Sewickley Academy star Nate Ridgeway leaves boys basketball team

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 | 9:54 PM

The Sewickley Academy boys basketball team will finish its season without senior Nate Ridgeway, one of the Panthers’ top scorers.

The 6-foot-5 forward left the team for “personal reasons,” coach Win Palmer said Wednesday. Ridgeway, a 20-point scorer, last played in Saturday’s loss to Chartiers Valley.

“We value his contributions to our program,” Palmer said. “We wouldn’t have won a state championship two years ago without him.”

Sewickley Academy (9-7, 6-3) is the defending WPIAL Class 2A champion but currently sits third in Section 3. The Panthers have lost three games in a row, including 68-64 to South Side on Tuesday — their first without Ridgeway.

“It’s time for us to regroup as a team,” Palmer said. “Right now we’re going through some struggles, which is natural. We’ve got a good bunch of kids, and we’re working through it.”

As a sophomore, Ridgeway scored 16 points in the 2017 state finals when Sewickley Academy defeated Philadelphia’s Constitution, 68-63, in overtime.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Sewickley Academy