With backs to the wall, Penn-Trafford boys snag a win at Latrobe
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Tuesday, January 28, 2025 | 10:19 PM
Brayden Stone was struggling, having an “off night” as he put it.
The Penn-Trafford guard had missed five straight shots, mostly on rim-outs, but kept his head up as a tight Section 1-5A game grew even tighter as it reached the final stretch.
With his team’s playoff hopes on the line, Stone didn’t miss his final attempt.
Stone took a pass from Tyler Boss off a side-out play and made a driving layup through traffic with 4.1 seconds left to lift the Warriors to a crucial 54-52 win over Latrobe on Tuesday night.
Not only did the Warriors (9-8, 6-5) keep their postseason hopes alive, but they also avoided a section sweep.
Latrobe (16-3, 8-3) won the first matchup, 53-50. The second-place Wildcats, who won 16 games combined the previous two seasons, had already clinched a playoff spot.
“It felt great,” Stone said. “To get a win over Latrobe, it’s a huge section win for us. It’s great to come here and snag a win.”
As for his late-game heroics, Stone said: “I couldn’t get down on myself.”
Penn-Trafford coach Doug Kelly called the victory in the rematch a signature win. He also called Stone “a tough kid and a winner.”
“It’s huge to get this one on the road,” Kelly said. “That’s a great team we played. They’re 16-2. Credit to them, they punched back and made some big plays. We didn’t play great in the second half.”
But the Warriors were sharp when it counted as they moved to 5-4 on the road.
Latrobe fell to 7-2 at home.
Penn-Trafford began the night fourth in the eight-team section. The top five teams make the playoffs.
The Warriors had lost two in a row after winning three straight.
Latrobe had won 11 of 12.
“We ran into a team with their backs against the wall,” Latrobe coach Brad Wetzel said. “This was like a playoff experience. I’m not sure how that team fell to 8-8. Our guys fell short and feel the pain.”
In the first half, Penn-Trafford looked like a team hungry for a playoff berth.
The Warriors played downhill, shared the ball and defended, building a 16-8 lead after the first quarter, and stretching the advantage to 16 at 30-14 in the second.
But Latrobe sliced into the double-digit deficit with a 14-2 run led by Max Butler.
Kyle McNeil hit a 3-pointer, Ian DeCerb finished an and-one, and Butler scored six straight, including two technical free throws, to cut it to 32-28.
“Penn-Trafford came out of the gate with their absolute best,” Brad Wetzel said. “And we didn’t.”
The Warriors took a 35-28 edge into the break.
Latrobe regained the lead — its first since 2-0 — with a run in the third quarter. An 11-0 spurt that started with a 3 from Andy Tatsch and included a nifty mid-range jumper and a steal-and-score from McNeil gave the Wildcats a 40-39 edge.
In the fourth, there were three lead changes and a tie at 44-44.
After 3s from Andy Tatsch and Ian DeCerb, Tyler Anthony and Evan Gross made back-to-back 3s to give the Warriors a 52-50 lead.
Max Butler made a layup off a hustle play — a diving steal from John Wetzel — to tie it 52-52 with 1 minute, 17 seconds left.
After Latrobe failed to score, Penn-Trafford got the ball back in front of its bench with 14.9 seconds left.
Tyler Anthony inbounded to Zach Feldman, who passed back to Boss.
Stone took a bounce pass from Boss and drove the lane for a scooping left-handed layup.
Latrobe threw a baseball pass downcourt to John Wetzel, but he was contacted by Anthony and both players fell to the ground as time expired.
“We were going to look inside there (to Feldman),” Kelly said. “We wanted to pin out the shooters. Brayden made a play.”
Evan Gross led the Warriors with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and Stone scored 10.
Butler had a game-high 17, Tatsch added 13 and McNeil chipped in 11 for Latrobe.
Penn-Trafford was coming off a wild, 100-85 loss to first-place Uniontown on Friday.
“I was hoping their ego was a little bruised on Saturday morning,” Kelly said. “I was hoping we could get fired up and make a run.
“Finally, a signature win for us.”
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
Tags: Latrobe, Penn-Trafford
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