Mustangs knock out Talbots
The WPIAL boys basketball quarterfinals will seem a little unusual this weekend. Laurel Highlands will be playing. Hampton won’t. Those two unlikely scenarios became reality
Monday night when Laurel Highlands knocked off Hampton, 52-46, in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round game at Fox Chapel.
The loss will break a string of 11 consecutive quarterfinal appearances for Hampton (11-11), the No. 9 seed. The Talbots had made the quarterfinals 16 times since 2000.
For No. 8 seed Laurel Highlands (14-8), first-round wins are rare. In the Mustangs’ past nine playoff appearances, they lost in the preliminary round or first round eight times. They will be in the quarterfinals for only the fifth time in 35 years.
Although this certainly wasn’t one of coach Joe Lafko’s best teams at Hampton, the value of the win for Laurel Highlands can’t be overstated.
“Hampton has been an outstanding program over the years,” Laurel Highlands coach Rick Hauger said. “I know coach Lafko has some younger guys this year. But this is huge for us. I think it could give our guys some confidence.”
Laurel Highlands had a most unlikely hero.
Tim Smith, a senior guard, averages 4 points a game, but he had the game of his career when he made six 3-pointers and scored 20 points. His shooting was key in breaking down Hampton’s 2-3 zone defense and even more so because Laurel Highlands is without junior guard Caleb Palumbo for the playoffs. He averages 12 points, but is ineligible for the postseason under the PIAA’s new transfer rule. Palumbo transferred from Uniontown after his sophomore year.
But Smith was an example of how the playoffs can bring out the most unlikely stars.
“He was lights out. It was just one of those things,” Hauger said. “Saturday in practice, we got the ball out that says ‘PIAA’ on it that has to be used in the playoffs. It was like his lucky charm. He started makings 3s.
“Then [Monday afternoon] we had just a little shootaround and he made seven 3s in a row. I’m thinking, ‘Please carry over into the game,’ and it did. He even banked one in.”
Smith hit four 3-pointers in the first half to help Laurel Highlands grab a 32-22 lead. Senior forward Tyvaughn Lang also was key for Laurel Highlands in the first two quarters, hitting a few foul-line jumpers in the middle of Hampton’s zone. He finished with 14 points.
Laurel Highlands also features point guard Rodney Gallagher, who had one of the highest scoring averages in WPIAL history for a freshman. Gallagher, who already has a few scholarship offers from Division I colleges, came in averaging 23 points a game. He made only 5 of 15 shots, but still scored 13 points, which usually would be gigantic for a ninth-grader.
“This certainly wasn’t one of his best games, but everybody forgets he is a freshman,” Hauger said.
Despite his off night, Gallagher was still upbeat after the game.
“We’re trying to put on a show because Laurel Highlands isn’t known for really doing anything,” Gallagher said. “I wasn’t hitting a lot of shots I normally hit, but my teammates stepped up. Winning this game is big for the community and school morale.”
It’s a little hard to believe that a team shoots 57 percent from the field and loses, but that’s exactly what happened to Hampton. That was because the Talbots had trouble finding many shots against Laurel Highlands, who also played a 2-3 zone. Hampton attempted only 35 shots. Ben Ringeisen, a 6foot-6 forward who averages 19 points per game, made 10 of 12 shots, all from close range, and scored 21 points. But no other Hampton player scored more than 7.
Hampton made things interesting in the second half, though. The Talbots trailed, 48-44, with two minutes left and had the ball, but Keandre Cook made a steal and scored to give Laurel Highlands a six-point lead. Hampton turned the ball over on its next two possessions.
Laurel Highlands will play No. 1 seed Penn Hills in the quarterfinals Friday. It has been 48 years since Laurel Highlands reached the semifinals.