FINALLY CHAMPS
After losses in past two title games, Leopards snatch crown
Seton LaSalle’s players warm up in T-shirts with a message on the back: “Sometimes God will put a Goliath in your life, for you to find the David within you.”
Starring in the role of Goliath Thursday night was Lincoln Park. Seton LaSalle had no slingshot.
Lincoln Park has been the big shots of WPIAL Class 3A basketball all year, holding the Post-Gazette’s No. 1 ranking since the preseason. But now Lincoln Park isn’t just the top team on paper. The Leopards are No. 1 for real after defeating Seton LaSalle, 62-47, in the championship game at Petersen Events Center.
Lincoln Park’s win avenged losses in a WPIAL title game the past two years. And the Leopards are something of a Goliath to Seton LaSalle. It was the second consecutive year Lincoln Park beat Seton LaSalle in the WPIAL playoffs. Last year, a buzzer-beating 3pointer beat the Rebels, 71-70, in the quarterfinals.
This time, Lincoln Park turned a close game into a relatively easy, double-digit win in the second half. Lincoln Park led by only 26-24 at halftime.
“It stinks losing here two years in a row,” said Lincoln Park forward Thomas Melonja. “I’ve thought about this game since last March. We all used that as motivation.”
Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski said: “In June, when we were done running hills in Midland, this is what the kids talked about, a WPIAL championship. When we broke huddles this year, it was ‘Win gold.’ We’ve been thinking about this for a long time.”
Lincoln Park (19-6) is a young team, with only one senior starter. And the youth movement was on display against Seton LaSalle ( 19- 6). Andre Wilder, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Wilder led the second-half charge, scoring around the hoop and on short shots. He scored 12 of his points in the second half.
Melonja, a junior, also scored 18 and had 12 in the second half. Junior guard Keeno Holmes finished with 16.
The first half was close, with six lead changes and mini spurts by both teams. Seton LaSalle went on an 11-2 run in the first four minutes of the second quarter to grab a 24-17 lead. But Lincoln Park scored the final nine points of the quarter to take a 26-24 advantage at the break. Holmes scored 11 points in the first half.
Seton LaSalle went almost 12 minutes over the second and third quarters with only one field goal. That sealed the Rebels’ fate. Lincoln Park opened up a 45-31 lead early in the fourth quarter and Seton LaSalle never recovered.
In the final three quarters, Seton LaSalle shot only 23 percent (10 of 41) and the Rebels also made only 18 of 30 free throws. Lincoln Park shot 47 percent (21 of 45) for the game and 83 percent (15 of 18) from the free-throw line.
“We made a couple turnovers against their press in the second quarter and that gave them momentum going into the third quarter,” said Seton LaSalle coach Mark Walsh. “Their defense puts a lot of pressure on you, but I thought the difference in the game was our free throw shooting. We’ve been shooting around 83 percent in the playoffs.”
Jakob Richardson, a senior forward, led Seton LaSalle with 18 points and nine rebounds.