Leopards headed to WPIAL Championship game for first time since 1978
Jonathan Guth | 无毛视频-Standard
Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 players and coaches celebrate after defeating New Castle, 56-46, on Wednesday in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals at North Allegheny High School. The Leopards advance to the WPIAL Championship game for the first time since 1978.
Jonathan Guth | 无毛视频-Standard
Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 Devin Whitlock drives to the basket before being fouled by New Castle无毛视频檚 Michael Graham in Wednesday无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 4A semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny High School.
Jonathan Guth | 无毛视频-Standard
Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 Jared Hartman moves the ball up court while being defended by New Castle无毛视频檚 Michael Graham in Wednesday无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 4A semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny High School.
Jonathan Guth | 无毛视频-Standard
Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 Daniel Gordon puts up a three-pointer in Wednesday无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 4A semifinal playoff game against New Castle at North Allegheny High School.
WEXFORD 无毛视频� Belle Vernon is headed to the WPIAL Championship game for the first time since 1978 after going on an 11-0 run in the last 3:22 in a 56-46 victory over defending three-time District 7 gold medalist New Castle on Wednesday in the Class 4A semifinals at North Allegheny High School.
The Leopards (19-6) will play Highlands (21-3) on Saturday at the Petersen Events Center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. The tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
无毛视频淚t never gets old,无毛视频� said Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino in reference to getting back to the district title game. 无毛视频淲e are just glad to be playing in the finals. We really don无毛视频檛 care who it is against. We will be ready to go.
无毛视频淲e had some obstacles early in the season, but sometimes those are good because now you know what you need to do. We had obstacles in this game, too, but that is life in general. You have to fight through the hard stuff to get to the easy stuff.无毛视频�
BVA (19-6) trailed 46-45 when the Red Hurricanes无毛视频� Isiah Boice executed on a three-point play and Salvino took a timeout.
无毛视频淲hen I called that timeout, I told them, 无毛视频榯here is a lot of basketball left, you don无毛视频檛 have to rush anything.'无毛视频� Salvino said. 无毛视频淲e were only down one point. We didn无毛视频檛 rush anything, and consequently, we were able to win the game.无毛视频�
The Leopards无毛视频� run started when Thomas Hepple put back an offensive rebound for a one-point lead and Hunter Ruokonen scored on a layup following a New Castle turnover for a three-point advantage.
Daniel Gordon threw a lob to Hepple, who instead of going for the slam dunk, went with a layup for a 51-46 lead with 1:02 remaining.
无毛视频淭he most important thing about that play was that he made the basket,无毛视频� Salvino said.
无毛视频淚 am so happy for Daniel,无毛视频� Whitlock said. 无毛视频淗e was able to throw that lob and he also hit some big shots.无毛视频�
Jared Hartman made 1 of 2 at the foul line for Belle Vernon, Devin Whitlock made a pair at the line for two of his team-high 17 points and Hepple put an exclamation point on the victory with a two-handed slam as time expired.
无毛视频淚t was great for Thomas to get that dunk,无毛视频� Whitlock said. 无毛视频淭hat kind of put an exclamation point on the game. We are going to the Pete.无毛视频�
New Castle (17-8) had a 16-14 lead after the first quarter, as the Red Hurricanes无毛视频� Michaels Wells scored his team无毛视频檚 the first 12 points. Wells finished with a game-high 18. Boice added 14 and Sheldon Cox 10.
Belle Vernon used a 6-0 run to open the second period for a 20-16 advantage before Cox cut the deficit to one with a three-pointer. The Leopards scored the next five points for a 25-19 lead with 3:14 remaining in the first half. Hartman无毛视频檚 three gave Belle Vernon a 28-21 halftime cushion.
无毛视频淚 couldn无毛视频檛 be more proud of these kids because they never quit,无毛视频� Salvino said. 无毛视频淭he defense also played a big part in this win.无毛视频�
The Red Hurricanes opened up the second half on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 28-27 with 6:42 left in the period, but the Leopards went on a 12-7 run to extend their lead to 40-39 with 1:15 remaining in the quarter. Gordon and Hartman connected on one three-pointer apiece in the run. Hartman, who had nine points, made two 3-pointers.
无毛视频淚 love competing and we definitely want to win a championship this time after losing in football,无毛视频� Hartman said. 无毛视频淚 was glad to be able to hit my shots. Teams leave me open, so I just shoot it.无毛视频�
Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 Mitch Pohlot scored eight points on four field goals, and was also a force on the boards with 12 rebounds.
无毛视频淚 feel like at the end of the year, we just bought into the system and it has come together,无毛视频� Pohlot said. 无毛视频淲e had a lot of guys step up tonight, and the young guys really stepped up. We will be ready to go on Saturday. I knew that we had a size advantage coming into the game, not to underestimate them, and we just used that. Good teams use their advantages, and that无毛视频檚 what we did.无毛视频�
无毛视频淢itch, Jared (Hartman) and (Thomas) Hepple all did a good job rebounding,无毛视频� Salvino said. 无毛视频淛ared also hit some big shots. He has been playing really well lately, and he didn无毛视频檛 pass up shots tonight. He passed up a lot of shots in the season.无毛视频�
Whitlock, who lost in the semifinals of the district playoffs last year while attending Monessen, was glad to get some redemption this season.
无毛视频淭here definitely was a chip on my shoulder from last year after losing in the semifinals,无毛视频� Whitlock said.
Whitlock, who has 990 career points, would trade all the individual accolades for a title.
无毛视频淚 really try not to think about how many points I have,无毛视频� Whitlock said. 无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 even know how many I had until somebody told me. I would trade all the points for a championship.无毛视频�
Even though the Leopards were a No. 6 seed against No. 7 New Castle, they came into the game as underdogs, but that didn无毛视频檛 matter to Salvino, Whitlock and company.
无毛视频淚 saw the potential in this team from Day 1 with the people that we have,无毛视频� Salvino said. 无毛视频淚 think the second game against Uniontown was a confidence booster for us because it helped us to realize that we can play with anyone when we play our game, even though we lost that game.无毛视频�
无毛视频淲e really didn无毛视频檛 think about being the underdog in this game,无毛视频� Whitlock said. 无毛视频淲e just take it as another game, and we got to do what we do and play our game.无毛视频�
Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 Jake Haney filled in nicely for senior Cam Nusser. The absence of Nusser was not due to the injured ankle he sustained in the first round of the postseason.
无毛视频淐am无毛视频檚 ankle was hurt so we didn无毛视频檛 know how much he would have played, if he would have played at all, so we were prepared for that,无毛视频� Salvino said. 无毛视频淗e (Haney) made the best of the situation, and everybody coming off the bench, (Daniel) Gordon and (Thomas) Hepple did a good job.无毛视频