WPIAL Basketball Playoff Recaps for Friday, February 18th

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 18, 2011 | 12:00 AM

The curtain lifted Friday night on a new Battle to the Bluff, the 2011 edition of the WPIAL Basketball Playoffs. Preliminary and First Round action in Boys AAA, Boys A, Girls AAAA and Girls AA helped lift the curtain on the district postseason. Here are recaps from ALL of the game, which were all heard here on the MSA Sports Network.

Thanks to Dan Zangrilli, Mark Uriah, Bob Orkwis, Mike Azadian, Bob Gregg, Jason Tennant, Marty Caridi, Terry Neary, Jim Frederick, Sam Hall, Mark Schaas, Lee Mohn, Melissa Carle, Jonathan Whaley, Randy Gore, Josh Rowntree, Justin McKim, Steve Nagler and Brian Mroziak for their help on these recaps!

BOYS WPIAL CLASS AAA PRELIMINARY ROUND:

South Park Eagles 63 – Southmoreland Scotties 39
Tom Bigley dropped 26 points and Dante DeBaldo chipped in with 21 as the South Park Eagles (13-10) cruised to a 63-39 win against the Southmoreland Scotties at McKeesport High School. The Scotties (10-12) began the game on a 6-0 run, but the Eagles quickly regrouped to take a lead they would not relinquish. South Park advances to take on the South Fayette Lions on February 22.

Trinity Hillers 54 – Mount Pleasant Vikings 26
Trinity led Mount Pleasant 13-8 at the end of the first quarter, then outscored the Vikings 33-7 over the next two quarters on their way to a 54-26 win in the Mcdonald's AAA WPIAL boys basketball playoffs Friday night at Belle Vernon High School. Josh Valentic scored 34 points to lead all scorers. Twenty four of Valentic's points came in the first half. Freshman Ryan Gumbita led Mount Pleasant with 14 points. With the win, Trinity will play fourth-seeded New Castle Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined. The game matched two very close friends in head coaches Joe Dunn of Trinity and Mt. Pleasant's Tom Traynor. Traynor, who has been diagnosed with cancer, coached his final game, ending a nearly 50-year coaching career.

West Allegheny Indians 62 – Valley Vikings 47
The Indians over came a slow shooting start to gain a preliminary round victory for the second straight year. West Allegheny shrugged off a first quarter in which they trailed 8-4, and the Indians had four players finish in double figures to advance into the first round of the WPIAL Boys AAA playoffs. Matt Morelli led the way for West A with 17 points including 3-three pointers. Dylan Bongiorni added 16 points and converted 7-of-10 free throws for the Indians. Senior Greg Kaulius fouled out with 15 points and 10 rebounds and senior Alex Reilly finished with 12 points as West Allegheny upped their record to (13-10). Valley's outstanding senior Geoff Fuquay, who came into the contest averaging 24.9 points per game, was held to 17 points by a stifling West Allegheny defensive effort. Anthony DeCarolis picked up some of the slack for the Vikings, finishing with 12 points. Valley, who also was knocked out of the playoffs last year in the first round, finished this year's campaign at (13-10). With the win, West Allegheny slots into the tournament bracket as the 15th seed. The Indians will face the 2nd seeded West Mifflin Titans on Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined.

Ringgold Rams 74 – Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 69
In WPIAL Boys AAA Preliminary round action at Moon High School the Ringgold Rams come from behind to win 74-69 over the Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles. In the First Quarter the Rams came out strong and took advantage of 5 Eagle turnovers to lead after 1 quarter 17-15. Into the 2nd quarter Keystone's Rocco Contristano got hot hitting a big 3 pointer, and had two big drives to the hoop for scores to help the Eagles to a 30-27 halftime lead. The Rams had balanced scoring but Andrew Stine had 9 points to lead them in the first half. In the 3rd quarter the Eagles came out strong led by Freshman Ricky Rogers, he hit a big three pointer as Keystone Oaks took a 48-37 lead with 2:20 to go in the 3rd quarter. After the Rams creeped back within 6 points Rodgers hit another three as the quarter ended to give the Eagle a 55-46 lead. The fourth quarter turned ugly for the Eagles as they turned the ball over nine times and lost their lead. The Rams put pressure on and had big second half efforts from Michael Beveridge who had 22 ( 16 2nd half ) points to lead them and Zack Smith with 18 (12 2nd half) to overcome the 9 point 3rd quarter deficit to outscore the eagles by 14 to win the game. Keystone Oaks turned the ball over 20 times to the Rams 11. Ringgold shot 16 for 24 from the free throw line to Keystone Oaks 7 for 10. The eagles were led by Constritano with 29 points, and Rodgers 14 and end their season at 11-11. Ringgold improves to 16-7 and will play the Blackhawk Cougars in first round action Tuesday February 22nd at a site and time to be determined.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS A FIRST ROUND:

