Wednesday's Highlights of Hoops Play-off Action....
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THE CHOPS
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Wednesday's Highlights of Hoops Play-off Action....
P.I.A.A. Basketball Playoffs: Wednesday Recaps..........
3/14/2007 -
Two rounds down, three left to go before eight Pennsylvania teams are able to claim state gold. While the number of teams from District #7 continues to shrink, Boys Class (AA) and Girls Class (A) are two tournaments where the W.P.I.A.L. is thriving with three teams left in the final eight. Here are some recaps from Wednesdays Second Round action in the 2007 P.I.A.A. Basketball Playoffs.
P.I.A.A. BOYS:
Class (AAAA):
Moon 62 - Erie Cathedral Prep 53
The Tigers struggled from the field in the first half but pulled away with a 15-4 edge in the third quarter to lead by 15 and held on to advance to the PIAA Quarterfinals at Slippery Rock University. In a furious pace in the fourth quarter, the Ramblers outscored the Tigers 32-26, but could come no closer than six points at 56-50 with just over a minute to play. Andy Dowdell led a balanced Moon attack with 19 points, Brian Walsh and Chris Jeannot each scored 12, with Keir Jeter adding 11. The Tigers were 23-29 from the stripe, including 16 of 19 in the final quarter, in going to 25-4 on the season. Erie Cathderal Prep was 8 of 12 behind the arc in the fourth, after going 8 of 42 from the field and 1 of 7 from outside in the first three quarters. Mark Blazek led the Ramblers with 16 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth. Erie Cathedral Prep ends the season at 23-5.
Schenley 80 - Mount Lebanon 41
This City League champion vs WPIAL former champion was over early Wednesday night at the A.J. Plaumbo Center. The Spartans went on an 18-0 run throgh the first and into the second quarter to coast to a 'mercy rule' victory over the Blue Devils and advance to the PIAA Quarterfinals on Saturday. Schenley, which led 36-12 at halftime, had four players in double digit scoring. It wasn't DuJuan Blair who led the Spartans, but younger brother Greg Blair who had 19 points. Deandre Kane added 16, D.J. Kennedy 12 and DeJuan Blair had 11 points as Schenley improves to 26-3. Shane Spencer led Mount Lebanon with nine points despite the fact he played less than a quarter. Andrew Devlin was held to six points as the Blue Devils end their season at 18-10.
Class (AA):
Aliquippa 81 - Fairview 62
It wasn’t pretty, but Aliquippa secured a victory versus Fairview at New Castle High School on Wednesday night 81-62. With the victory the Quips are now 28-2 on the season and will take on section foe Beaver Falls for the third time this season after the Tigers upset formally unbeaten Westmont Hilltop 80-72. Fans of the WPIAL know the rivalry very well as the Quips and Tigers have met more than their usual two section contests the last couple years meeting in the playoffs the last three years. Including the classic WPIAL championship game two years ago when Beaver Falls won it at the buzzer. The Quips who appeared out of sorts at times in the third period allowed Fairview to cut the Aliquippa lead to as close as 7 points. Quips coach Marvin Emerson said “this is the state playoffs; there are no dog fests here.” According to Emerson Aliquippa’s early foul trouble caused them problems and got them out of sync. “Our foul trouble forced us out of our rotation and rhythm” he said “When we have a big lead we have to go for the jugular and we haven’t been able to do that recently.” Aliquippa was lead by Herb Pope’s 26 points and 26 rebounds. Antonio Reddic would score 22 points shooting 10 of 13 from the field for the Quips. The WPIAL champs shot 49 percent from the field and recorded 44 rebounds. Fairview shot 29 percent from the field and was lead by Zane Meeder’s 15 points.
Beaver Falls 80 - Westmont-Hilltop 72
Beaver Falls overcame a 10-point third quarter deficit to defeat previously undefeated Westmont-Hilltop, 80-72, in a PIAA Class AA west quarterfinal game at the A.J. Palumbo Center. The hot shooting of sophomore Todd Thomas and junior David Phillips along with defensive pressure keyed the Fighting Tigers come back. Thomas led Beaver Falls with 33 points and Phillips added 25. Joey Stephenson paced the Hilltoppers with 22 points followed by Joe Balog with 19. Westmont-Hilltop ended its season at 29-1 while the 21-8 Tigers will face rival Aliquippa on Saturday in the state AA west semifinals. This is the third straight year that the two teams will hook up in the state playoffs with Beaver Falls winning the two previous meetings.
