South Allegheny blitzes South Park in battle for 1st place

By: Don Rebel
Friday, January 10, 2025 | 11:09 PM

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It was youth basketball night at South Park on Friday as futures Eagles showed up for support and to entertain the crowd at halftime.

It was appropriate for this night because the showdown for first place in Section 3-3A looked like the South Park boys playing the South Allegheny men.

The Gladiators dominated the game from the opening tip, building up an 18-point first quarter lead on the Eagles and never easing up as South Allegheny won, 81-38.

“It all clicked with the appropriate effort, intensity, urgency is what you saw here, South Allegheny coach Tony DiCenzo said. “That’s what were capable of every night, and when we get that effort, that’s when we’re most effective.”

It was a mighty struggle for the taller South Park team on offense as the Eagles were limited to only four points in the first quarter.

The Eagles could not get the ball beyond the arc on several possessions and had no luck trying to get the ball on the post. Instead they were left to force shots that clanged off the rim and the much quicker Gladiators were able to get to lose balls and control the glass early on as well.

South Park 6-foot-8 junior Luke Scarff was honored before the game for scoring his 1,000th career point recently. He came into the game averaging 26.1 points per game but was limited to 10 points Friday, seven coming in the second half thanks to the defensive play of South Allegheny 5-7 senior guard Cameron Epps.

“It all started for us on the defensive end,” DiCenzo said. “We came out and really made it difficult for South Park to get comfortable on offense. (Scarff) for them is a tremendous player, and Cameron did a great job neutralizing him and making it difficult to score in the first half. Our defensive stops gave us an opportunity to run and get out and make 3s and get layups.”

Following an impressive first quarter, the Gladiators kept the pedal to the metal by outscoring the Eagles in the second quarter 27-10 to take a commanding 35-point lead into the locker room.

The entire second half was played with a running clock as South Allegheny has now mercy-ruled three of its four section opponents.

Three Gladiators were in double-digit scoring led by Epps with 28 points and junior Drew Cooks with 23 points. Senior Josh Jackowski added 18 points.

“We shared the ball well, and when everybody is scoring the ball, it flows better and the ball always finds the right person,” DiCenzo said. “We shot the ball pretty good from 3.”

Pretty good equated to a total of 16 3-point field goals for the Gladiators, or four more than the total number of baskets made by the Eagles.

South Park dropped to 2-1 in the section and 9-3 overall. The Eagles were led by junior Cooper Hochendoner with 12 points.

South Allegheny, which is alone in first place at 4-0 in the section, has won nine straight and is 12-1 overall.

“We have a really nice collective group,” DiCenzo said. “Cam and Drew have been consistent in averaging 20 points per game. When Josh gets up there with 15-plus (points), then that takes us to another level. It makes it very difficult for teams to pick and choose which players they are going to try and stop. This probably the most balanced group we’ve ever had.”

Tags: South Allegheny, South Park