This time, Peters Township plays like a champion
By Dave Whipkey
For The Observer-Reporter
McMURRAY – Two years ago, Penn Hills ended the dream of a WPIAL title in boys basketball from Peters Township, beating the Indians in the championship game.
Tuesday night, Peters Township had a chance to somewhat make amends as they faced the visiting Indians in a first-round Class 5A playoff game at AHN Arena. Though the stakes weren’t as high, the Indians did get a small measure of revenge as Peters Township rolled to a 63-30 win over Penn Hills.
Penn Hills (12-10) defeated Peters Township in the 2023 Class 5A final at the Petersen Events Center. The result of Tuesday’s game was vastly different.
Peters Township (16-7) will face Uniontown in a quarterfinal matchup Friday night at a site to be determined.
PT’s Dylan Donovan led all scorers with 19 points. Nick McCullough added 13 in a strong all-around performance.
The story of the evening was Peters Township’s defense as it held Penn Hills to 24 percent shooting for the game.
“Our guys executed the game plan and played with an incredible amount of effort and connectiveness tonight,” Peters Township coach Joe Urmann said. “We forced them to take tough shots and we rebounded the ball so well. I was proud of how we rebounded the ball.”
The Indians cleaned up on the glass, outrebounding Penn Hills, 28-18.
Both squads started slow offensively as neither team could get into a rhythm. Peters Township did lurch out to an 11-4 lead late in the first quarter, thanks to a Donavan steal and score.
The hosts increased their lead to 17-6 early in the second quarter thanks to a Sean Thelk three and three Donovan free throws after he was fouled. Two Calix Clark buckets pulled Penn Hills to within 17-10 midway through the quarter. But another Thelk three-pointer was the catalyst to a 7-2 push that put Peters Township in the lead at 24-12 at the half.
Then the avalanche hit Penn Hills. Peters Township blitzed the visiting Indians 23-8 in the third quarter.
It was then that McCullough took over, scoring nine of his 13 points in the third quarter. One of those coming on a nifty scoop shot in traffic that counted as an old-fashioned three-point play that pushed the Peters Township lead to 39-19 with 2:30 left in the quarter.
Peters Township finished the frame shooting 11 of 16 from the floor, effectively ending the competitive phase of the game.
“He made some awesome plays, especially in the third quarter,” Urmann said of McCullough. “He was awesome on both ends of the floor. Did a nice job sharing the ball and making intelligent plays.”
Donovan then reminded those in attendance of his shooting prowess when he made a three early in the fourth quarter to push the Peters Township lead to 50-22.
“The thing is, he didn’t force anything tonight,” Urmann said of Donovan’s performance. “He was hunting the right play. He was awesome on both ends tonight, too.”
Ten players scored for Peters Township in what might have been their most impressive performance of the season.