Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park basketball on the rise
Josh Duda and Matt Kissinger get all tied up battling for the basketball. Duda fired in 15 points to help Bethel Park defeat Upper St. Clair, 65-43, in a key Section 4-AAAA game.
By Eleanor Bailey/Staff
Jake Dixon goes up to the basket for a hoop. Dixon fired in 21 points during Bethel Park’s 81-76 win against Peters Township. He supplied 14 markers in a 65-43 win against Upper St. Clair. The wins enabled the Hawks to move into a three-way tie for third-place in Section 4-AAAA with the Indians and the Panthers.
Experience, indeed, is a dear teacher and the Mt. Lebanon men have learned many lessons this basketball season as they have endeavored to grow into a playoff contender.
“We are getting more mature and more experienced,” explained head coach Joe David of his club, which boasts two seniors on the roster, only one a starter.
After a 4-9 start, Lebo appears to have turned a corner regarding its youthful ways, winning five straight. Heading into the home stretch of the schedule, where they host Bethel Park (Jan. 26), Canon-McMillan (Jan. 29) and Upper St. Clair (Feb. 5), and travel to league-leading Chartiers Valley (Feb. 2), the Blue Devils find themselves tied for second place in Section 4-AAAA with Baldwin. At the start of the week, both had 6-4 slates and trailed league-leading CV, which is 9-1. Overall, the Blue Devils evened their record to 9-9 with their win, 52-36, at Peters Township.
“Since we have been playing with a lot of guys without a lot of varsity experience, we’ve had to learn how to win basketball games. We have been in all of our games. We just haven’t been able to pull them out.
“I’m proud of my men,” continued David. “They have gotten better and they will continue to get better. We are getting more mature and more experienced. We’ve been tested early in the season and we’ve learned lessons from those earlier games.”
Indeed, the Blue Devils were schooled, particularly when they traveled to Florida to participate in the Adidas Holiday Slam. Lebo beat Doral Academy, 55-54, but fell to Miami Christian, 71-45, and Pembroke Pines Charter, 54-29.
“Those were some talented teams,” David said. “The two games we lost, those teams could win the WPIAL, no problem. They were big and strong and we were shell shocked but we grew up and came back.”
Since losing at Canon-McMillan and Chartiers Valley to start the year, the Blue Devils have reeled off five straight wins in 2016. The victory at USC, 38-37, seems to have sparked Lebo.
“It was a big game for us,” David agreed. “Young teams like us need confidence to win games and the win at USC changed our attitude. We realized we have the ability to play with anybody. All the teams in this section are on the same keel. There isn’t one team that is going to roll over everybody. You can expect a fight every night from every team, even the ones at the bottom.”
From top to bottom, Lebo’s line-up is solid.
Mark Lamendola leads the team in scoring with a 17-point average. He also ranks first in rebounding with five a game. Plus, he manages between two-to-three steals per game. A role player last season, feeding the ball to Jonny David, who is now at Kentucky, Lamendola has grown into a shooter for the Blue Devils, says David.
“He has taken on the responsibility to direct our offense and defense. He has become our leader,” David said. “He has done it all for us. He has made big, big plays for us. It’s nice to know, too, we have him for another year.”
The Blue Devils have Sean Loughran for many more. The freshman led the uprising at Peters. He fired in 20 tallies followed by Lamendola’s 17 markers. A sharpshooter, he has had as many as six, 3-point field goals.
“Sean has done a fine job,” David said. “He is going to be a nice player as he develops his game. We are excited about him. He has done well all year and continues to gain experience. He has confidence in his shot and we, as coaches, have confidence in him that we give him the green light (to shoot). There is no hesitancy. His shooting is a big asset.”
Antonio Garofoli maintains a hot hand as well. He averages 11 points per game. The sophomore also handles the ball well. Plus, he comes up with the big plays at the end of the game. His steal helped Lebo seal its win against USC.
