Scholastic Notebook – 12/31/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, December 31, 2011 | 12:28 PM

Anthony who? When Anthony Dallier decided not to return for his senior year at North Allegheny, many wondered what would happen to the North Allegheny basketball team. Dallier was a 6-foot-6 senior guard-forward who was considered one of the top players in the WPIAL for the class of 2012. He was expected to help make the Tigers one of the best teams in the WPIAL before he decided to attend a prep school in Massachusetts.

But it turns out North Allegheny is just fine without Dallier. In fact, the Tigers are excelling without him.

North Allegheny is 7-1 heading into the new year. Maybe the Tigers’ record shouldn’t be considered shocking, but the way North Allegheny has pounded most opponents is definitely eye-opening.

This past week, North Allegheny crushed a pretty good Upper St. Clair team, 80-45. Earlier this year, North Allegheny defeated Mt. Lebanon, 60-41. The Tigers had a big lead on a talented Shaler team before winning by only 75-69.

“Their really defending well and trapping all over the court,” said Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer. “And they really shot it well against us.”

North Allegheny has been led by senior point guard J.C. Howard. Junior guard Adam Haus has had a few big games. But the Tigers’ full-court, trapping defense has been the primary reason for their success.

Can North Allegheny keep it up? The Tigers play in rugged Section 3 of Class AAAA. They have a tough upcoming game against Central Catholic. On Tuesday, they play an interesting non-section game against Gateway. Overall, North Allegheny is averaging 73 points a game and allowing 55.

Dallier Update

Dallier is playing at Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts. He “reclassified” when he went to the prep school. He will play this season and also next year at the school.

This season, Dallier is averaging 10 points and five rebounds a game.

Mason and the Record

Highlands senior guard Micah Mason is the WPIAL’s leading scorer again, averaging 34.1 points a game. But he is closing in on a WPIAL record also.

Mason has 29 3-pointers this season, which gives him 288 for his career. The WPIAL record for career 3-pointers is 334, set by 2010 Chartiers Valley graduate T.J. McConnell.

Top Offenses

The No. 1 scoring team in WPIAL boys basketball is Montour. The Spartans have only played three games, though, and are averaging 80 points a game. They pushed back the start of their season because a number of the team’s players were on the football team that made it to the PIAA Semifinals.

The other top scoring boys teams in the WPIAL are New Castle (77.5), Keystone Oaks (77.4) and North Allegheny (73.0).

In girls basketball, Mount Lebanon is the No. 1 scoring team at 68.8. Seton-LaSalle is second at 66.6, Greensburg Central Catholic third at 66.0 and Blackhawk fourth at 65.7.

The No. 1 defensive teams in boys basketball is Eden Christian, but this team’s statistics are very deceiving. Eden has allowed only 29.4 points a game, but the only WPIAL team that Eden has played is Aquinas Academy. Eden Christian is 8-0, but besides playing Aquinas, Eden’s other seven games have been against other Christian schools.

Let’s see what happens with Eden Christian when it starts playing section games against North Catholic, Vincentian Academy and Sewickley Academy coming up in 2012.

Four for Four

The Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament is considered one of the best tournaments in the country and was held Thursday and Friday at Canon-McMillan. Derry senior Jimmy Gulibon put himself in an elite class at this year’s tournament when he became only the fourth four-time champion.

Gulibon defeated Maxwell Hvolbek of Blair Academy (N.J.), 7-2, in the 126-pound final. But the match could have been costly for Gulibon. One of the best wrestlers in the state, Gulibon sustained a knee injury in the match. The extent of the injury is not known yet.

Six to Watch

Six of the top football players from the WPIAL will play in the inaugural Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl Tuesday in Phoenix.

The six are Hopewell running back Rushel Shell, Jeannette defensive back Demetrious Cox, Fox Chapel offensive lineman Adam Bisnowaty, McDowell running back Greg Garmon, South Allegheny tight end Jesse James and Sto-Rox linebacker Deaysean Rippy.

The game will be televised live by CBS Sports Network.

Two to Watch

If you look through the all-conference football teams of the WPIAL, two players stood out. Two freshmen, to be exact.

Canon-McMillan’s Alex Paulina made first-team Great Southern Conference. He is a 6-foot-3, 250-pound ninth-grader.

Meanwhile, Central Valley’s Jordan Whitehead made first-team Parkway Conference in Class AAA. He is a 6-foot, 165-pound defensive back.

Where Are They Now?

* Former Butler girls basketball star Olivia Bresnahan is playing 20 minutes a game for the Florida State womens team. She is averaging 2.2 points and 2.5 rebounds for the 8-6 Seminoles.

* Archie Miller, former standout basketball player at Blackhawk High School, has Dayton off to a 10-4 start in his first season as Dayton’s coach.

Tags: Blackhawk, Butler, Canon-McMillan, Central Valley, Derry Area, Erie Cathedral Prep, Fox Chapel, Greensburg C.C., Highlands, Hopewell, Jeannette, Keystone Oaks