Sewickley Academy boys exceed expectations with flawless section record

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, February 16, 2025 | 11:01 AM

The Sewickley Academy boys basketball team rolled through Section 2-2A this season with a 12-0 record, two games ahead of runner-up Northgate at 10-2.

Winchester Thurston finished third at 8-4, while Brentwood and Eden Christian tied for fourth with 5-7 records.

As a reward, Sewickley Academy (17-4) landed the No. 2 seed for the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs and was scheduled to host South Side or Bentworth on Feb. 17 in the first round.

The winner in the first round will advance to the quarterfinals Feb. 20 to play No. 7 Chartiers-Houston or No. 10 Shenango.

“I am very pleased with the development and progress of the team,” said first-year coach Mike Iuzzolino, who competed professionally with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA followed by stints in Italy and Spain. “It isn’t easy for players, especially at this age and with the limited amount of time you have together, to adjust to a whole new system offensively, defensively and philosophically.

“Our first team goal of the season was to win our section and to be 12-0. We definitely exceeded our expectations.”

Sewickley Academy won eight of its final 10 regular-season games after starting 9-1.

One of the Panthers’ strengths is an unyielding defense. They allowed an average of just 38 points per game — the lowest mark in 2A — and limited 13 opponents to 40 points or fewer.

The Panthers have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Sewickley Academy lost to Jeannette, 52-47, last year in the first round of the Class 2A tournament to finish 13-10 overall.

Iuzzolino said the Panthers plan to keep their focus small and take it one game at a time.

“Our upperclassmen have only one game of playoff experience,” he said, “and we have six guys who have a major impact in our program who have never played in a playoff game. The playoffs are different. Everyone is good and ready to play.

“All of the athletes (on the team) have approached every day with a passion to learn and improve. I have really enjoyed being around these young men, and hope I can help them in this journey on and off the court.”

Lucas Grimsley, a 6-foot-2 junior guard/forward, has led the Panthers in scoring the past two years with 15 and 11.5 ppg averages.

“Lucas is a very talented and competitive player,” Iuzzolino said. “He has a natural ability to score and is very aggressive attacking the basket.”

Grimsley’s primary position is shooting guard, but he switches to the frontcourt at times. He is complemented offensively by 6-2 senior forward Nolan Donnelly and 5-8 junior guard Caiden Battles. Donnelly is a leading scorer and rebounder.

Two other integral contributors are junior forward Amare Spencer and sophomore F/C Adam Ikamba. Top reserves are freshman guards Connor Tull and Drew Steals, freshman forwards Rob Southall, Mamadou Kane and Ja’mere Guyton and junior forward Justin Prunzik.

“I really like that we are getting contributions from different players on different nights,” Iuzzolino said. “We are playing 10 guys, and each one of them has had his moment and made an impact in winning.”

Sewickley Academy is well stocked with height thanks to the likes of Grimsley, Donnelly, the 6-8 Ikamba and 6-8 Kane, 6-3 Southall, 6-2 Spencer and 6-1 Guyton.

The Panthers clinched their perfect record in section play with a 65-51 victory over Northgate and a 79-29 win over Leechburg at the end of the regular season.

Battles (17 points), Kane (15) and Grimsley (10) scored in double figures against Northgate. Prunzik netted 14 against Leechburg, and Guyton and Spencer added 10 apiece.

“Our expectations have not changed,” Iuzzolino said. “We just keep our focus (on) one game at a time. If you do that and focus on doing things the right way, positive results will happen.”

Tags: Sewickley Academy