Jeannette 93 - Monessen 64
Jeannette's march to a rematch with Alliquippa took another step as the Jayhawks defeated the Greyhounds of Monessen 93-64 on Wednesday night at Hempfield's new fieldhouse. Jeannette had a double digit lead for most of the game and extended their lead to 23 points at the end of the third quarter with 29 third quarter points. Jeannette had four players in double figures. Terrelle Pryor led the way with a triple double (18.13,10). Jerry Harris and Jordan Hall each added 18 and Shaw Sunder scored 14. Jeannette led by 9 at the half 40-31, but outscored Monessen 53-32 in the second half to win by 29. Monessen was paced by Josh Arnold's 24, Cordero Jackson's 14 and Tim Tyree's 13 points. Jeannette faces North East on Saturday afternoon in the Western semifinals. North East is the District 10 (Erie) number one team.
North East 67 - Northgate 61
One of the most successful bopys basketball season in Flames history came to an end with a six point loss Wednesday night to the Grapepickers at Sharon High School. Jon Valeriano's 22 points led Northgate which ended their season at 21-8 with a Final Four appearance in the WPIAL playoffs and a state playoff win in their memory bank. North East, led by Matt Triana's 23 points, improves to 27-2 and will face Jeannette in the Quarterfinals on Saturday.
P.I.A.A. GIRLS:
Class (AAA):
Moon 69 - Sharon 47
Moon jumped out to a 34-13 halftime lead in the battle of the Tigers and never looked back to advance to the PIAA Quarterfinals at Slippery Rock University. Moon placed four players in double figures, Julie Gebhard led with 16 points, Laura Magnelli and Rebecca Pollack each scored 13 and Grace Palucis drained four three-pointers for 12 points. Moon shot just under 50 percent, going 26-56 from the field and 7 of 12 from behind the arc. Sharon struggled, shooting 5-28 in the first half and 16-53 for the game. Moon dominated on the glass 48-19 in going to 23-6 on the season. Brittany Csatlos led Sharon with 18 points, 12 coming in the final quarter. Sharon ends the season at 23-6.
Hopewell 56 - Greensburg-Salem 36
Once again, the opponent changes but the result does not as the WPIAL champion Vikings cruise to another one-sided victory. Joyce Novacek led Hopewell with 24 points and 11 rebounds while twin-sister Becky was held to only eight points, but also registered 11 boards. Jordan Zuppe added 10 points for the Vikings, who are now 28-2 and state Quarterfinals bound on Saturday. The Golden Lions were led by Rachel Roddy and Mary Cook with 12 points each and Anne Marie Olesky chipped in 10 points. Greensburg-Salem's season ends with a final mark of 23-6.
Class (A):
North Catholic 83 - Penns Manor 65
The Trojanettes used a huge second quarter in which they outscored the Comets 21-4 to cruise to an 18-point victory Wednesday night at Hempfield High School. April Austin and Amy Longo each had 25 points for North Catholic while Lauren Savulchak added 14 and Ashley Bellovich 11 points. The Trojanettes move on to the PIAA Quarterfinals on Saturday where they will face Avonworth for a third time this season. Penns Manor, which was led by Ashley Mattis 20 points, ends up with a final record of 23-5.
Avonworth 35 - Eisenhower 32
Taylor Gallupe had more than half of the Antelopes offense Wednesday night at Sharon High School as Avonworth gets a third crack at trying to beat North Catholic, this times in the third round of the state playoffs. Gallupe finished with 19 points for the Lady 'Lopes, who once again played without leading scorer Morgan Locher who is sidelined with a leg injury. Avonworth is now 24-4 while the Knights, led by Elisha Jones' 11 points, complete their season at 21-7.
Mount Alvernia 77 - Union-Rimersburg 64
Leading by only one point after three quarters Wednesday night at Knoch High School, the Lions pounced on the Golden Knights in the fourth quarter and ended up leaping into the state Quarterfinals with a 13-point victory. Mount Alvernia had four players in double-figure scoring led by Lisa Kaczynski's 23 points. Renne Brown added 17 points and 18 rebounds while Karmyn Gouch tallied 14 points and Tracie Ferrari 11 for the Lions who are now 21-7. Union-Rimersburg was paced by Tiffany Corle's 21 points as they fall to 27-4.
