Baldwin topples Mt. Lebanon
Baldwin needed a boost in confidence and Mt. Lebanon obliged.
As a result, the Highlanders came from behind to beat the Blue Devils, 54-52, and advanced to the WPIAL Class 6A boys championship game to face Upper St. Clair (19-5) at 7 p.m. March 2 at the Petersen Events Center.
“We let a team believe,” said Lebo floor boss Joe David.
The Blue Devils (19-5) appeared to be in control of the semifinal contest played at Bethel Park High School. Despite missing free throws and uncontested layups, they led, 23-18, at halftime. They even stretched the margin to 38-32 after three quarters before allowing the Highlanders back into the game.
“Every play is a game winner. Every stop is a game winner,” David said. “You have to make those plays in the first quarter, second quarter and extend it a little bit.
“When you play games like this, you have to do good things,” he continued. “We turned the ball over 14 times. A lot of them were not forced errors. We didn’t execute the game plan in the end.”
Baldwin (18-6) scored the first seven points in the fourth quarter. The Highlanders vaulted ahead on a 3-pointer from Nathan Wesling. He finished with a game-high 25 points. He was 5-for-5 from the line, including 2-for-2 with 10 seconds to play for a 54-50 Baldwin advantage.
“We tried to stop him, stay with him,” David said. “We lost him a bunch of times. Let him go. We wanted to be in his face and not worry about anybody else. All of a sudden, the kid’s wide open.
“Give the kid credit,” David added. “He’s a very good player.”
Wesling, who fouled out with two seconds to play, had support.
Nathan Richards finished with 12 tallies, eight of them coming in Baldwin’s 22-point final frame. He converted four free throws in the final 45 seconds.
Max Marzina supplied 11 markers. He scored nine of those points in the first half.
Riley Farabaugh and Brody Barber paced the Blue Devils. Farabaugh fired in 19 points while Barber finished with 14 markers before fouling out with 1:56 to play.
Nate Giroud also left the contest with his fifth foul with under four minutes to play. He supplied nine points for the Blue Devils. Sam Diebert tacked on six points.
“I knew this game was going to be tough,” said David, whose team beat the Highlanders twice this season in section play. “I thought our guys worked hard. It’s disappointing.”
The loss denied the Blue Devils at trip to the finals and dropped them into a consolation game with Central Catholic (15-9).
The top three Class 6A teams advance to the PIAA tournament.
The Vikings lost their semifinal game to Upper St. Clair, 61-46.
Christian Ito led the Panthers with 17 tallies. Brett Meinert followed with 14.
In Class 5A semifinal girls basketball action, South Fayette (17-8) earned a chance to defend its title when the Lady Lions upset McKeesport, 49-41.
The Lady Lions, who are two-time district champions, will play Armstrong at 5 p.m. March 2 at the Petersen Events Center. The Riverhawks toppled undefeated and No.1-seeded Oakland Catholic, 49-40, in the other semifinal game.
Free throw shooting propelled South Fayette to victory. The Lady Lions were 17 of 21 from the line, including 13 of 14 during the final quarter.
Juliette Leroux and Haylie Lamonde scored in double figures for South Fayette, finishing with 16 and 13 points respectively.