Feb 18, 2016 3 min read

McMURRAY – Greensburg Central Catholic entered Thursday night’s WPIAL Class AA first-round playoff game against Chartiers-Houston with just one loss.

Because of that, the Bucs knew they would have play a nearly perfect game if they were going to pull off the upset against the Centurions.

Instead, it was Greensburg Central Catholic that played nearly flawless, as the Centurions handed the Bucs a season-ending 69-45 defeat at Peters Township High School.

Led by forward Neal McDermott with 15 points and point guard Tyler White with 14, the Centurions had four players finish in double figures as they moved the ball very well and showed a very balanced attack.

“The difference in the game was their shooting,” said Chartiers-Houston head coach Eugene Briggs, whose team finished 13-11. “We played good defense and then they step back and hit 25-foot jumpers. Then we have to come out on their shooters and they were able to get the ball inside for open layups.”

GCC (22-1) jumped out to a 23-11 lead after one quarter.

The Centurions were very aggressive with their man-to-man defense and forced seven C-H first-quarter turnovers that they turned into easy layups.

Chartiers-Houston made a small run in the second quarter when Andrew Clark hit a three-point shot from the corner to pull the Bucs within 29-19. But Greensburg Central Catholic closed the half on a 12-1 run hitting four three-pointers, two from White, as it took a 41-20 lead.

The Centurions put the game away with a 16-0 run in the third quarter to take a 61-27 lead.

In addition to big games from McDermott and White, Jack Liberatore (12) and Ben Hertzog (10) also finished in double figures.

“They are a good offensive team,” said Briggs. “They just have too many options. When they are going 11-12 deep there isn’t much dropoff.”

Coming off a 42-point effort in C-H’s preliminary round win against Charleroi, A.J. Myers was naturally a focal point for the Centurions, who played him tight throughout the game.

While Myers finished with a 18 points, he was just 4 of 17 from the floor.

“AJ was getting shots,” Briggs said. “A lot of them just weren’t going in. They are a fantastic defensive team, though.”

Turnovers were also a problem as the Bucs had a hard time taking care of the basketball against GCC’s pressure, turning the ball over 15 times. Eleven of those came in the first half.

“For spurts we were able to play with them,” Briggs said. “But when you let up just a little bit they turn that into a 10 or 12-0 run. We played our butt off.”