THE CHOPS....
3/14/2007 -
Two rounds down, three left to go before eight Pennsylvania teams are able to claim state gold. While the number of teams from District #7 continues to shrink, Boys Class (AA) and Girls Class (A) are two tournaments where the W.P.I.A.L. is thriving with three teams left in the final eight. Here are some recaps from Wednesdays Second Round action in the 2007 P.I.A.A. Basketball Playoffs.
P.I.A.A. BOYS:
Class (AAAA):
Moon 62 - Erie Cathedral Prep 53
The Tigers struggled from the field in the first half but pulled away with a 15-4 edge in the third quarter to lead by 15 and held on to advance to the PIAA Quarterfinals at Slippery Rock University. In a furious pace in the fourth quarter, the Ramblers outscored the Tigers 32-26, but could come no closer than six points at 56-50 with just over a minute to play. Andy Dowdell led a balanced Moon attack with 19 points, Brian Walsh and Chris Jeannot each scored 12, with Keir Jeter adding 11. The Tigers were 23-29 from the stripe, including 16 of 19 in the final quarter, in going to 25-4 on the season. Erie Cathderal Prep was 8 of 12 behind the arc in the fourth, after going 8 of 42 from the field and 1 of 7 from outside in the first three quarters. Mark Blazek led the Ramblers with 16 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth. Erie Cathedral Prep ends the season at 23-5.
Schenley 80 - Mount Lebanon 41
This City League champion vs WPIAL former champion was over early Wednesday night at the A.J. Plaumbo Center. The Spartans went on an 18-0 run throgh the first and into the second quarter to coast to a 'mercy rule' victory over the Blue Devils and advance to the PIAA Quarterfinals on Saturday. Schenley, which led 36-12 at halftime, had four players in double digit scoring. It wasn't DuJuan Blair who led the Spartans, but younger brother Greg Blair who had 19 points. Deandre Kane added 16, D.J. Kennedy 12 and DeJuan Blair had 11 points as Schenley improves to 26-3. Shane Spencer led Mount Lebanon with nine points despite the fact he played less than a quarter. Andrew Devlin was held to six points as the Blue Devils end their season at 18-10.
Class (AA):
Aliquippa 81 - Fairview 62
It wasn’t pretty, but Aliquippa secured a victory versus Fairview at New Castle High School on Wednesday night 81-62. With the victory the Quips are now 28-2 on the season and will take on section foe Beaver Falls for the third time this season after the Tigers upset formally unbeaten Westmont Hilltop 80-72. Fans of the WPIAL know the rivalry very well as the Quips and Tigers have met more than their usual two section contests the last couple years meeting in the playoffs the last three years. Including the classic WPIAL championship game two years ago when Beaver Falls won it at the buzzer. The Quips who appeared out of sorts at times in the third period allowed Fairview to cut the Aliquippa lead to as close as 7 points. Quips coach Marvin Emerson said “this is the state playoffs; there are no dog fests here.” According to Emerson Aliquippa’s early foul trouble caused them problems and got them out of sync. “Our foul trouble forced us out of our rotation and rhythm” he said “When we have a big lead we have to go for the jugular and we haven’t been able to do that recently.” Aliquippa was lead by Herb Pope’s 26 points and 26 rebounds. Antonio Reddic would score 22 points shooting 10 of 13 from the field for the Quips. The WPIAL champs shot 49 percent from the field and recorded 44 rebounds. Fairview shot 29 percent from the field and was lead by Zane Meeder’s 15 points.
Beaver Falls 80 - Westmont-Hilltop 72
Beaver Falls overcame a 10-point third quarter deficit to defeat previously undefeated Westmont-Hilltop, 80-72, in a PIAA Class AA west quarterfinal game at the A.J. Palumbo Center. The hot shooting of sophomore Todd Thomas and junior David Phillips along with defensive pressure keyed the Fighting Tigers come back. Thomas led Beaver Falls with 33 points and Phillips added 25. Joey Stephenson paced the Hilltoppers with 22 points followed by Joe Balog with 19. Westmont-Hilltop ended its season at 29-1 while the 21-8 Tigers will face rival Aliquippa on Saturday in the state AA west semifinals. This is the third straight year that the two teams will hook up in the state playoffs with Beaver Falls winning the two previous meetings.
