OLSH stymies Jeannette surge
Jayhawks star out in 3rd quarter
Anthony Johnson stood at the free-throw line and made the second of two to give Jeannette its first lead of the game with 5:26 left in the third quarter.
Before the clock had even moved, Johnson was in the locker room and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart reclaimed the lead and never relinquished it.
Johnson was hit with his second technical foul for saying something to the crowd and Dante Spadafora made both free throws to launch a 9-1 run that put the Chargers ahead to stay as No. 2-seeded OLSH (22-2) slipped past the third-seeded Jayhawks, 7264, in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals at Peters Township.
“Of course Anthony Johnson is a big factor for them and is a tremendous basketball player, but they came in and executed because they’re used to playing without him, I think,” OLSH coach Mike Rodriguez said. “They’re a team that’s experienced and they rose to the challenge and they battled all the way and I think we battled all the way.”
Johnson, who finished with 10 points and six rebounds, was a catalyst for Jeannette as it climbed out of a 12-point, first-quarter hole to tie it, 34-34, after a 3-pointer from A.J. Sharp and a Seth Howard layup. After Johnson made the free throw that gave the Jayhawks a 36-35 lead, however, he turned to the OLSH fans’ side of the court and said something the officials deemed derogatory andhe was ejected.
Johnson was given his first technical with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter when he argued a call with an official.
“I couldn’t understand why the technical was made. He said something to the fans and the ref had warned him and I just didn’t think it warranted ejection, especially in this magnitude of a game,” Jeannette coach Adrian Batts said. “All of a sudden you want to talk about sportsmanship and I honestly thought that they were targeting the kid right from the start … and they asked me to calm him down and I think I calmed him down plenty. You can’t take his emotions away.”
Though Jeannette had to deal with one ejection, OLSH had to overcome two as Ricco Tate picked up his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter and Austin Wigley hit the bench with 3:24 left and the Chargers leading, 64-53.
Other semifinal
At halftime of the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals, Sewickley Academy players were pumping each other up and shouting, “Don’t let up,” before taking the court.
Chartiers-Houston probably wished they would have.
After a huge first half, the Panthers rolled by the Buccaneers, 65-33, at Northgate and into the title game.
“The guys came ready to play,” Sewickley Academy coach Win Palmer said. “We love playing teams like Chartiers-Houston that had a great year. Our guys knew if we came ready to play, as opposed to struggling in the first quarter, and don’t give them confidence because, if you give a team like that confidence in the first quarter, all of a sudden it’s a fourquarter game.”
Instead, this one was over at halftime. Sewickley Academy (20-4) held Chartiers-Houston (19-6) scoreless in the second and led, 44-7, at the break.