Sto-Rox rallies past Shenango
Vikings’ 15th win in row leads to final and first trip to title game since 2002
Sto-Rox coach Ryan Hughes kept waiting for that run, a surge of energy and pressure from his team that has turned a number of games this season.
Hughes was sure it would come, “but I was hoping it wouldn’t come too late,” Hughes said.
It didn’t. But the green wave of Sto-Rox didn’t hit until the fourth quarter of the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday night, but it was enough to swallow Shenango. Sto-Rox’s fourthquarter gushing led the Vikings to a 65-58 victory at Woodland Hills High School.
Sto-Rox trailed Shenango by 13 points at halftime and was behind, 51-39, after three quarters. But Sto-Rox (18-6) outscored Shenango, 26-7, in the fourth quarter to win its 15th game in a row.
“I knew it was going to come,” Hughes said of the onslaught. “It came like it came last game [in the quarterfinals]. But the last game it was the third quarter.”
Sto-Rox’s 1-2-2, three-quarter court press caused havoc with Shenango as the Wildcats had 20 turnovers in the second half after having only 10 in the first two quarters. Shenango point guard Colin McQuiston had 20 points in the first half, but got only four shots in the second and finished with 25.
Shenango (19-6), trying to make it to a title game for the first time since 1996, took a 57-52 lead with 2:19 left, but Shenango made four turnovers and had two missed 3pointers on the next six possessions. Sto-Rox turned the steals into layups, and the Vikings took the lead (58-57) on Devontae Johnson’s three-point play with 1:48 remaining. After a steal, Jamal Williams scored on a layup to put Sto-Rox ahead by three points. Shenango didn’t score again until 28 seconds remained.
Senior guard Jamil Williams (Jamal’s twin brother) led Sto-Rox with 19 points, but Jamal Williams was vital in the comeback, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter. Sto-Rox will play in the title game for the first time since 2002.
Other semifinal
Not many teams get the chance to play in four consecutive WPIAL title games. Then again, few boys basketball teams in WPIAL history have had a guard combo quite like Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Dante Spadafora and Jake DiMichele.
DiMichele scored a gamehigh 36 points, including 26 in the first half, to lead the Chargers (23-1) to one of the most impressive and onesided wins in WPIAL playoff history, let alone the semifinals. Spadafora scored only five points — well below his season average of 22.8 — but had a triple-double with 12 rebounds, 13 assists and 10 steals in OLSH’s 73-19 win against Winchester Thurston (12-12) at North Hills.
“Even if I have an off-game, my teammates showed they can pick me up,” Spadafora said. “Today was definitely a good test for me to just play the point guard.”
With the win, the Chargers will get the chance to defend their WPIAL Class 2A championship at Petersen Events Center at 5 p.m. Friday while playing in the title game for the fourth year in a row.
The Chargers jumped to a 22-9 lead at the end of the first quarter after a 3-pointer by DiMichele gave the star sophomore 1,000 points for his career in less than two full seasons. He then scored all 15 OLSH points in the second quarter, outscoring Winchester Thurston, 15-2, in the period for a 37-11 halftime lead.