Shrewsberry too much for Central Catholic
EBENSBURG, Pa. — There were a lot of things Central Catholic had going for it this season that enabled it to win its first WPIAL boys basketball title in 15 years.
The Vikings had a good combination of shooting, height and fundamentals. They were tough, they had confidence and they had heart.
Boy, did they have a lot of heart.
“We don’t take anything lightly,” said Dante DePante, the Vikings’ 6-foot3 senior wing forward and leading scorer at 17 points per game. “We go into every game like it’s our last, and we expect to win.”
The one thing Central Catholic didn’t have, however, was Braeden Shrewsberry, and he turned out to be the difference in the second round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs. Largely kept in check for the first three quarters, Shrewsberry scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth as District 6 champion State College ended the Vikings’ season, 57-47, at Central Cambria High School.
“There’s just a lot of disappointment,” DePante said after delivering a team-high 19 points, including 17 in the second half. “We played a great game. It just sucks. We had a great year.”
Fellow senior Tommy Kristian added seven points for Central Catholic (17-10), which was denied its first trip to the state quarterfinals since 2008.
“They just made great plays down the stretch and we didn’t. That’s really what it came down to — making winning plays,” Vikings senior guard Randy Wilkerson said.
Neither team had led by more than four points entering the fourth quarter.
DePante’s 3-pointer with 7:17 left gave the Vikings a onepoint advantage at 36-35. Then Shrewsberry found another gear. The Little Lions’ 6-foot-2 guard made a baseline jumper to put his team back in front. He followed with three 3-pointers in an 80-second span — the last one several feet behind the line while he was being fouled — to change the complexion of the game, putting State College ahead 48-39 with 3:25 remaining.
“He got comfortable in the fourth quarter,” Central Catholic coach Brian Urso said. “Earlier in the quarter, he had two little drives that got him going. That’s all he really needs when you’re that caliber of a player.”
Shrewsberry is the son of Penn State men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry.
“I was just feeling happy that I was finally hitting some shots,” the younger Shrewsberry said. “That’s been the story of our season.
We just have that run that breaks the game open.”
Now 25-2, State College also got 14 points from Ryan Perks.
“He just needs a sliver of space. He’s the most confident player in the world,” Little Lions coach Brian Scholly said of Shrewsberry.
Central Catholic led much of the first half after Wilkerson started the Vikings off with back-to-back 3-pointers. State College used a 7-0 run to take a 21-19 halftime lead, but Central Catholic answered by scoring the first five points of the second half. The game see-sawed from there until Shrewsberry got hot.
“We wanted to keep it physical, gritty. We thought maybe we could out-physical them down the stretch. They fought right back,” Urso said. “We had a hell of a year. What we accomplished, no one can take away from us.”