Vincentian Academy Royals 83 – Bentworth Bearcats 57
John Bray scored 14 points in the opening period as #4 Vincentian Academy knocked out Bentworth, 83-57, Friday night in the Class A Boys Sweet Sixteen matchup. Bray hit two three-pointers in the game's first three minutes on the way to a 24-point night. Leading 7-4, the Royals went on a 17-2 run, then finished the period with eight of the final 10 points to lead by 20. Bentworth had no answer for the intense defensive pressure of the Vincentian guards and the damage was too much to overcome. The Royals went on to lead
51-28 at halftime and 72-44 after three quarters. Adam Dian scored 21 for the winners with Chris Koryak adding 16 including 6-for-6 at the foul line. John Barker's 13 points paced the Bearcats with Gannon Walls-Mitchell adding
a dozen. Vincentian Academy is now 21-1 and will face #5 Serra Catholic in the quarterfinals. Bentworth finishes the year at 9-14.

Serra Catholic Eagles 73 – Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 46
Serra Catholic cruised to a first round victory Friday night, defeating the Carmichaels Mighty Mikes, 73-46. The Eagles, with three starters taller than Carmichaels' tallest player, owned a distinct height advantage, and used it to its full potential in the first quarter as the 6'8 Daryan Robinson dominated the glass and led Serra to a 21-8 lead at the end of the opening quarter. The deficit would only grow larger for the Mikes as the game went on and the Mikes never found an offensive rhythm, failing to knock down the outside shots that they usually rely on. Serra led 37-21 at the half and 59-32 at the end of the third. Their lead would grow to as many as 34 in the fourth quarter. The Eagles would have four scorers in double digits as Robinson led the way with 18, both Matt Loftis and Kyle Taylor put up 15, and Joe Jurofcik added 12. Carmichaels' leading scorer was Jon Krall, who finished with 16. Seth Krall would add 13.

North Catholic Trojans 58 – Geibel Gators 30
North Catholic stormed out to a 20-1 1st quarter lead en route to a sloppy but easy win over the Gators. The Trojans (18-6) were led by Dan Savulchak with 16 pts and Ryan Lewis with 14. The big man Lewis went down with an ankle injury early in the 4th quarter and did not return. Jr. Will Green went down with a knee injury with a few minutes remaining and did not return. The Gators (10-11) were led by Taylor Nowicki with 9 points and Eddie Schweiss with 7.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 56 – Sewickley Academy Panthers 42
Defense was the order of the day at North Hills High School as the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers were very stingy in their own end of the court, defeating the Sewickley Academy Panthers 56 – 42 in a first round Class A playoff game Friday night. OLSH led by only 28 – 26 at halftime as Sewickley's Carrington Motley poured in 16 of his team's 26 points to keep them in the game. In the third quarter OLSH outscored the Panthers 17 – 6 to put the gam out of reach. The Panthers got within 11 in the fourth quarter, but Motley fouled out with around three minutes to go and the Chargers pulled away from that point. OLSH was led by Andrew Orie with 16 points and Jullian Falascino with 12, while Motley finished with 24 for the Panthers. Sewickley Academy finishes at 9 – 12 while the Chargers (15 – 7) move on to meet North Catholic in a quarterfianl matchup next Friday at an undetermined site.

