward Maggie Whittington would prove to be critical as she fouled out with 1:57 to go in the game. The Bears leading scorer 6’1 Sophomore would score 6 of her 14 points in the 4th quarter including the game winner.  Winchester Thurston was also paced by Senior Point Guard Sophie Burkolders 11 points including three 3 pointers and Sophomore Luka van de Venne’s 8 points.  Senior Guard Naomi Grossman added two 3 pointers off the bench.  Rochester was led by Senior Guard Payton Tomasko’s 13 points including three 3 pointers all in the first half.  Sophomore Olivia Whiteleather scored 10 including two 3 pointers, Whittington and Junior Julia Sabbio each added 7 points.  While Winchester Thurston’s season continues both teams feature several underclassmen who benefited from playoff experience this season and should be fixtures in the postseason in the years ahead.  The Bears season stays alive and will play Riverview Thursday to determine the fifth team from Class A WPIAL Girls.