Peters Township creates 3-way section tie with narrow win over Bethel Park
By:
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 | 12:34 AM
Peters Twp.’s Jack Dunbar celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jack Dunbar dunks against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jack Dunbar celebrates his second dunk against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jake Ziegler (15) celebrates after scoring with Cam Mills (14) and Nate Miller during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Brendan McCullough scores past Bethel Park’s Ben Guffey on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Mickey Vaccarello drives past Bethel Park’s Shawn Davis on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jack Dunbar celebrates his first dunk against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jake Ziegler celebrates after scoring next to Bethel Park’s Ben Guffey during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Nate Miller battles Bethel Park’s Ben Guffey for possession on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Cam Mills brings the ball upcourt against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jack Dunbar scores during the fourth quarter against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jack Dunbar shoots a 3-pointer against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jack Dunbar celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jack Dunbar celebrates as time expires against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Jake Ziegler celebrates after scoring against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Bethel Park’s Shawn Davis pulls down a rebound against Peters Twp. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Bethel Park’s Michael Mathias drives against Peters Twp.’s Brendan McCullough during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp.’s Brendan McCullough scores past Bethel Park’s Ben Guffey on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Bethel Park’s Shawn Davis scores against Peters Twp. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Bethel Park’s Nick Brown scores against Peters Twp. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Bethel Park’s Ben Guffey shoots a 3-pointer against Peters Twp. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Bethel Park’s Nick Brown brings the ball upcourt against Peters Twp. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Twp. head coach Joe Urmann watches from the bench during a game against Bethel Park on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Bethel Park head coach Dante Calabria talks with Nick Brown during a game against Peters Twp. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at Bethel Park High School.
Peters Township broke a tie on the scoreboard to create a tie in the standings.
Locked at 66 with 70 seconds left, Peters Township used its defense, some clutch free throws and a disputed technical foul to clinch a 75-67 victory over host Bethel Park, a win that created a three-way tie atop the section standings.
“This was a big game for the standings,” said Peters Township junior Jack Dunbar, who had two dunks and three 3s among his game-high 26 points. “We’d already dropped one to TJ and they’d beat TJ. … It felt good to come out on top.”
As a result, Peters Township (11-3, 4-1), Bethel Park (9-4, 4-1) and Thomas Jefferson (8-5, 4-1) are now tied for first place in Section 1-5A at the midway point.
“There are three pretty even teams,” Bethel Park coach Dante Calabria said. “It’s not like one team is way better than the others. It’s going to be that way. We’re going to beat each other up.”
They’ll rematch Feb. 10 in the section finale.
Jake Ziegler added 15 points for Peters Township, and Nate Miller had 12, including four free throws in the tense final minute. The Indians had held a 16-15 lead after the first quarter, trailed 36-33 at half and led 53-52 after three.
“We hadn’t played in a hostile environment, in a road game that was tight like this, in a while,” Peters coach Joe Urmann said.
Shawn Davis led Bethel Park with 23 points, including a twisting layup for a 66-66 tie.
Ben Guffey added 17 points for the Black Hawks.
The back-and-forth game included 10 lead changes and nine ties. Davis was trying to create a 10th tie in the final minute, but the Bethel Park junior was called for an offensive foul at the 56-second mark, a call Calabria strongly disputed, earning the first-year coach a technical foul.
As a result, Miller made two free throws and the Indians kept possession, now leading 70-66.
“It was right in front of me. You can see it. You get upset,” Calabria said. “I probably shouldn’t get upset, but I didn’t do anything to warrant a technical foul.”
Miller made two more free throws with 45 seconds left, extending Peters Township’s lead to six. The Indians went 7 for 10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, making six in a row in one stretch.
In all, Bethel Park was outscored 9-1 in the final 70 seconds.
“I saw a group that was interested in getting over the hump,” Urmann said of his Peters Township players. “In the past, they’ve gone their separate ways and become inward when things get hard. Our guys, to their credit, really relied on each other a little more tonight.”
Peters Township also relied on a defense that forced 20 turnovers.
One of those Bethel Park turnovers came with five seconds left in the third quarter, and Miller converted the miscue into a last-second layup to lead 53-52.
The Indians then forced turnovers on Bethel Park’s first three possessions in the fourth quarter. They led 61-52 early in the fourth after a basket by Dunbar to cap a 10-0 run.
“That’s when the pace started to go the way we wanted it,” Urmann said. “They tried to slow us down with their pressure. They did that for a while. I told our guys, when fatigue starts to become a factor, that’s when I think we’re at our best in transition.”
“They’re deeper than us,” Calabria said. “I would love to play up and down like that, but we can’t get in that game. We’re going to wear down.”
Still, Bethel Park answered with a 9-0 run later in the fourth, ending with consecutive baskets by Davis. The second was his twisting layup along the baseline for a 66-66 tie.
Two free throws by Brendan McCullough gave the lead back to Peters Township.
“I’m not unhappy with them at all,” Calabria said of his team. “We made mistakes, but every team makes mistakes. They played their butts off.”
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: Bethel Park, Peters Township
More High School Basketball
• 19 WPIAL players picked for 2024 all-state girls basketball team• 23 WPIAL players picked to 2024 all-state boys basketball team, including 2 players of the year
• Hampton basketball readies for rare coaching search
• Hall of fame basketball coach Joe Lafko steps down at Hampton
• Dave Pucka, one of Plum’s own, hired to coach boys basketball team