Lincoln Park Leopards 76 – Quigley Spartans 35
It was a tight full court press that Lincoln Park slapped on upset-minded Quigley in a 1st Round WPIAL CLASS A playoff game at Ambridge. The Leopards jumped to a 32-19 halftime lead and then outscored the Spartans 26-3 in the third period en route to an easy 76-35 decision. 6-3 Chaquille Pratt turned it on in the second half as he tallied 25 of his game high 29 points including 16 in that crushing 3rd quarter. 3 others followed in scoring for the 3rd seed….Sharron Moreland-Jones with 14…B. J. Lipke 11 and 6-10 Devontae Watson with a dozen points. Sophomore Jay Fyda had 13 for the Spartans, who leave the tournament trail at 10-13. Lincoln Park's next game will be Friday in round two. The Leopards improved to 15-6 for the year.

St. Joseph Spartans 65 – Avella Eagles 50
The Saint Joseph's Spartans came into tonight boys Class A First Round playoff game at South Fayette High School as the highest scoring Class A team in the 2011 WPIAL playoffs averaging a robust 72.7 ppg. They are paced by a terrific scorer in 6'4", senior, guard, Brian Heinle who contributes about (26 ppg) to their attack. This game was not a clinic by any means by either the Spartans or the Eagles in terms of capitalizing on numerous scoring opportunities. However, the fierce, full-court, man-to-man defense employed by Saint Joseph's wore down Avella both mentally and physically and the Spartans pulled away to a 60-45 first round win and improved their overall record to 20-3 this season. Avella saw their season come to an end in the first round of the playoffs once again and the Eagles finish with an overall mark of 12-10. In addition to the suffocating, pressure defense played by the Spartans, the Eagles had no answer for Heinle. Brian knocked down shots from as far away as downtown Oakdale as he stroked (6) three-point baskets on his way to tallying a game-high (38) points. He was joined in double figures by his usual "second banana" in scoring 6'3", junior, guard, Michael Connelly with (10) points. Avella had a pair of seniors end their high school careers in double figures led by 6'2", senior, guard, Jed Fernbaugh with (19) points and 6'6", senior, center, Damon Cupp with (11) markers. Cupp played a really determined game on the boards for Avella. The Spartans led by (4) points after the first quarter (17-13), (9) points at the half (32-23), (13) points after three quarters were in the book (47-34) before closing out their 65-50 verdict. The Spartans move on to face the number three seeded Lincoln Park Leopards in the quarterfinal round next Friday night at a site and time to be determined.

BOYS WPIAL CLASS A PRELIMINARY ROUND:

Leechburg Blue Devils 46 – Jefferson-Morgan Rockets 30
The Leechburg Blue Devils advanced out of the preliminary round with a 46-30 win over the Jefferson-Morgan Rockets at Yough High School Friday night. The game got off to a slow start with Leechburg taking the early lead and then Jefferson-Morgan answering to pull within one late in the first quarter. At the end of the opening period, the Rockets had a chance to tie the game at 10 at the buzzer, but a turnover led to three on the other end, and the Rockets would never recover. By the time the Rockets would score again, late in the second quarter, Leechburg had scored 26 unanswered points. They would close out the half on a 30-7 run and own a 38-14 lead at halftime. Jefferson-Morgan would hold Leechburg off the scoreboard until the final 90 seconds of the third quarter, but could not score enough offensively to really cut into the deficit. Though the Rockets would outscore Leechburg 16-8 in the second half, they never really came close to overcoming a second quarter in which they were outscored, 25-7. Leading scorer of the game was Dom Strapac who scored 16 points and made 4 from beyond the arc. The only other player in double digits was the Rockets' leading scorer, Brandon Faieta with 10.

