Mt. Lebanon has appetite for success
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Hayden Mitchell soars to the basket and scores two of his 27 points during Mt. Lebanon’s 68-48 triumph against Upper St. Clair. Mitchell buried two of Lebo’s seven 3-pointers in the contest.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Caden Hinckley soars to the hoop. The Mt. Lebanon forward is averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds a game.
The boys on the Mt. Lebanon basketball team don’t eat much before games. They’d rather feast on the competition.
“They come to play hungry,” said head coach Joe David.
After devouring Upper St. Clair, 68-48, to complete the first half of section action, the Blue Devils are not necessarily satiated, although they were 6-0 in the division heading into their fray at Canon-McMillan (5-1, 11-1) on Jan. 23 and ranked No. 2 in Class 6A of the WPIAL with a 14-2 overall record after beating Chartiers Valley, 75-50, on Jan. 20.
“Hopefully, we are starting to peak,” David said in reply to a query about whether his team was rounding into playoff shape. “We are getting better.”
He added while the objective is to win the WPIAL title, the Blue Devils have business to attend to first.
“We have to take care of the section first. After Canon-Mac, we can either be in the driver’s seat or fighting for first place.”
Not a bad place to be for a squad with an unquenchable appetite.
“We have all the right ingredients to be a championship caliber team,” agreed David. “Intensity, energy and enthusiasm,” he cited, “and these kids are continually trying to get better. They work, share the ball and work together.”
The Blue Devils, like a pack of wolves, share in all the team’s successes. Three starters average in double digits, another is close but shares in the playmaking duties with the fifth starter.
“We have a bunch of guys who can play and they love playing with each other,” David said. “We have had great team efforts.”
In the triumph against the Panthers, Hayden Mitchell led the way with 27 tallies. The 6-1 swingman averages 11.3 points and three steals per game.
“Hayden had a wonderful performance against St. Clair,” said David. “He’s a young man that has gotten better and more confident as the year has gone on. He has done all that we’ve asked him to do.”
The junior brings tough-mindedness to the squad thanks to his performances in the links. This past autumn, Mitchell helped the golf team win a section banner. Lebo finished fifth in the WPIAL championships.
“I love having golfers on my team,” said David, an avid player himself. “Golfers are mentally tough and it’s good to have them on your team. There is a lot more pressure on making a 3- to 4-foot putt than there is in playing basketball. So we benefit from his calm demeanor and composure.”
Caden Hinckley brings that presence to the floor, too. He calmly contributed 14 points to the win against the Panthers, 10 coming in a decisive second stanza where Lebo overcame a 17-12 deficit to pull away, 32-25, by intermission. He also led the way against the Colts last Saturday with a game-high 26 markers.
Noting how he was cut from the team as a freshman, Hinckley bounced back to become a full-time varsity starter. The 6-foot-6 senior center averages a double-double. He pumps in 12 points and pulls down 10 rebounds an outing.
“He’s another young man who has worked,” David said. “I’m proud of him. He rebounds the ball well. He has good moves underneath the basketball and he has great hands.”
Antonio Garofoli has great hands and eyes. The pint-sized guard has a knack for knocking down 3-pointers. He sunk six and finished with 24 points in Lebo’s only loss to a Pennsylvania team, 71-63, on Jan. 17 against Taylor Allderdice. For the season, Garofoli has buried 65 treys. The senior averages 19 points a game.
Held to six points off two critical 3-pointers in the second stanza against USC, Garofoli fired in 20 in a 72-38 win against Peters Township but five in a 66-43 win against Baldwin.
“I told Antonio that they may be able to stop you from scoring, but they cannot stop you from getting a steal, playing defense or making an assist,” David said. “They can’t stop you from hustling and being an enthusiastic leader. And that’s what Antonio is. It’s more important to Antonio the outcome of the game. He’s all about the win. That tells you what a team player he is.”
As their assists indicate, Bryce Miller and Mike Palmer are team players who are all about the “W” as well. Miller dishes up five assists a game while Palmer contributes four to go along with his 9-point average.
“Bryce is a phenomenal passer. He’s a very good shooter, too,” David noted, commenting on his eight points, six off treys in the pivotal second stanza against USC.
“Mike plays a strong game,” he added of the all-conference linebacker. “He’s a football guy that has gotten his basketball legs back and is hitting his stride.”
The Blue Devils have hit their stride, mainly on the strength of their defense. While they are averaging 71 points per game, they are limiting the opposition to 55 tallies.
“We worked on perfecting our defensive scheme since the summer and it presents problems for the opposition,” noted David. “We are getting better every game.”
And, that’s very bad news for the rest of the teams thirsting for a WPIAL title.