Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Archbishop Wood cruises to state title
Wood captured its first state boys basketball championship in its first state tournament by wheeling past Meadville 73-40 in the PIAA Class 5A title game.
HERSHEY >> In total command from the opening tip on, Archbishop Wood captured its first state boys basketball championship in its first state tournament by wheeling past Meadville 7340 in the PIAA Class 5A title game Friday night at Giant Center.
Popping four players into double figures, John Mosco’s Vikings (28-3) bolted to a lightning-quick 5-0 lead that grew to 17-2 before the closing moments of the opening quarter — and just continued to mushroom before the 32-minute exercise ended.
Tyree Pickron paced Wood with 18 points, Villanova recruit Collin Gillespie checked in with 15 points, 6-foot-11 junior Seth Pinkney popped a double-double (11 points/11 boards) and Andrew Funk chipped in 10 as the Vikings overwhelmed the District 10 champs.
Friday night’s victory, the 22nd straight win for Wood, capped a terrific season that also included Philadelphia Catholic League and District 12 championships.
What’s scary is five members of the Vikings’ nineman rotation should return.
Sewickley Academy 68 Constitution 63, OT
HERSHEY >> Able to shrug off a slow start — and even a late shot in regulation — Sewickley Academy collared a 68-63 victory in overtime over Constitution in the PIAA’s Class 2A boys basketball championship Friday at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Justin Pryor collected 14 of his 21 points in the second half as Win Palmer’s fundamentally sound Panthers, down 16-4 early and 31-23 at the break, dug in and played the Philadelphia-based Generals nose up down the stretch.
Nate Ridgeway also had a big second half for Sewickley Academy (25-4), banking 14 of his 16 points after the break. Ridgeway and Pryor also combined for seven of the nine points the Panthers scored in the extra session.
Lebanon Catholic 55 Juniata Valley 43
HERSHEY >> Even an early, early deficit was not enough to prevent Lebanon Catholic from roaring back and taking control of its situation.
And while Patti Hower’s club needed to absorb a comeback bid in the second half, the Beavers sidestepped that effort and kept moving forward.
Today, thanks to a satisfying 55-43 victory over District 6 runner-up Juniata Valley, Lebanon Catholic continues to celebrate the Class A girls basketball championship it claimed Friday afternoon at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Friday’s victory ended a 22-season championship drought for Hower’s program, which last claimed state gold in 1995. Lebanon Catholic also won a state title in 1992.
Alexis Hill netted 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Hower’s Beavers (25-7), who spotted Juniata Valley the first six points of the game before unloading a 20-1 outburst that had Lebanon Catholic up 20-7 late in the opening half.