Southmoreland earns historic win

Scotties reach WPIAL quarterfinals for the first time in three decades

Tommy Pisula didn’t feel great Saturday afternoon, dealing with a fever and a cold. He came out of the locker room at halftime wiping his nose and carrying a box of tissues.

Then he went out and cleaned up what could have been another playoff mess for Southmoreland.

Pisula scored a game-high 21 points, made a steal and a layup to send the game into overtime and led Southmoreland to a 64-55 win against Avonworth in a WPIAL Class 3A first-round playoff game at Peters Township.

It was a monumental win of sorts for Southmoreland, which came back from an eight-point halftime deficit. The win put the Scotties (194) into the quarterfinals for only the fourth time in school history and the first time in 30 years. Southmoreland had made the playoffs nine times since 1987 but never got past the first round.

This time, Pisula came through with a muchneeded effort because Brandon Stone, Southmoreland’s 6-foot-10 junior forward who averages 26 points, was held to 14. Avonworth (14-9) ganged up on Stone when he caught the ball inside.

“Every game I get doubleand triple-teamed when I get the ball on the post,” said Stone, who finished with 16 rebounds and five blocks. “If we get guys to step up offensively, we’ve got a chance at making a deep run in the playoffs.”

Pisula, a 6-foot-2, 202pound senior guard-forward, made 9 of 11 shots from the field, scoring on drives and putbacks. He pulled down key rebounds — and made the steal of the season for Southmoreland. Avonworth had the ball and a two-point lead and was playing keep away against Southmoreland’s 1-2-2 zone defense. But Pisula got his hand on a pass near half court, knocked the ball to himself and drove the length of the court for a layup with 54 seconds left to tie the score, 51-51.

Avonworth missed a shot with five seconds left and Southmoreland committed a foul on the rebound with 3.3 seconds left. But Avonworth couldn’t get off a final shot. In overtime, Southmoreland outscored Avonworth, 13-4.

Although the win was gigantic for Southmoreland’s program, it was particularly special for Pisula, who missed all of last season, recovering from a torn ACL in his knee. Southmoreland lost in the preliminary round a year ago.

“He’s waited a year for this and he wasn’t going to go out without a fight,” Southmoreland coach Frank Muccino said.

Pisula averages 18 points a game.

“I didn’t know if I would ever get back to where I was before I got hurt,” Pisula said. “It takes time. This makes you feel like all the hard work pays off.”

Avonworth, a guard-oriented team, had 10 3-pointers. Matthew Crilley, a senior forward, led with 17 points. Standout senior point guard Garrett Day fouled out in overtime with 12 points.

Southmoreland came back from a sluggish firsthalf performance, when the Scotties shot only 30 percent (8-30). In the second, the Scotties made 56 percent (15 of 27). When the game was close down the stretch, they were content to let Pisula and Zak Leighty control the ball.

“A win like this shows the kids they can do it,” Muccino said. “If you want the respect of being a good team, you don’t ask someone to give it to you. You show it. The playoffs are the opportunity to get respect.”