Late rally by C-H boys falls short in quarterfinals
McMURRAY – Chartiers-Houston boys basketball coach Rich Tranquill couldn’t have been prouder of the fight his team showed in the second half against Sewickley Academy Thursday night.
The Bucs chopped a large deficit down to six points in the fourth quarter, but ultimately the hole they dug early proved too much to overcome.
Second-seeded Sewickley Academy led by as many as 19 points in the second half and held on late to beat No. 7 Chartiers-Houston, 48-39, in the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals at Peters Township’s AHN Arena.
“It took us some time to adjust the game in the first half, but I’m super proud of our guys,” Tranquill said. “We dialed things in, in the second half, and adjusted to how the game was being played. We won the second half by nine points.
“I think this shows we can play with anybody and that’s a good thing.”
Sewickley Academy (19-4) advances to play Jeannette in the WPIAL semifinals Monday.
Despite the loss, Chartiers-Houston (20-4) has already clinched a spot in the state playoffs. The Bucs will move into the WPIAL consolation bracket to determine their seed in the state tournament.
The Panthers led 39-23 after three, but the Bucs made them sweat in the final few minutes.
A three-pointer by Nate Gregory with 1:39 remaining got the Bucs to within 43-37 and Sewickley Academy turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play.
The Bucs couldn’t find a bucket on their next possession, however, and it led to a dunk by the Panthers’ 6-8 freshman Mamadou Kane on the other end.
That pretty much closed the door on the comeback.
Prior to the second-half comeback, it looked like it was going to be a long night for the Bucs.
They struggled offensively for the entire first half, making only three shots.
The Panthers boast a pair of 6-8 players, Kane and Adam Ikamba, as well as several players who are 6-4 or taller.
Chartiers-Houston’s tallest player in its starting lineup is Paul Williamson at 6-3.
The Panthers blocked 10 shots in the first half and nearly shut out the Bucs in the second quarter. Gregory sank a three with just over a minute remaining for the Bucs’ only three points.
Sewickley Academy went into the break with a 27-9 lead.
“Across the board we haven’t seen size like that,” Tranquill said. “We might go against a 6-7 player here or there, but not two 6-foot-8 guys followed by multiple 6-4’s. I thought it took time to adjust to the physicality of the game. I thought they let it be physical. Once we adjusted to that, we were able to minimize their size some in the second half.”
Gregory had another strong night for the Bucs coming off eclipsing 1,000 points for his career in Monday’s win over Shenango. He scored a game-high 23 points and hit five three-pointers.
Aaron Walsh banked in a shot in the paint to give Chartiers-Houston a 2-0 lead early, but then the Panthers went on an 11-0 run.
The run was highlighted by a successful alley-oop from Kane to Ikamba.
Ikamba and Kane had four points each in the first quarter and Lucas Grimsley canned a pair of three-pointers.
The Panthers led 16-6 after one.
ustus Buckingham scored 10 for the Bucs.
Lucas Grimsley led the Panthers with 17 points. He connected on five threes. Ikamba scored 11 before fouling out.
The Bucs will now turn their focus toward getting as high a seed as possible out of the WPIAL in the state tournament.
“I don’t know who we play or when the first game is, but we’re still playing and that’s the important thing,” Tranquill said. “We’ve put ourselves in a position to be in the state tournament and we’re excited about that.”