Seton LaSalle boys top CWNC to reach WPIAL Class 3A final

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, February 26, 2018 | 11:33 PM

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With 12.7 seconds left, Seton LaSalle's Nick Deanes admitted, his mind wandered back to last February.

A year ago, Deanes saw two free throws rim out in the same stressful situation: WPIAL playoff game, two-point lead, two free throws to advance. As the senior walked to the foul line Monday, he realized he finally could let last year's loss go.

“I had that going in my head,” he said. “I'm not going to let that happen again this year. It was added motivation.”

Deanes converted both free throws and added another with 6.9 left to hold off Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, 54-49, in a WPIAL Class 3A semifinal victory at Moon.

His clutch free throw erased memories from last season, when Deanes narrowly missed twice and Lincoln Park eliminated Seton LaSalle with a 30-foot buzzer-beater. This time, Deanes' free throws helped send Seton to Petersen Events Center for the WPIAL finals.

“When he was on the line just now, I was stressing,” said Seton senior Jakob Richardson, who led with 19 points. “It brought back memories, but I knew he was going to make those.”

He did, and now No. 2 seed Seton LaSalle (19-5) faces No. 1 Lincoln Park (18-6) at 9 p.m. Thursday. It's the Rebels' third WPIAL championship game appearance in five years. They won the title in 2014 and were runners-up a year later.

No. 6 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (13-12) was a two-time defending WPIAL champion. Ryan Feczko led CWNC with 15 points, John Fukon scored 13 and Michael Drambel added 11.

Seton LaSalle's ability to rebound was key against CWNC, as was the 3-point shooting of senior Matt Banbury. After going scoreless in the first half, Banbury made four of six 3s attempted after halftime and finished with 12 points.

“We knew it was only a matter of time until he heated up,” CWNC coach Dave Long said. “He pushed the rock over the cliff that sent us down.”

CWNC led 22-21 at half but trailed Seton, 37-31, after three. The victory was Seton's third this season over its section rival.

As the horn sounded Monday, Deanes and Richardson weren't the only ones thinking about last season's WPIAL playoff loss. So too was Seton coach Mark “Knobby” Walsh, who carried it with him.

“I did an OK job as a coach in that game, but I just think I could have done better,” Walsh said. “That really stuck with me all spring and summer and fall.

“I told these guys when they came into the season, you might not like me by the end of the season, but I'm going to push you harder than you've ever been pushed,” Walsh added. “Those guys always believed. From last summer, they said: ‘Coach, we are going to the Pete.' So you could kind of say those guys made believers out of me.”

The Rebels' had a front-court edge with Richardson (6-foot-3), Kaleb Krebs (6-4) and George Mike (6-3) that showed in the fourth quarter.

“One of the things I said at halftime was, our offense has to come from inside 12 feet,” Walsh said. “A percentage of our offense this year is off the offensive glass. With our three bigs in there, I told them, you guys should get every rebound if you get inside position.”

Seton scored three consecutive baskets on put-backs midway through the fourth. Richardson had the first, and then Krebs added two more to lead 49-42 with 2:50 left.

“I thought we did a good job with their interior game,” Long said. “But if they missed the first one, there was a good chance they were getting a second and possibly even a third.”

CWNC forced three quick turnovers in the final minutes and tried to rally late. A 3-pointer by CWNC's John Fukon cut Seton's lead to 51-49 with 16.5 seconds left.

After two free throws by Deanes, a 3-pointer by CWNC's Nick Koscinski missed with 6.9 seconds left, and Seton grabbed the rebound.

“Rebounding was a big part the first two times we played them,” Richardson said. “That's what we do.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, North Catholic, Seton-LaSalle