Silver lining for Mt. Lebanon
Mt. Lebanon's Blaine Gartley watches Butler celebrate its victory in the WPIAL Class 6A championship game.
Mt. Lebanon's Jake Hoffman, right, leave the Petersen Events Center court as Butler players celebrate their victory and first WPIAL championship game.
Mt. Lebanon's Joey King battles Butler players for the ball.
Mt. Lebanon's Andrew Sapp drives down the court during the WPIAL Class 6A championship game.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Mt. Lebanon’s Evan Sentner, left, comes away with the ball after wrestling Butler’s Ethan Morton (25) and Blaine Gartley (11) for possession during the WPIAL championship game last season. Sentner should be a key contributor for the Blue Devils this basketball season as the senior moves into a starting role at guard.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Mt. Lebanon’s Jake Hoffman, right, steals the ball fromButler’s Devin Carney during the WPIAL Class 6A championship game.
Joe David reminded his players that silver is a precious metal after Mt. Lebanon’s 70-61 loss to Butler in the WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball championship game Feb. 29 at University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center.
“We live in a strange society where the silver-medalist goes home feeling bad about themselves,” said the Lebo head coach. “There are a lot of teams out there though who would love to be in our shoes and still playing.
“I’m proud of my team,” David continued. “These players have accomplished a lot.”
The Blue Devils, a year removed from defeating Butler for a WPIAL title, captured a fourth consecutive section title this year.
Lebo returned to the District 7 finals for the sixth time in 15 seasons.
“We got beat by the better team that night,” David said. “Butler played well and we did not.”
Butler star Ethan Morton was splendid in helping the Golden Tornado win their first WPIAL title since 1991. The Purdue recruit scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked two shots. The 6-6 senior guard connected on 8 of 13 shots.
Devin Carney, a 6-0 sophomore guard, scored 24 points for Butler. He connected on 7 of 15 of his field goal attempts, including four from 3-point range.
Carney and Morton combined for 32 points in the first 16 minutes of action as Butler took a 42-30 halftime advantage. Using a half-court trap, Lebo closed the gap to three points with a 9-0 run to start the second half.
“They made a lot of shots and we got away from our game plan,” David said, “but we made some adjustments and did a better job on Morton and Carney in the second half.”
Butler’s Mattix Clement, however, picked up the slack, scoring 15 points and burying two key 3-pointers in the third quarter.
“Butler has so many different weapons,” David said. “When they are clicking on all cylinders they are hard to beat. Give them credit. They got us this time.”
The Blue Devils converted just 23 of 62 attempts from the field for a 37% conversion rate. Butler shot 54% from the field.
Jake Hoffman scored a team-high 21 points for Lebo and Blaine Gartley added 12.
Joe King added six points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils.
Mt. Lebanon (18-7) advances to the PIAA playoffs to face Cedar Crest (23-5) in a first-round game at 4:30 p.m. March 7 at Peters Township.