Penn Hills proves it’s best
Indians knock off top seed Peters Township to claim 6th WPIAL title
When the WPIAL came out with its playoff pairings and seedings a few weeks ago, many questioned whether Peters Township deserved the No. 1 seed in Class 5A over Penn Hills. Penn Hills boys basketball coach Chris Giles even questioned the seeding, but he said he never talked about it with his team.
Penn Hills waited until Thursday night to make its statement.
Penn Hills walked out of
Petersen Events Center with the championship trophy after it defeated Peters Township, 70-65, in the title game.
The win gave Penn Hills (21-3) its sixth WPIAL championship in school history while the Indians kept Peters Township (22-4) from winning its second title. The loss snapped Peters Township’s 15-game winning streak.
“I knew what I had in my locker room and I knew what my guys are capable of. That’s why I didn’t talk about it with them,” Giles said of the No. 2 seed. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 1 or 16. It didn’t add a chip on our shoulder. … I thought we were the best team. That’s why it didn’t bother me.”
Two of the main reasons Penn Hills was the best team Thursday were senior guards Noah Barren and Daemar Kelly. They combined for 43 points, with Barren scoring 22 and Kelly 21.
Barren, a point guard, took over the game in the first half, scoring 16 points. He only had six in the second half, but that’s when Kelly came alive to score 15 of his 21. Penn Hills trailed at halftime, 30-29.
“Those are two really good players,” Peters Township coach Joe Urmann said. “We thought Daemar might try and make a push in the second half and he did. But I think rebounding was a big part of the game. But I’m proud of our guys. They battled their butts off.”
Penn Hills outrebounded Peters Township 32-23. At halftime, Peters Township had a rebounding edge of 1512.
Junior forward Robert Thomas had 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Penn Hills while junior forward Julian Dugger had 10 points and seven rebounds.
“We’ve maybe dealt with theathleticism that Penn Hills had, but not length like they have,” Urmann said.
Peters Township was led by point guard Brendan McCullough with 19 points. Junior guard Jack Dunbar, who averages 20 a game, scored 15, but had only four in the second half. Urmann said Dunbar was bothered some by a hip injury and cramps.
Barren also bothered Peters Township in the first half with his moves and drives to the basket. For about an eight-minute stretch, Barren took over the game, scoring off nifty drives and making 7 of 8 shots to give Penn Hills a 25-18 lead.
But Peters Township came back in the final few minutes of the second quarter, sparked by three driving layups by McCullough and his final basket gave Peters Township a 3029 lead at the half.
“At halftime, we said stop worrying so much about offense and play defense,” Giles said.
Penn Hills did both in the third quarter when it opened up a 44-34 lead on Barren’s steal and basket. The lead grew to as much as 56-45 in the third quarter before Peters Township came back and made things interesting. Penn Hills turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions and 3-pointers on consecutive possessions by McCullough and Thomas Aspinali pulled Peters Township within 58-54 with two minutes remaining. But Penn Hills made 4 of 6 free throws to open up a 62-54 advantage with 1:14 left.
“They’re a good defensive team,”Urmann said. “They’re active in passing lanes. They were able to disrupt us there. And you saw when we got to the rim we were met with some bodies and guys that protect the basket.”
Both teams begin play in the PIAA championships with home games Friday, March 10. Penn Hills will play the loser of Friday’s sub-regional championship game between DuBois and Cathedral Prep. Peters Township will play Muhlenberg, the No. 6 team from District 3.
There are no seedings for the PIAA playoffs.
“I think our team is underrated as a whole,” Giles said. “There’s not much publicity about our team through the entire year. But this is what matters. We’re the No. 1 team in 5A.”