South Allegheny works game plan to perfection in 2nd-round win over Bishop Guilfoyle

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, March 12, 2025 | 11:06 PM

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South Allegheny’s Josh Jackowski circled into the lane, caught an inbounds pass and scored on a nifty play the team debuted Wednesday night.

The Gladiators run lots of sets, and those designed plays led to some well-timed baskets in a 55-47 victory over Bishop Guilfoyle in the PIAA Class 3A playoffs. They finished the first three quarters with a go-ahead basket each time and sparked a quick run in the fourth to clinch the second-round win at Armstrong.

The runner by Jackowski with 5 seconds left in the third gave South Allegheny a lead it never lost.

“What won us the game was our offensive execution,” South Allegheny coach Tony DiCenzo said. “We got timely baskets out of our half-court sets. Credit to our guys. They’re a very good team. They make you earn everything.”

South Allegheny led 39-37 after three quarters and opened the fourth with an 11-2 run to pull away. The run started with consecutive layups by Cam Epps and Drew Cook, a few defensive stops and two more baskets by Jackowski.

The Gladiators led 50-39 with 1:10 remaining.

“That’s what got us here, and that’s what we’ve been all year,” DiCenzo said. “When we’re balanced scoring, it makes it difficult for teams to pick and choose who they want to focus on. A lot of our set action has two or three options for those guys.”

Epps scored a team-high 16 points, Cook had 14 and Jackowski added 12.

South Allegheny (25-3) advances to play District 3 champion Trinity in the quarterfinals Saturday at a site and time to be announced. DiCenzo said the Gladiators expected to feel a championship hangover in the first round of states, but their energy was back for this second-round win.

“We exhausted so much physical, mental and emotional energy to win the WPIAL, getting back to that high was our challenge,” DiCenzo said. “We had to get back to that championship-level mindset. … This probably got their focus back.”

Taurean Consiglio scored a game-high 21 points for Bishop Guilfoyle (23-5), the second-place team from District 6. South Allegheny held each of Consiglio’s teammates to eight points or less.

“We wanted to dictate pace tonight,” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Ryan Lestochi said. “We like to get up and down the floor. Just the way the game went, we didn’t get to impose our will in terms of pace.”

South Allegheny had no complaints about the pace or an officiating crew that called few fouls. The teams combined for just six free throws in the first three quarters, a number that grew in the fourth when Bishop Guilfoyle was forced to foul.

“I don’t mind that,” Epps said of the physical style. “Coach (Bilal) Cook was preaching that you’ve got to realize how the refs are calling the game and adjust. We realized they were letting us play.”

All three of South Allegheny’s top scorers provided last-possession heroics in a quarter.

Cook finished the first quarter with a transition layup to give South Allegheny a 15-14 lead, and Epps hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer to lead 28-26 at halftime.

“Those special-teams plays are big and they win us games,” Epps said. “Coach draws up great plays for the end of the quarters and end of the half. We execute them well.”

Lestochi said South Allegheny ran as many offensive sets as any opponent his team faced this season.

“They’re a little more effective at it, just because they have two guys who can really fill it up,” he said. “And they’ve got some big bodies setting screens, so they made it really hard on us.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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