Upper St. Clair falls in playoffs
The odds may have been stacked against Upper St. Clair in the first round of the WPIAL Class 6-A playoffs but the Panthers gave no heed to the naysayers and nearly pulled off the upset, falling to Penn Hills, 52-51.
“I was so proud of my team,” said USC floor boss Dan Holzer. “They executed all that we wanted and felt would win the game. Our kids responded when all odds were against them.”
Entering the contest, played Feb. 17 at Baldwin High School, the Panthers were the distinct underdog. They sported an 11-11 overall record. They finished fourth in Section 2 with a 6-6 mark. They were seeded 12th and they boasted no started over 6-foot-3.
Meanwhile, the Indians boasted a 20-3 record. They finished runner-up to No. 1 ranked Woodland Hills in the Section 3. They were seeded fifth and their line-up featured 6-5 Daivon Stephens, 6-0 Corey Fulton and 6-6 Keyshawn Adams. Fulton finished with 15 points, Stephens with 14 tallies and Adams with nine markers.
Plus, the Indians were perfect from the charity stripe through the start of the fourth frame, converting all 17 of their free throws before missing eight of 10 in the final minutes of action.
“Free throws were the difference up to that point,” Holzer admitted.
But what kept the Panthers in the contest was their spirit.
“I’m incredibly proud of my team and our bench showed great enthusiasm and our following was so positive,” Holzer said. “It felt like we didn’t lose.”
Throughout the contest it certainly felt like the Panthers would pull off the upset. They kept their composure as well as their hot hand from the perimeter. They cashed in eight, 3-point field goals. They used four long-range shots in the first frame and two in the second stanza to forge a 29-27 lead at intermission. In fact, they led by as much as 29-23 when Kyle Meinert scored six straight points and Brett Moore buried a trey and scored on a layup with just under two minutes to play in the half.
Moore topped all scorers with 22 points. He equaled his first half production with 10 tallies in the third quarter as the Panthers attempted to match the accurate, free-throwing Indians. USC trailed after three frames, 46-43.
USC never regained the lead but battled until the end as Moore scored on a put-back to keep the difference to a trey, 49-46, with 1:12 to play. A basket by Cam Wiley with 38 seconds to play and a free throw from Stephens pushed the margin to 52-48 before Chris Pantelis knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final score.
In addition to Moore’s double-digit performance, Meinert tossed in 21 points.
“The way Kyle and Brett were controlling the action made me feel good about our chances,” Holzer said. “We are going to miss those two seniors. They saved their best for last.”
So did all the Panthers giving Holzer hope that USC can return to its better-than 50-50 winning ways.
“I think this game gives us momentum going into next year,” Holzer said noting his JV team’s success and a strong freshman crew not to mention Pantelis as well as the Genlser brothers, Tanner and Luke, return in 2018-19.
“Regardless,” he continued, “this was a great high school basketball game, whether you were a Penn Hills fan, a USC fan or a fan of high school basketball in general. It’s what playoff basketball is all about.”
Other action
In other first-round action, Bethel Park (13-10) lost to Pine-Richland, 66-62.
Ryan and Justin Meis led the Hawks’ attack with 26 and 14 points respectively.
Notre Dame football recruit Phil Jurkovec tossed in 23 for the Rams (18-5) and Dan Petcash followed with 18 tallies.
In first-round girls’ action, South Fayette lost to Oakland Catholic, 63-42, and Chartiers Valley dispatched Armstrong, 50-40.
While Jordan Head (15) and Sam Kosmacki (10) led the Lions in their loss, Megan McConnell led the Colts with 23 markers.
Games on tap
No. 1 Mt. Lebanon, will play Latrobe Feb. 24 in the quarterfinals of the Class 6-A playoffs at a site and time to be determined. On the girls’ side, No. 2 Peters Township and No. 3 Bethel Park are scheduled to play their first-round games on Feb. 23.