Underclassmen made big impact in Sewickley Academy’s PIAA tournament run

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, April 13, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Notes and quotes, etc. from Chocolate Town USA:

Two freshmen and a sophomore were Sewickley Academy’s three leading scorers against Linville Hill Christian in the PIAA Class 2A boys basketball championship game March 28 at Hershey’s Giant Center.

Freshman guard Drew Steals came off the bench when junior Caiden Battles, the team’s starting point guard, suffered an injury in the first quarter. Steals stole the show for Panthers with a game-high 17 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.

Steals immediately made his presence felt with a 10-point offensive barrage in the second quarter.

“Drew was phenomenal,” Sewickley coach Mike Iuzzolino said. “As a freshman to play the way he did was incredible. Drew has made great strides all year and will continue to get better because he puts in the work.

“Caiden was a warrior all year. He competed in every practice and every game and he did an awesome job running our team. He impacts the game without worrying about scoring but making sure we get great shots. He also was very consistent on the defensive end.”

QV sophomore forward Adam Ikamba added 16 points including a pair of authoritative first-half dunks, and freshman forward Mamadou Kane chipped in with 10 points with eight in the second half.

• Linville Hill, the District 3 runner-up, edged Sewickley, 55-54, and was led by all-state senior forward Stephen Smucker, a four-year starter who finished with 22 points.

The 6-1 Smucker is the Warriors’ all-time leading scorer with 1,522 career points. He scored his team’s final five points in the championship game, including what proved to be the winning basket with 23 seconds remaining.

“He’s my MVP all year,” said his coach, Mike Schatzmann.

Linville Hill ended up 29-3 overall after winning 14 of its final 15 games. Sewickley, the WPIAL’s third-place finisher, wrapped up the season at 24-6.

“I am extremely proud of the players and coaching staff this year,” Sewickley AD Mike Scerbo said. “The way this group responded to the difficult loss in the WPIAL semifinals to go on a run deep into the PIAA tournament is a testament to the commitment they had all year.

“From the first day, they showed they all were dedicated to growth and team development placing the team over themselves.”

• The Warriors grabbed an early 9-5 lead against Sewickley and held a 13-9 first-quarter advantage. LH entertained its biggest lead at 25-20 midway through the second quarter and maintained a 28-27 edge at halftime.

Sewickley, behind 6-8 twin towers Kane and Ikamba along with another triple by Steals, knotted the score at 40-40 at the end of the third.

The Panthers opened the fourth quarter with eight straight points to gain a 50-43 lead with 5:19 to go.

But Linville Hill responded with a 12-2 run to secure a 55-52 advantage late in the game. After LH missed two free throws, Kane’s last-second shot from an inbounds pass rimmed out.

“We knew they were going to have to throw a lob,” Schatzmann said. “That was the only chance they had. We tried to pack that middle, but let me tell you, it almost worked for them.”

Sewickley was outscored 15-6 over the final six minutes.

• The Panthers had a significant height advantage and outrebounded Linville Hill, 33-17, but committed 18 turnovers to the Warriors’ 12.

Linville Hill was 12 of 20 from the free-throw line; Sewickley hit two of five foul shots.

• Sewickley Academy hired the 57-year-old Iuzzolino as coach last May. Iuzzolino had spent the previous eight seasons on the Robert Morris men’s basketball staff, including three as associate head coach.

“On my nightstand I have a little piece of paper from when I first took this job that says: ‘Don’t forget they’re 14- and 15-year-old kids,’” Iuzzolino said. “I remind myself of that all the time.”

Iuzzolino was a standout guard at Altoona and played at Penn State and Saint Francis before embarking on a two-year NBA stint with the Dallas Mavericks. His son, Mike, was an all-conference senior guard on the Saint Vincent men’s basketball team in 2024-25.

Sewickley’s floor boss also was an assistant coach at Duquesne, George Mason and Canisius.

• Sewickley was attempting to win its fourth state championship in boys basketball after PIAA victories in 1997 (Class A), 2010 (A) and ‘17 (2A) — the latter two with longtime coach Win Palmer, who died in 2023.

In ’97, Sewickley defeated Schuykill Haven in the finals, 52-45. The Panthers beat Reading Central Catholic, 43-35, in 2010, and Constitution, 68-63, in 2017.

Sewickley was a PIAA runner-up in 2004.

Tags: Sewickley Academy