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS AAAA PRELIMINARY ROUND:

Pine-Richland Rams 53 – Norwin Knights 45
The Pine-Richland Rams got a tremendous effort up front against a taller Norwin Knights team and came away with a preliminary girls AAAA victory over Norwin 53-45 at Gateway high school Friday night. Rams senior guard Abbie Altman led all scorers with 18 points on the night including a ten point first period where she hit three times from behind the arc to help stake Pine-Richland to a 14-11 lead. The Knights were able to hang tight for almost the entire game despite facing some serious foul trouble throughout, Norwin was led by 6'0'' junior Jen Straw who scored 16 points in the loss. But the biggest difference maker in the game was Rams' senior forward Kelly Keegan who despite giving away three inches to a pair of Knights' forwards was able to totally dominate on the glass at both ends of the floor. Keegan finished the night with only nine points but make no mistake her efforts on the glass were the reason that the Rams move on into an opening round match with the top-seeded Mount Lebanon Blue Devils. Pine-Richland improves to 8-10 on the year as Norwin's season closes out at 11-11.

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS AAAA FIRST ROUND:

Oakland Catholic Eagles 57 – Upper St. Clair Panthers 44
Mara Fitzgerald scored 11 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter as the fourth seeded Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals with the win at Northgate High School Friday night. Fitzgerald hit a three-pointer that broke a 39 all deadlock and was perfect from the charity stripe down the stretch. Corey Taglianetti was big early for Oakland Catholic, now 15-8. Taglianetti hit three 3-point field goals in the first half, on the way to a game high 15 points. Ally Schmidt added 10 points for the Eagles. The game was back and forth for three-plus quarters, with eight ties and 10 lead changes. Upper St. Clair was hled by Lauren Reda with 14 points, including 4 three pointers, Taylor Gensler added 12 points for the Panthers, who end the season at 9-13. Oakland Catholic will meet Baldwin in the quarterfinal round next Friday. The Eagles defeated the Highlanders 49-34 at Oakland Catholic on January 8th.

Baldwin Highlanders 50 – Plum Mustangs 23
Baldwin used a 13-0 late first quarter run to take the lead and the Highlanders never lost control of this WPIAL Girls AAAA first round match-up at North Allegheny High School. The victory marked the second consecutive season in which Baldwin ended Plum's season in the first round of the girls' tournament. Senior Belma Nurkic, who came into the contest ranked 8th among scorers in the WPIAL averaging just under 19 points per game, paced the Highlanders with a game high 23 points. Junior guard Taylor Wentzel added 12 points for 5th seeded Baldwin who improved to (17-6) with the victory. Senior center Lindsay Deemer finished her career as a Mustang with a team leading 9 points. 12th seeded Plum ends the season with a (12-10) record. With the win, the Highlanders will get another rematch, this time with Oakland Catholic next Friday evening at a site and time to be determined. The 4th seeded Eagles defeated Upper St. Clair 57-44 to advance to AAAA quarterfinals. Oakland Catholic and Baldwin met during the regular season, with the Eagles coming away with a 49-34 victory.

Shaler Titans 60 – Fox Chapel Foxes 32
Fox Chapel jumped out to a 5-0 lead but that was the only bright spot for the Foxes as the Shaler Titans scored the next 17 points and cruised to a 60-32 victory in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. Shaler was dominant as usual on the defensive end. They limited Fox Chapel to 0 pooints in the 3rd quarter. Shannon Powell scored 18 of her 19 points in the 1st half where she dominated inside. Also for Shaler Hilary Sauer had 11. For Fox Chapel Lindsay McKamish scored 12. Shaler now moves on to the quarterfinals where they will face Penn Trafford.

Penn-Trafford Warriors 52 – Woodland Hills Wolverines 40
The Warriors and the Wolverines both got off to slow starts in this Class AAAA First Round matchup. A combination of postseason nerves and tough defense resulted in a 6-1 Penn-Trafford lead at the end of the first quarter. Woodland Hills finally scored its first field goal at the 6:37 mark of the second quarter, and rallied to outscore Penn-Trafford, 17-12. The run put six Wolverines on the scoreboard, and led to a tie game at 18 headed into halftime. The Warriors came out strong in the third quarter with a new found concentration on patience in the motion offense. The Wolverines continued to rely on their athleticism and transition scoring, and maintained a close balance throughout the third quarter. Penn-Trafford maintained its lead, 32-30. The fourth quarter saw the demise of Woodland Hills, mostly from the Warriors' success at the free throw line. Penn-Trafford standout sophomore guard Taylor Cortazzo sparked the Warriors with her eight fourth quarter points. Brittany Chido and Kylie O'Toole each hit four key free throws down the stretch en route to a 20-point fourth quarter to seal the deal for Penn-Trafford. The Wolverines did not go away quietly, and saw strong performances by sophomore forward Taylor Allen (7 points) and senior guard Alexis Coleman (7 points). Chido went a perfect 10 for 10 from the foul line for the Warriors, and led all scorers with 12 points. Cortazzo finished with 11 points. Woodland Hills ends its season with a (9-3)(12-10) record. Penn-Trafford advances to the quarterfinals to face the #2 Shaler Titans (21-2) on Friday, February 25, at a site and time to be determined.

