Moon edges Lower Dauphin in OT
Big leads were few and far between Friday night for Moon’s boys basketball team.
In a back-and-forth dogfight against Lower Dauphin during a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal showdown at Altoona High School, the Tigers finished regulation tied with the Falcons before pulling ahead in the closing seconds of overtime to earn a 51-50 victory.
Senior guard Jioni Smith netted the game-winning basket for Moon (26-2) with two seconds remaining, and the Falcons (26-4) fell short with a desperation shot at the buzzer.
Donovan Johnson paced the Tigers with a team-high 21 points. He scored 20 points in the first half. Luke Hetrick also scored 21 points for Lower Dauphin, which entered the state playoffs after capturing the program’s first District 3 championship.
Moon built a 27-20 halftime lead and owned a 37-36 advantage after the third quarter. The Tigers led by as many as four in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter before the Falcons fought back and tied the score at the end of regulation, 45-45.
The WPIAL runner-up Tigers advance to the semifinals and will meet Mars on Monday at a time and site to be determined. The Planets beat the Tigers in the WPIAL championship, 58-56. The last time Moon advanced to the state semifinals was in 2008, when the Tigers captured a state championship.
Boys Class 1A
Monessen 50, Nazareth Prep 46: The Greyhounds have shown a flair for dramatic endings during their past two state playoff games. Coming off a buzzer-beating win against Bishop Caroll, Monessen (18-9) made 4 of 4 from the foul line in the final 27.7 seconds to secure the victory and advance into the semifinals.
“They don’t get rattled,” Monessen coach Dan Bosnic said. “They have a toughness about them that allows them to be successful in those situations. That speaks to the toughness of our kids that they’re willing to accept those challenges.
“They’re going to the line at the end of the game and they want to have the ball in tough positions, and that’s when their resolve really shines through.”
Freshman Devin Whitlock, who made the game-winning basket against Bishop Caroll, paced the Greyhounds with 15 points against the Saints (21-4). Nazareth Prep’s Trey Harvey also scored 15, and Eugene Goodwine followed with 13.
Vincentian Academy 69, Cornell 59: Cornell closed the first quarter with a 24-13 lead. Vincentian Academy, however, quickly answered by taking a 33-31 advantage into the half and held on to eliminate the Raiders and advance into the state semifinals.
Ethan Embleton paced the Royals (19-8) with 18 points and Angelo Reeves followed with 16. Alex Griggs and Matt McDonough each chipped in with 13. Kaden DeVito scored a game-high 24 points for the Raiders (21-5).
Vincentian Academy advances to the semifinal round and will meet Monessen. The Royals beat the Greyhounds in the WPIAL semifinals, 61-49. The last time Vincentian Academy reached the semifinals
was in 2011, when the Royals lost to Lincoln Park.
Girls Class 3A
Delone Catholic 50, Neshannock 41: The fourth quarter wasn’t kind to the Lancers. After taking a 38-30 lead into the final quarter, Neshannock (25-3) committed four turnovers, struggled from the foul line and witnessed Delone Catholic (24-4) go on a key 12-0 run before eliminating the WPIAL champion Lancers in the quarterfinal round.
“One quarter can’t define the season we had,” Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski said. “One bad quarter, that’s all it took today. We missed a lot of easy shots in the fourth quarter and their defense pressed us into turnovers late.”
Neleh Nogay led Neshannock with 12 points, and Brie Dean chipped in with 10. Belle Burrelli was held to nine points.
The Lancers made just 2 of 10 foul shots in the fourth quarter and finished 7 for 17 from the line.
Central Cambria 69, Beaver 35: Central Cambria built a 37-22 halftime lead and limited the Bobcats to 13 points in the second half en route to securing the victory.
Maddi Weiland paced Beaver (19-6) with 14 points, and Jenna Bauer scored 15. McKenna Hayward led all scorers with 22 points for the Red Devils (20-7).