Mt. Lebanon, SLS look to rebound in states
Mt. Lebanon believes in second chances and the Blue Devils hope to take advantage of their opportunities when they embark on PIAA championship basketball action this weekend.
The Blue Devils (20-4) will battle Taylor Allderdice (24-2) at 4 p.m. March 10 at Obama Academy in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A boys’ basketball tournament.
“It’s a new season. We are all 0-0,” said Joe David of the state tournament. “It’s win or go home and we are looking forward to the challenge ahead of us.
“For us though it’s an opportunity to play a team, maybe two, that we’ve lost to,” he added.
During the regular season, Lebo lost to the Dragons, 71-63. The Blue Devils have also lost to Penn Hills, which won the WPIAL title. The Blue Devils would have a rematch with the Indians, whom they lost to in overtime, 69-66, in the district semifinals on Feb. 28, if both win their first-round state playoff games. Penn Hills (23-3) is scheduled to play Fox Chapel (17-6) in their PIAA opener.
“We didn’t do a lot of things,” said David of the loss to Penn Hills. “We beat ourselves.”
The Blue Devils allowed a 21-12 first-frame and 34-24 halftime lead slip away as they were outscored by Penn Hills in the third quarter, 26-20, and 12-8 in the final frame.
Corey Fulton and Daivon Stephens led the way with 18 and 14 points. Myles Yarbough also chipped in with 10 key points.
For the Blue Devils, Michael Palmer led with 22 tallies. Hayden Mitchell and Caden Hinckley also finished in double digits with 11 and 10 points respectively.
In Taylor Allderdice, the Blue Devil face the City League champion. Jackson Blaufeld and Bobby Clifford are of primary concern for Lebo. Blaufeld is pretty potent from the outside, having made three consecutive 3-point hoops to do in the Blue Devils in their first encounter.
“We have to stop their guards,” David said. “We also have to play better defensively than we did the first time we played them. We also needed to rebound better and limit their second-shot opportunities.
“They are a good team, a well-coached club,” he added.
Lebo is likewise and the Blue Devils, who were section champions, are poised for another battle.
“Sure we would have loved to played at the Pete and won a WPIAL title but we couldn’t do that. We’ve brushed ourselves off and gotten back up. We are ready for another fight.”
Seton LaSalle (19-6) is also prepared to do battle when the Rebels take on Central Cambria (14-11) in a PIAA Class 3A playoff game set for 4:30 p.m. March 10 at Peters Township.
The Rebels are coming off a 62-47 loss to Lincoln Park in the WPIAL championship game played March 1 at the Petersen Events Center.
In the loss, Jakob Richardson (18) and George Mike (13) scored in double figures. Richardson also led in rebounding with nine boards.
In other first-round PIAA action, South Fayette (16-8) takes on Clearfield (15-9) at 7:30 p.m. March 9 at St. Marys.