Upper St. Clair survives Bethel Park scare, 68-64
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Upper St. Clair’s Tanner Gensler
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Alex Mullen
Chris Pantelis soars above defenders and drains a bucket during Upper St. Clair's 68-64 triumph against rival Bethel Park.
It seemed fitting that Tanner Gensler closed out Upper St. Clair’s 68-64 win against Bethel Park at the free throw line for that is where the difference proved to be for the Panthers.
While he fired in 39 points, three off his school record 42 set earlier this season in a win against Peters Township, Gensler converted 15 of 21 from the charity stripe. His 3-point play with 1:34 to play provided a lead USC never surrendered.
Gensler made his biggest impact when he connected on six foul shots in a row during a technical-fueled sequence that saw BP’s skipper Josh Bears get ejected from the fray with 6:13 to play in the second stanza.
At that juncture, USC clung to an 18-11 advantage, after having started the contest on a 12-2 run.
“When their coach got thrown out, I told my guys that they were going to play hard for him because he’s a good coach,” said USC floor boss Danny Holzer. “I told my kids forget all that. It’s about us right now and let’s take it to them because if we don’t then they are going to punch us and if we don’t answer with another 1-2, then we are going to be in trouble.”
Because Gensler delivered a near-knockout, the Hawks were the ones in dire straits. His free-throw streak ignited a 14-point run that afforded the Panthers their biggest lead, 32-11, of the contest with 4:23 left in the first half.
“Tanner just took over,” Holzer said. “Our four seniors also showed such good leadership and we really seized the moment.”
In the second half, however, the Hawks seized theirs. They outscored USC, 21-13, in a third quarter, where Gensler scored all the Panthers’ points.
Ryan Meis, Alex Mullen, Anthony Chiccitt, and Tommy DiRienzo, spearheaded the rally.
Mess finished with 23 points while Chiccitt and Mullen followed with 12 and 16 tallies. DiRienzo tossed in seven, including three off a long shot that narrowed USC’s lead to 46-41 with 41.3 to play in the third quarter. He scored BP’s first four and Chiccitt buried a 3-pointer to pull the Hawks within two points, 52-50, with 4:45 to play.
With 1:39 to play, the Hawks took their first lead, 58-57, when Meis buried a 3-point field goal. While Meis would knock down two more treys in the waning seconds, USC never trailed after Gensler’s 3-point play with 94 seconds to play. With BP forced to foul, the Panthers sealed the deal at the foul line.
“I’m really proud that we held them off,” said a relieved Holzer. “We kept out composure and executed what we needed to do.
“We knew Bethel Park would come back because they are really good and their guards, Meis and Mullen, are as good as you will find,” he added.
Luke Gensler was the only other Panther in double figures. He finished with 12.
However, Chris Pantelis, Andrew Casey and Ryan Sandusky scored critical points down the stretch to cement the USC win and set up Tuesday’s (Jan. 15) showdown with rival Mt. Lebanon.
Both teams are undefeated in the section with USC running its record to 13-0 after the BP triumph. Lebo improved to 12-2 overall after it stopped the streaking Indians of Peters Township, 61-49. PT dropped to 9-3 overall and 2-2.
Jake Hoffman tossed in 20 points and Blaine Gartley followed with 13 tallies for the Blue Devils.
Dax Ploskina and Colin Cote pitched in 16 and 15 for Peters, which had won seven games in a row.