Jeannette 93 - Monessen 64
Jeannette's march to a rematch with Alliquippa took another step as the Jayhawks defeated the Greyhounds of Monessen 93-64 on Wednesday night at Hempfield's new fieldhouse. Jeannette had a double digit lead for most of the game and extended their lead to 23 points at the end of the third quarter with 29 third quarter points. Jeannette had four players in double figures. Terrelle Pryor led the way with a triple double (18.13,10). Jerry Harris and Jordan Hall each added 18 and Shaw Sunder scored 14. Jeannette led by 9 at the half 40-31, but outscored Monessen 53-32 in the second half to win by 29. Monessen was paced by Josh Arnold's 24, Cordero Jackson's 14 and Tim Tyree's 13 points. Jeannette faces North East on Saturday afternoon in the Western semifinals. North East is the District 10 (Erie) number one team.
North East 67 - Northgate 61
One of the most successful bopys basketball season in Flames history came to an end with a six point loss Wednesday night to the Grapepickers at Sharon High School. Jon Valeriano's 22 points led Northgate which ended their season at 21-8 with a Final Four appearance in the WPIAL playoffs and a state playoff win in their memory bank. North East, led by Matt Triana's 23 points, improves to 27-2 and will face Jeannette in the Quarterfinals on Saturday.
P.I.A.A. GIRLS:
Class (AAA):
Moon 69 - Sharon 47
Moon jumped out to a 34-13 halftime lead in the battle of the Tigers and never looked back to advance to the PIAA Quarterfinals at Slippery Rock University. Moon placed four players in double figures, Julie Gebhard led with 16 points, Laura Magnelli and Rebecca Pollack each scored 13 and Grace Palucis drained four three-pointers for 12 points. Moon shot just under 50 percent, going 26-56 from the field and 7 of 12 from behind the arc. Sharon struggled, shooting 5-28 in the first half and 16-53 for the game. Moon dominated on the glass 48-19 in going to 23-6 on the season. Brittany Csatlos led Sharon with 18 points, 12 coming in the final quarter. Sharon ends the season at 23-6.
Hopewell 56 - Greensburg-Salem 36
Once again, the opponent changes but the result does not as the WPIAL champion Vikings cruise to another one-sided victory. Joyce Novacek led Hopewell with 24 points and 11 rebounds while twin-sister Becky was held to only eight points, but also registered 11 boards. Jordan Zuppe added 10 points for the Vikings, who are now 28-2 and state Quarterfinals bound on Saturday. The Golden Lions were led by Rachel Roddy and Mary Cook with 12 points each and Anne Marie Olesky chipped in 10 points. Greensburg-Salem's season ends with a final mark of 23-6.
Class (A):
North Catholic 83 - Penns Manor 65
The Trojanettes used a huge second quarter in which they outscored the Comets 21-4 to cruise to an 18-point victory Wednesday night at Hempfield High School. April Austin and Amy Longo each had 25 points for North Catholic while Lauren Savulchak added 14 and Ashley Bellovich 11 points. The Trojanettes move on to the PIAA Quarterfinals on Saturday where they will face Avonworth for a third time this season. Penns Manor, which was led by Ashley Mattis 20 points, ends up with a final record of 23-5.
Avonworth 35 - Eisenhower 32
Taylor Gallupe had more than half of the Antelopes offense Wednesday night at Sharon High School as Avonworth gets a third crack at trying to beat North Catholic, this times in the third round of the state playoffs. Gallupe finished with 19 points for the Lady 'Lopes, who once again played without leading scorer Morgan Locher who is sidelined with a leg injury. Avonworth is now 24-4 while the Knights, led by Elisha Jones' 11 points, complete their season at 21-7.
Mount Alvernia 77 - Union-Rimersburg 64
Leading by only one point after three quarters Wednesday night at Knoch High School, the Lions pounced on the Golden Knights in the fourth quarter and ended up leaping into the state Quarterfinals with a 13-point victory. Mount Alvernia had four players in double-figure scoring led by Lisa Kaczynski's 23 points. Renne Brown added 17 points and 18 rebounds while Karmyn Gouch tallied 14 points and Tracie Ferrari 11 for the Lions who are now 21-7. Union-Rimersburg was paced by Tiffany Corle's 21 points as they fall to 27-4.
THE CHOPS....