Bishop Canevin wins defensive battle
The Crusaders held a 10-9 advantage over Rochester at halftime
The first half of Friday’s WPIAL Class 1A boys final looked more like one of those home building shows on television than a championship-level basketball game.
There were bricks being laid left and right.
And while it wasn’t the blueprint that Bishop Canevin had drawn up to win its first WPIAL title, it certainly got the job done.
Top-seeded Canevin overcame a shaky first half and came alive in the second to defeat second-seeded Rochester, 42-27, at North Allegheny.
Rochester’s 27 points tied for the fewest points scored in a WPIAL championship game in any class in the past 60 years. The Rams shot 18% (8 of 44) from the field for the game.
“We wanted to make them work on every single possession with our length and our quickness,” Canevin coach Gino Palmosina said. “We were trying to make it as hard as possible on them.”
About that first half: The teams combined for 19 points. Canevin led Rochester, 10-9. Canevin shot 15% (4 of 26) and Rochester 19% (4 of 21). As you might expect, it wasn’t for the faint of heart.
“It was a slow-down game,” said Palmosina. “I didn’t expect it to be 10-9, but it could have been worse. We dug our feet in and continued to get stops. And we were able to pull it out.”
Canevin (16-5), which did not lose to a WPIAL Class 1A opponent all season, began to assert itself in the third quarter. The Crusaders got their spark from junior guard Kevaughn Price, who scored six of his game-high 17 points in the quarter. They included an emphatic dunk — the first of his career — just before the buzzer to give Canevin a 28-20 lead.
“We came out kind of slow, but we kept our heads up. We knew our shots were going to fall later in the game,” said Price, who, like his father Kevin (Duquesne) and sister Shamyjha (Canevin), now is a WPIAL champion.
Added Price, “I know if we didn’t win this, they were all going to get on me about it.”
Rochester pulled within seven points
on several occasions in the fourth quarter, but could get no closer. The Rams were 1 of 13 from the field in the final quarter.
This was a big moment for a Canevin program guided by Palmosina, the team’s third-year coach and a former player for the Crusaders.
“This group has worked so hard,” said Palmosina, a 2011 graduate. “It’s great for the school, great for the community. I’m a grad. But this group is what makes it special for me. We’re a tight-knit group and we worked so hard over the summer through the pandemic. We didn’t even know we were going to get a chance to play. We got the chance to play and we’re here now. I’m so happy for this group.”
Nevan Crossey added eight points for Canevin and Jhamil Fife had seven. Leading scorer Dom Elliott was held to four points (11 below his season average), but had a team-high 11 rebounds.
Canevin shot 29% (13 of 44) from the field, a number that Rochester coach Sean Keaton would have taken in a heartbeat if told of it before the game.
“That was the game plan,” Keaton said. “I said we need to keep them in the 50s for us to win the game. That’s been our identity all year, our defense. Our guys were committed, buying in on the defensive end.”
Rochester (14-5), which was playing for its second title and first since 1983, just couldn’t buy a shot offensively. In fact,
only three players scored. J.D. Azulay scored 16 and Devon Hemer had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Still, Keaton looked at this season as being a huge success, as he should. These Rams put forth one of the biggest turnarounds in WPIAL history, going from 021 last season to playing for a WPIAL title this season.
“I know we came in second, but we’re winners,” said Keaton, the team’s firstyear coach. “No one had Rochester basketball playing for a WPIAL championship. We gave them a battle until the fourth quarter. I’m proud of our kids.”