MONROEVILLE – Greensburg Salem just won’t be denied.
The Lions, who finished fifth in the WPIAL in Class AAA found another way to win in the PIAA playoffs, knocking off the team that ousted them from the WPIAL playoffs, Hampton, 46-45 Tuesday night at Gateway High School in Monroeville.
Greensburg Salem (23-5) found itself in another tight game, the fourth time in four PIAA contests that the Lions have either been tied or trailing in the fourth quarter. But the Lions got it done again thanks to nine straight points in the stretch run from Jake Matthews, including a 3-pointer with just over three minutes to play that gave Greensburg Salem the lead for good at 36-33.
“Another easy one,” Greensburg Salem head coach Paul Sapotichne joked to the Greensburg Tribune Review.
Matthews, whose solid play in the PIAA playoffs has been overshadowed by the late-game heroics of teammate Chris Klimchock, tied Hampton’s Matt Madia for game-high honors with 17 points. It marks the third time in four PIAA playoff games Matthews has been the leading scorer for the Lions, who came into the year with just one PIAA playoff victory in school history.
“Jake has played very well,” Sapotichne told the Greensburg Tribune Review. “He’s been very efficient. He’s making good decisions, and he’s hitting big shot after big shot.”
Klimchock added 12 points for Greensburg Salem, which will face Archbishop Carroll in the PIAA Class AAA title game at 8 p.m .Friday at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College.
PIAA Class A Boys: Kennedy Catholic finally gets into the title game
After losing in the semifinals in each of the last two seasons, Kennedy Catholic finally moved into the PIAA Class A title game for the first time since 2005 with a 58-44 win over Elk County Catholic Tuesday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
The Golden Eagles (26-2) got 29 points from senior guard Kyle Randall and 16 points and 10 rebounds from senior forward Audra Jones to get past the upstart Crusaders, who had knocked off defending state champion Serra Catholic in the quarterfinals.
Robby Wortman led ECC, which actually had a 14-11 lead at the end of the first quarter before watching Kennedy Catholic go on runs of 11-1 in the second quarter and 14-5 at the start of the second half, with 19 points and nine rebounds.
Kennedy Catholic will face Girard College in the PIAA championship game at 2 p.m. Friday at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College.
PIAA Class AA Girls: Villa Maria Rallies past Southern Huntingdon
Villa Maria from Erie, rallied from a 5-point halftime deficit to beat Southern Huntingdon 37-32 in the PIAA Class AA semifinals Tuesday night at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
The Victors (26-3) trailed 21-16 at halftime and 26-21 early in the third quarter but used a 12-1 run to take a 33-27 lead with just over four minutes to play.
Kayla McBride had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead Villa Maria, which also got 10 points and nine boards from Cara Wyant. Kaylyn Maruca dished out six assists, had three steals and two blocked shot to go with five points for the Victors, who outrebounded Southern Huntingdon 36-20.
Jordan Speck led Southern Huntingdon with 12 points, nine rebounds and six steals, while Elaina Hummel added 10 points.
Villa Maria will face three-time defending champion York Catholic in the championship game at noon Friday at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College.
PIAA Class AAAA Girls: Mt. Lebanon one win from perfection
Mt. Lebanon is one win away from perfection after knocking off Cheltenham 59-45 in the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals Tuesday night at Shippensburg University.
The Blue Devils (30-0), last season’s PIAA runner-up, built a 15-2 lead right out of the gate and led 31-17 at halftime.
Four Mt. Lebanon players reached double figures led by 17 points from Emily Miller. Jess Babe and Madison Cable each chipped in with 12 points, and Chelsea Apke added 10 tallies.
Mt. Lebanon will now take on Cardinal O’Hara at 6 p.m. Friday at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College.
PIAA Class AAAA Boys: Mt. Lebanon can’t make it a double date
Mt. Lebanon’s boys’ team couldn’t make it a double date in State College, as the Blue Devils fell to Penn Wood 79-58 Wednesday night at Big Spring High School in Newville.
Penn Wood jumped to an 8-0 lead and never looked back taking a 51-26 halftime advantage.
Paul Long led Mt. Lebanon with 18 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter against the backups, while Deion Turman added 11 and Evan Pierce 10 for the Blue Devils.
Aaron Brown led Penn Wood (27-4), out of the Philadelphia area, with 22 points, while Duane Johnson added 12.
Penn Wood will take on William Penn in the PIAA Class AAAA title game at 8 p.m. Saturday at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center.
PIAA Class AA Boys: North Catholic works overtime to reach championship tilt
North Catholic outscored Washington 12-8 in overtime to get a come-from-behind 58-54 win over the Little Prexies in the PIAA Class AA semifinal game Wednesday night at Hempfield High School outside of Greensburg.
The WPIAL Champion Trojans (28-2), trailed upstart Washington, which finished eighth in the WPIAL and had to play a play-in game just to reach the first round of the PIAA Tournament, 40-30 with just over five minutes to play but ended regulation on a 16-6 run to force the overtime when Henry Pwono hit a jumper with just over a minute to play.
Pwono then hit the go-ahead bucket midway though overtime to help North Catholic reach the PIAA title game for the first time in school history. Pwono ended the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Robert Anderson had 22 points to lead Washington.
The game was the final one for retiring Washington head coach Ron Faust, who finished his career with over 500 wins in 28 seasons according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
North Catholic will take on Imhotep Charter in the PIAA title game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College.
PIAA Class A Girls: Bishop Guilfoyle too much for North Catholic
Bishop Guilfoyle’s defense was too much for North Catholic to handle, as the Marauders caused 22 turnovers on their way to a 40-23 win over the WPIAL champions in the PIAA Class A girls’ semifinals Wednesday night at Hempfield High School.
Kaleigh Floyd led three Bishop Guilfoyle (29-1) players in double figures with 13 points, while Rachel Rea added 11 and Alli Williams eight.
Lauren Savulchak had 14 points and 10 rebounds for North Catholic.
Bishop Guilfoyle, which won the PIAA title two years ago, will take on Nativity BVM in the title game at Noon Saturday at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College. The Marauders are looking for their fifth PIAA title (third in Class A) in their 10th PIAA title game appearance.
PIAA Class AAA Girls: Late rally not enough to keep General McLane’s season alive
Danielle Rittenhouse, Lampeter-Strasburg
File Photo By Richard Rector
General McLane used a 15-4 run to erase an 11-point second-half deficit, but in the end Lampeter-Strasburg had the last laugh ending the game on a 19-9 run to get 69-59 win over the Lancers in the PIAA Class AAA semifinals Wednesday night at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg.
Lampeter-Strasburg (29-3) led 46-35 before watching General McLane rally to tie the game at 50 in the fourth quarter, but the Pioneers had the answer in the form of an 8-0 run to take control of the game.
Danielle Rittenhouse had 19 points and went over 1,000 career points to lead Lampeter-Strasburg (29-3), winners of 22 in a row.
Lampeter-Strasburg will face Archbishop Carroll in the title game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College.
All PIAA Title Games to be broadcast on PCN-TV
All eight PIAA championship games will be broadcast live on the Pennsylvania Cable New Channel (PCN). Check local listings for the channel number in your area. PCN is carried by most cable providers in the state but is not available on satellite television. The games appear like they will also be available on the internet at http://pcntv.com.
