Seton-La Salle making a run in WPIAL playoffs
Cletus Helton soars to the basket during Seton-La Salle’s playoff win against Frazier. The senior fired in 18 points during an 86-39 win against Frazier. The Rebels will now play Our Lady of Sacred Heart at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 at Chartiers Valley.
Mike Cortese tossed in 24 points but that was not enough at Peters Township succumbed to Central Catholic, 73-67, in the first round of the WPIAL Quad-A boys’ basketball playoffs. The Indians finished the season at 14-9 overall.
Mark Walsh coached against Aliquippa in last year’s Class AA championship and the Seton-La Salle skipper is fully aware of the fact that the Quips (21-0) are the team to beat in this year’s WPIAL boys’ basketball tournament. However, he is not counting out his Rebels in the playoffs. Riding an eight-game winning streak that includes a win over arch rival Bishop Canevin (17-5) in the Section 3 finale and a victory against Frazier, 86-39, at Baldwin in the first round of the postseason, SLS is primed for its match against Our Lady Of Sacred Heart (16-5) at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 at Chartiers Valley.
“We are pleased with how our team is playing right now,” Walsh said. “Our win over Canevin was a tremendous total team victory and had a playoff type feel to it.
“There are a number of strong teams in AA and that’s making for an exciting tournament. There are a lot of quality teams and while, for some of our players, the playoffs are a new experience, we think we are peaking. Teams that play good defense and peak at the right time are the ones that are successful in the tournament.”
At both ends of the court, the Rebels peaked against the Commodores. As they have during the regular season, Billy O’Malley and Cletus Hilton proved a powerful one-two punch inside and outside. O’Malley exploded for 16 of his game-high 21 points in the first half as SLS expanded a 23-7 first-frame advantage to 46-18 by intermission. Hilton fired in 18 points, all four in the first half and 12 off 3-point field goals.
Hilton leads the Rebels in scoring with a 15.8 average per game. He also has converted 51 percent of his field goals. O’Malley, who is averaging 15.4 points a game, is a force on the board. The 6-3 forward pulls down six rebounds a game while sophomore George Mike provides five a contest.
The Rebels, indeed, are a different club from last year’s squad that reached the WPIAL finals only to fall to Aliquippa. In addition to O’Malley and Hilton, Nico Popa is the team’s only other senior. He is a starting guard along with junior Nolan Abbiatici.
Sophomores: Matt Banbury, who stepped up and scored double digits in the win against Canevin, Nick Deanes, Conor Pederson, who finished with 13 against Frazer, and Mike have contributed quality minutes for the Rebels, who improved to 14-9 overall with their first-round playoff victory.
“I try not to think too much about the concerns,” Walsh said about the postseason. He noted with such a young team, “We are just really excited to still be in the playoffs.”
Lebo faces Latrobe
Meanwhile, Mt. Lebanon (11-12) is equally thrilled to continue its playoff run. The youthful Blue Devils edged Franklin Regional, 54-52, at North Allegheny to set up their showdown against Latrobe (20-1) at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 at Plum.
After falling behind, 10-9, in the first frame, the Blue Devils controlled play, opening up a 24-17 advantage by halftime and a 39-29 edge after three quarters.
Mark Lamendola doubled his regular-season output and pumped in 30 points. Antonio Garofoli also finished in double digits for Lebo, finishing with 11 markers.
With a playoff win under their belts, the Blue Devils are not daunted by the task ahead, of facing the top seed in the Quad-A tournament.
“I am pleased that the team is maturing and playing with confidence that they can compete with anybody,” said Lebo coach Joe David.
C-H takes on GCC
After dispatching Charleroi, 80-59, at Trinity, Chartiers-Houston (13-10) and A.J. Myers are proving they can compete with any team or player. Thus, the Buccaneers are prepared for the challenge of facing Greensburg Central Catholic (21-1) at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 at Peters Township. The Centurions are the No. 4 seed in Class AA.
Myers exploded for 42 points in the win against the Cougars, who finished 16-6 overall. The output broke the Class AA playoff scoring record set by Billy Knight in 1970. Knight, who played at Pitt as well as in the ABA and NBA, scored 41 points. Myers’ new record stood for a short span because Etai Groff pumped in 45 in an 89-44 win against Waynesburg (11-9) in a different playoff contest at Keystone Oaks.
“(Myers) was unstoppable,” said Charleroi coach Bill Wiltz. “He just took over the game. We tried doubling him when we played man, and we tried doubling him when we played zone. Nothing worked.”
Meyers made 17 field goals, converting four, 3-pointers. He was 4 of 5 from the line.
“The thing about A.J. is he doesn’t force things,” said C-H coach Eugene Briggs. “He takes open shots or he looks for his teammates. He didn’t even take 25 shots and scored over 40 points. He was very efficient from the floor.”
Ryan Mele also scored in double figures against Charleroi. He tallied 12 points for the Bucs, all off 3-point field goals.
In other Class AA playoff action set for Feb. 18, Bishop Canevin (17-5) will battle Brownsville (18-4) at 8 p.m. at Trinity.
PT eliminated
A valiant, last-quarter rally failed as Peters Township (14-9) dropped a 73-67 decision to Central Catholic in a first-round Quad-A boys’ playoff game at Baldwin.
The Indians fell behind early and fell short of recovering. With Peters Township owning its only lead, 7-6, the Vikings went on a 13-point run forge ahead, 19-7, by the end of the first frame. They never trailed, opening up 34-19 advantage before Nick Valentic and Mike Cortese buried 3-point field goals. Central expanded a halftime lead of 38-25 to 56-44 with six minutes to play when Peters waged a comeback, thanks to its full-court pressure.
A string of 3-pointers from Cortese and Kelson Marisa coupled with a pair of free throws pulled the Indians to within 64-66 with 1:02 to play. Free throws by Valentic and Cortese kept the distance at two until the Vikings iced the game with 6.6 to play.
“I’m proud of them for fighting back,” said PT coach Gary Goga. “It’s a tough one to lose.
“Obviously, we did not score early,” Goga continued. “We made a couple of mental errors and we had to fight back. I’m proud of them for battling back. That’s all I could ask of them. Unfortunately, (Central) made a couple more plays than us down the stretch.”
Cortese (24), Valentic (15) and Marisa (13) led the Indians.
The loss ended the scholastic playing careers of seven seniors, including Valentic and Marisa. PT’s other graduating players are: Clayton Yeates and Ben Doyle, both starters, as well as Conor Manning, Joseph Fick and Michael Johnson.
“We had a great year,” Goga said. “I’m proud of my kids. It’s a fantastic group. My seniors are all good kids and they come from great families. I’m going to miss them.
“In reality, only one team wins it,” Goga continued. “Unfortunately, we are not going to be that team.”
Seeded No. 2 and the defending champion, Chartiers Valley (18-4) could be that team and the Indians can say they beat the Colts. The defeat was the only blemish on CV’s section slate. The Colts begin their defense of their WPIAL Quad-A title at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 when they challenge Hempfield (8-14) at Canon-McMillan.
In other Quad-A playoff games Feb. 18, Bethel Park (16-6) plays Gateway (15-6) at 8 p.m. at North Hills. In Class AAA boys’ action, South Fayette (12-9) faced Steel Valley (15-5) last night at Baldwin.