Bethel Park Black Hawks 40 – North Hills Indians 23
The number three seeded Bethel Park Black Hawks overcame a sluggish first half performance by putting together their strongest quarter of the game in the third period to defeat the 14 seeded North Hills Indians at South Fayette High School, 40-23. Both teams battled a case of the nerves in the first quarter and neither team could take advantage of some high percentage scoring opportunities and the game was tied 6-6 after one frame. Bethel Park's leading scorer, 5'8", senior, guard, Candace Martino came off the bench in the second quarter and scored on a pair of forays to the basket to give the Black Hawks a 10-6 lead that they would not relinquish. At the half time break Bethel Park led the Indians,13-8. Bethel Park entered the post-season as the best defensive team in Class AAAA allowing only 37.8 ppg and their intense on ball pressure on defense took it's toll on North Hills as the Black Hawks outscored the Indians, 20-7 in the third quarter to take command of this contest, 33-15 at the conclusion of three quarters. Bethel Park's third period offensive resurgence was sparked by 5'9", junior, forward, Justine Carroll who scored (9) points in the quarter on a pair of three-point goals and (3) free throws. North Hills outscored Bethel Park in the fourth quarter, 8-7 but it was after the "horse had left the barn". The Black Hawks had two players reach double figures in their win. Laurel Miller a 5'10", senior, forward and Kara Rayburn a 5'7", senior, guard each contributed (10) points and Carroll ended the game with (9) points. North Hills did not have a player reach double digits in the game. The Indians were paced by 5'7", senior, guard, Megan Hans who scored (8) points. She made the only North Hills three-point bucket in the game. Bethel Park (19-4) advances to the quarterfinal round next Friday where they will face number six seed North Allegheny at a site and time to be announced. North Hills concludes their season with a record of 11-11.

North Allegheny Tigers 66 – Hempfield Spartans 50
North Allegheny broke a string of three consecutive seasons with a first round loss by defeating the Hempfield Spartans 66-50 on Friday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Quad-A playoffs. While the Lady Tigers won the game, it was the underdog Spartans who controlled the pace of the game in the early going, jumping to an 8-0 lead. Hempfield held the lead throughout most of the first half before North Allegheny used a 13-2 run to grab a 25-20 lead with 1:20 remaining in the second quarter. NA's Kelly Brennan and Maddie Nellis were key contributors to the run as the duo combined for 18 first half points and four three-pointers. The Tigers lead was short-lived as Hempfield stole the momentum back with a 7-0 run, taking a 27-25 lead into halftime. Senior Hannah Falcsik provided the punch for Hempfield on the scoreboard by scoring 11 first half points. Falcsik was also a force on the boards ending the night with a double-double, amassing 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Spartans may have led at halftime, but the second half was dominated by North Allegheny. NA outscored Hempfield 24-5 in the third quarter to grab control of the game. North Allegheny junior Alexis Aiken scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half and Brennan continued to light up the scoreboard, finishing with 25 points to lead all scorers. The Lady Tigers improve to 20-3 on the season and will face Bethel Park next Friday night in the quarterfinals. Hempfield, who made the playoffs for their ninth consecutive season, end the year with a 13-10 record.