According to David, he is the team’s “most prolific” 3-point shooter, having drained six in a win against Bethel Park, 52-49, and six in a victory against Seton-La Salle, 52-48, during The Challenge Tournament. “When he gets in the zone,” David said, “Antonio gets the place hopping. He’s fun to watch.”
At 6-foot-3, Joe Passodelis is Lebo’s big man. The junior forward played junior varsity last season. “He has developed into our go-to-guy underneath and he is rebounding with more tenacity. He’s worked hard to play and compete and we are proud of his development,” David said.
A contributor for three seasons, Eddie Jenkins has developed into a key performer inside for the Blue Devils. A stand-still, 3-point shooter last year, he has filled a pivotal role for Lebo. “I give Eddie a lot of credit,” David said. “One of his responsibilities is getting more rebounds from a forward position. Eddie has embraced his role. He does whatever he can to help the team.”
Nick Bonidie, Patrick Werkmeister and Xavier Awad have been assets for the Blue Devils as well. These three key substitutes have put Lebo in a position to contend for a playoff spot. Upcoming battles with Bethel Park, Canon-McMillan, Char Valley and USC will further strengthen Lebo’s ability to perform under pressure, particularly should the team qualify for the WPIAL tournament.
“Competitive environments are what the team needs to get better,” David said. “While, of course, we’d like to be at the top, I like where we are as a team. We are getting better every day and competing better, individually and as a team. We’ll take it one game at a time and hopefully that will be enough to move along.”
Bethel Park, like Lebo, has moved into playoff contention. With back-to-back wins against Peters Township, 81-76, and USC, 6-5, 4-3, the Hawks evened their section slate to 5-5 and moved into a three-way tie for third place in the league with those rivals.
Against the Indians, Jake Dixon led the attack with 21 points and almost as many rebounds. He blocked three shots. Levi Metheny took charge in the second half, scoring 16 of his 20 points in the time span. Chance Wright and Brandon Thorsen finished with 18 and 12 tallies. Against USC, Josh Duda and Dixon fired in 15 and 14 markers respectively.
Unlike Lebo, BP entered the season with five experienced seniors. Under new head coach Josh Bears, they won the Scott Lang Memorial Tournament to kick-off the 2015-26 campaign, upending Penn Hills, 71-67, and Mars, 74-72. However, the Hawks hit a stretch of inconsistency, losing six and winning as many, before last week’s key victories.
“At the beginning of the year, our best basketball was as good as everybody else’s but we had too many bad mistakes,” Bears said. “We are getting better every day and not seeing as many dead spots.
“When I took over this group, they were like puppies adopted from the pound. We needed to develop confidence in each other and we fought through some adversity. We went through a learning process. I know when I left Blackhawk, I left some great kids and people but I believe if you treat people right and fairly, you develop a good relationship with them.”
In addition to Duda and Dixon, Bears is pleased with Wright and Metheny as well as Brandon Thorsen, whom he described as the team’s “X” factor.
“Our motto this year is ‘Leave A Legacy’ and the five seniors have taken it to heart. There was nothing wrong with the program but we want them to put a stamp on what we want Bethel Park basketball to be in the future. It’s my first team and I want to use them as an example.”
Flohr nears mark
Eddie Flohr and Chartiers Valley closed in on two goals this week. Flohr, who scored 20 points in a 59-53 win against Baldwin, needed four tallies to reach the 1,000-point milestone for his career. A win last night (Jan. 25) against Upper St. Clair, also would assure the Colts Section 4-AAAA banner. The Colts were 9-1 in the league heading into the contest while their closest opponents already had four losses in the division. CV has section games remaining at Peters Township (Jan. 29) and Moon (Feb. 5) and at home against Lebo (Feb. 2).
In the win against Baldwin, Ross Wilderson (18) and Caleb Zajicek (12) finished in double digits. In a previous victory, 82-63, against Canon-McMillan, Wilkerson knocked down five, 3-point field goals and finished with 21 tallies. Coleman Vaughn (20), Zajicek (11) and Joe Antonucci (10) also scored in double figures for the Colts.