Donovan’s big 2nd half propels Peters Township past South Fayette
McDONALD – Dylan Donovan had a pretty good idea he was going to see double teams and hands in his face all game when Peters Township traveled to South Fayette Friday night.
He was held to seven points in the first meeting and at halftime Friday only had four, but was able to unlock himself in a big way over the final two quarters.
Donovan scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead Peters Township to a 53-47 victory over the Lions in a Class 5A Section 3 boys basketball game.
“The coaches gave me the game plan and I knew they were going to give me a lot of attention,” Donovan said. “I just had to trust my guys until I could get something going for myself and that’s what happened in the second half.”
The win gave the Indians (7-3, 13-5) a season sweep over the Lions (8-3, 13-7) after they beat them 62-50 in the first meeting a few weeks ago.
Donovan had a big opening sequence to the final quarter.
With Peters Township leading by one to begin the frame, Donovan canned a 3-pointer to make it 38-34.
Then, after Gavin Orosz hit a jumper for South Fayette, Donovan responded with a runner in the lane and followed that up with a steal on defense.
The turnover eventually led to a basket by Jake Wetzel, which made it 42-36, Peters Township’s largest lead of the game.
Donovan also went four of six from the foul line in the fourth and had a crucial rebound late with the Indians clinging to a five-point lead.
“I told Dylan in the locker room that one of the hardest things you can do as a player is to have a rough start and find yourself in the midst of a game and continue to stay with it,” Peters Township coach Joe Urmann said. “Then make adjustments and listen to coach’s advice and he absolutely did that. He was huge for us down the stretch.”
Peters Township led 23-21 after a slow grind of a first half, but the pace started picking up in the third quarter.
Sean Thelk hit a deep three-pointer, his second of the game, to put Peters Township in front 28-25, but Tyson Wright and Dylan Head responded with baskets for South Fayette.
Then, Donovan started to take over.
He nailed a three from the top of the arc and on the next possession made a nice cut to the basket after Wetzel found him with a pass.
After Owen Keener put in a rebound to put South Fayette back in front, Donovan sank a running lay-up, which gave Peters Township a 35-34 lead at the end of the third quarter.
“He was the difference,” South Fayette coach Dave Mislan said of Donovan. “He really felt comfortable, and we usually don’t allow a guy like him to get comfortable. But he’s a great player. His hesitation is great and so is his feel for the game.”
South Fayette had the lead for the majority of the first half, but some key buckets by Wetzel helped Peters Township take a 23-21 halftime lead.
Wetzel, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, used his size to grab a rebound and tie the game at 17-17. Then he backed down a defender and spun a shot in off the glass.
Wright connected on a layup to give the Lions a 21-19 lead, but Dylan Donovan answered with a reverse layup for the Indians.
Wetzel had a dunk with 45 seconds remaining in the half to give Peters Township its first lead.
“Jake’s development has been crucial for us,” Urmann said. “He just keeps getting better and better. He’s crucial for us on defense, having that presence around the rim and his offense is coming along.”
Orosz led the Lions with 16 points and Wright had 13.
Mislan said it was a tough loss, because it was his seniors’ last big section game at home, but they will regroup over the final couple of weeks before playoffs.
“It’s a tough one,” Mislan said. “This is one we really wanted and it was big in terms of playoff seeding too, but they did a good job. They executed when they needed to and we didn’t.