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Fun factor rises for WPIAL boys’ basketball teams

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 5 min read
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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Caden Hinckley (No. 23) and Micael Palmer (No. 20) attempt to block a shot by Luke Gensler during Mt. Lebanon’s 78-54 triumph against Upper St. Clair.

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Eleanor Bailey/the almanac

Antonio Garofoli soars past a defender on the way to a basket during Mt. Lebanon’s 78-54 victory against Upper St. Clair.

Let the good times roll. That’s the philosophy of boys’ basketball teams as the WPIAL playoffs commence. The District 7 tournament begins Feb. 16 and ends the first weekend in March with championship contests at the Petersen Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland.

“The fun factor goes up in this whole thing,” said Mt. Lebanon head coach Joe David.

To date, the Blue Devils have enjoyed plenty of excitement. With a resounding win, 78-54, against archrival Upper St. Clair, they clinched the Section 2 banner and sealed the top seed in the Class 6-A tournament.

(Visit www.wpial.org for the playoff pairings, which were announced Feb. 13.)

At the conclusion of the regular season, the Blue Devils maintained a 19-3 record, identical to Woodland Hills, which won the Section 3 title. Central Catholic, Fox Chapel and Pine-Richland, which won the WPIAL title and reached the PIAA finals last season, are considered among the other top five teams in the district’s largest classification. David noted that Penn Hills, Latrobe and Seneca Valley are also contenders.

“There are seven or so teams that can win this whole thing,” he said. “It’s pretty wide open. There is nobody head and shoulders above anybody else right now. In fact, I think that you could throw these teams into a tournament five times and come out with five different champions.”

Everything depends on the game and who is on and who is not. For example, Lebo was not on Jan. 23 when it suffered its lone section loss, 69-64, to Canon-McMillan, which finished 10-2 in the division and are seeded seventh in the tournament. But, the Blue Devils were on when they thrashed the Panthers in the section finale on Feb. 9.

Antonio Garofoli exploded for 26 points. The senior ranks among the WPIAL’s scoring leaders with a 17-point average per game. He’s also one of the league’s best 3-point shooters.

“Antonio is fantastic,” David said. “”He’s a really good athlete. He’s fast. He’s quick.

“He’s fun to watch. When he gets it going, it’s fun to see. Bam, bam, bam and it happens,” David continued.

It happens, too, when Caden Hinckley, Michael Palmer, Hayden Mitchell and Brice Miller are in the starting rotation.

Hinckley, who pumped in 22 points against USC, and Mitchell, who followed with seven markers, often join Garofoli in double digits. They average 11 and 12 points per game. Hinckley has managed a double-double nightly, pulling down 10 or more rebounds a game. Palmer, who had 10 tallies against USC, and Miller are the playmakers. Both dish up nearly five assists a game.

Noting the starting five’s talent, David acknowledged the Blue Devils have a shot at the title. They have won two banners under David in 2006 and 2010. They also reached the PIAA finals in 2011.

“We have all the tools,” he said. “I’m anxious to see how we do.”

David is not apprehensive about the delay in getting started. As a section champion, the Blue Devils received a first-round bye in the tournament. They will not play until the quarterfinal round of action set for Feb. 24. Lebo will play the winner of the Butler vs. Latrobe game set for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Fox Chapel.

Though he acknowledged that three of the four teams that received byes last year did not win, he welcomed it even though the delay could derail the Blue Devils’ momentum. He has lined up scrimmages against other playoff clubs to keep his team sharp.

“We don’t need more time in the gym to work on our stuff but we need game situations so we’ve lined up scrimmages against good teams that will help us out. I talk to the guys about how steel sharpens steel so we need to play against good teams to get better, to get sharp in other words, because to win a championship you have to beat some good teams,” he said.

To claim the section crown, Lebo beat some good teams, including Canon-McMillan, which set a regular-season record for wins this year. In addition, Bethel Park and USC have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs.

Of the section achievement David said that he was “proud” of his players as they worked hard. “It is deserving,” he said. “We knew no one was going to give it to us. We had to go out and get it. Teams played very well against us and we persevered. They have been playing hard and practicing hard. When you do that, then good things happen.”

Notes: Upper St. Clair (11-11), which finished fourth in Section 2, will play Penn Hills at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Baldwin while Bethel Park (13-9), the third-place finisher in Section 2, will face Pine-Richland at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at North Hills in the first round of the Class 6-A playoffs. Canon-McMillan (20-2) will battle Seneca Valley (14-8) at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at West Allegheny.

South Fayette qualified for the Quad-A playoffs, finishing runner-up to Belle Vernon in Section 3 with an 11-3 record. The Lions will play Freeport (15-6) in their playoff opener Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.

Seton-La Salle (16-5) ran the table in Section 2. The Rebels ranks second behind Lincoln Park in the AAA tournament. They play South Allegheny at 8 p.m. Feb. 19 at Peters Township in the first round of the playoffs.

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