GIRLS WPIAL CLASS AA PRELIMINARY ROUND:

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers 40 – Elderton Bobcats 19
In a preliminary round Class AA girls playoff game Friday the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Lady Chargers rode stifling defensive play to a 40 -19 upset victory over the Elderton Lady Bobcats at North Hills High School. After taking an 11 – 7 lead at the end of one quarter, the Lady Chargers held Elderton to just a single point in each of the next two quarters and only 12 over the last three to win the game. Senior Marissa Eckerle led OLSH with 10 points and freshman Tia Scuilli chipped in 9. Elderton was led by senior Jill Glover with 10. Elderton ends its season at 15 – 7, while OLSH (14-9) earns the unenviable task of facing #1 seed Seton LaSalle Tuesday night at an undetermined site.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 49 – Bentworth Bearcats 40
Emily Kelly and Karly Mellinger came off the bench and scored in double figures to lead #9 Greensburg Central Catholic past Bentworth, 49-40, Friday night. Both hit a couple three-balls, one each in the decisive third quarter, putting the Centurions into the Sweet 16 against Washington Tuesday night. The lead went back and forth through the first four minutes before Kelly's first-quarter trey put the Centurions in front to stay. The lead swelled to eight midway through the second and to 12 points after three
quarters. Nikki Ingel added a couple three-pointers in the third to help GCC to a 14-8 advantage. With 3:26 to play, Bentworth mounted a comeback scoring 10 of the games final 11 points, but fell short. Greensburg Central Catholic improves to 17-6. Bentworth's season ends at 12-10.

Neshannock Lancers 42 – Freeport Yellowjackets 38
In a Girls AA Preliminary matchup from Hampton High School, the 20th-seeded Neshannock Lancers knocked off the 13th-seeded Freeport Yellowjackets 42-38. The Lancers, under legendary Head Coach Luann Grybowski proved to be just too much for the Yellowjackets, who struggled to find offensive flow the entire night. In fact, it was both teams who could not find the net, missing shot after shot all night long, until Neshannock finally found some rhythm in the 3rd Quarter. Neshannock stretched their lead to 12 at one point in the 4th Quarter but would have to fend off a comeback attempt down the stretch by Freeport. However, with under a minute to go, the Yellowjackets, down by four, would miss a number of open looks, including a three-pointer by Senior Guard Anna Christy in which she had no defender within ten feet. Eventually, time would slip away on the stagnant Freeport offense and the Lancers would celebrate the win. Ultimately, the Yellowjackets were done in by a dreadful 9 of 23 performance from the foul line and a slew of turnovers. The game only saw two players (one from each squad) score in double-figures. Erika Warvell would power the Lancers with 19 points (nearly half of her team's points), including a couple of long three-pointers and some clutch free throws down the stretch. Caitlyn Binder and Chelsea Kauffman, who split time running the point, would both contribute six points and a number of assists and steals. Jessico Aulicino would contribute 12 for Freeport, who also received nine points from Christy and eight from Jessica McFadden. Neshannock, now 16-7 overall on the year, will move on to face the fourth-seeded Bishop Canevin Crusaders in the 1st Round on Tuesday. Freeport's season ends with a 12-10 overall mark.

Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 62 – New Brighton Lions 28
Sparked by three players who scored in double figures and a stifling defense that forced 28 turnovers, Keystone Oaks advanced in the WPIAL Class AA girls basketball playoffs with a 62-28 preliminary round victory over New Brighton Friday night at Moon High School. The victorious Golden Eagles were led by junior Alexa Xenakis who scored a game-high 25 points. Fourteen of Xenakis' points came in the first quarter as Keystone Oaks (16-7) took control early, jumping out to an 8-0 lead. The Golden Eagles pushed that advantage to 40-13 at halftime and held the Lions without a 2nd quarter field goal. Juniors Olivia Lippert (13) and Taylor Brownlee (10) also reached double-digit scoring numbers for Keystone Oaks, who will face Avonworth on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Kaitlyn Hopkins paced New Brighton (7-14) with nine points.

Quaker Valley Quakers 49 – Ford City Sabers 38
The Quaker Valley Quakers earned a hard-fought win in the preliminary round of the Class AA playoffs by defeating the Ford City Sabers by the score of 49