Sewickley Academy took apart Greensburg Central Catholic, 77-17, in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball playoffs Monday night.
The Panthers’ defense stole the show as they forced 22 turnovers, collecting 14 steals as a team.
Sewickley Academy’s Lucas Grimsley, Mamadou Kane, Caiden Battles, Rob Southall, Ja’mere Guyton and the aptly named Drew Steals recorded two steals apiece.
“We pride ourselves a lot on defense,” Grimsley said. “We harp on it at every practice. Coach (Mike Iuzzolino) is a really big defense guy, and we all know defense wins championships. It comes down to that simple formula of defending, rebounding and then on the offensive end, taking care of the ball.”
Second-seeded Sewickley Academy (22-1) considers itself a defense-first team.
“That’s what we’ve been focusing on all year,” Iuzzolino said. “I think we’re the No. 1 team in the WPIAL in terms of our defense. We always have a saying here: Defense wins games; offense just determines by how much.”
The defense quickly turned to offense with Grimsley leading the charge with 20 points and four 3-pointers.
Adam Ikamba added 11 points and five rebounds. Steals buried three 3s, notching 12 points, and Eric Craciun hit three 3s for nine points.
The Panthers had eight players on the scoresheet and six players hitting 3s.
“That’s been going on all year,” Iuzzolino said. “I think we’ve had seven or eight different leading scorers. That’s really a positive for us — any given night, somebody can step up for us.”
Sewickley Academy delivered 12 3-pointers and 22 team assists.
“I think when teams are packing it in zone, we’ve always had a really good feel for sharing the ball,” Iuzzolino said “A lot of guys make selfless plays. When you’ve got that many assists and you’re shooting the ball that well, it really helps.”
Grimsley added the team is hitting its stride and continues to gain chemistry.
“I feel like throughout the season, we’ve become more and more connected, just being with each other on and off the court,” he said. “I feel like that helps translate into the game. We work with our coaches every day on giving up your own shot for the extra pass and finding each other. Then when you catch it, stepping into your shot and knocking it down. The work’s always there, so the results are going to follow.”
For 18th-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic (7-17), Carsen Kramer knocked down a 3-pointer to start the game. However, the Panthers exploded for 24 points in the rest of the first quarter to take a 24-5 lead.
Grimsley set the tone early, knocking down three 3s in the opening period for 13 points.
The Panthers held the Centurions without a field goal for the first seven minutes in the second as they led 39-10 going into halftime.
Sewickley Academy only pulled away from there.
Coach Tim O’Rourke said the Centurions did everything they could to prepare for the prowling Panthers.
“It’s hard,” he said. “You can’t really simulate it. In practice, we try to get the size right. Sometimes that means throwing me in there. Our other coach is 15 years younger than me, so he’s in there a lot. We’ll throw six or seven guys on defense and play five-on-seven just to try to simulate it. But you really can’t replicate what they bring.”
Despite the loss, O’Rourke is proud of his team’s effort to snag a preliminary-round victory leading into this game against a juggernaut.
“I told them all night, give it your all and have as few mistakes as you can,” O’Rourke said. “Play as hard as you can for the guy next to you, and we’re going to leave here proud of ourselves, regardless of what that scoreboard says, and that’s what they did. I couldn’t have asked for more effort. And I think they’re going home with their heads high, knowing they did everything they could.”
The Centurions lose two seniors in James Botti and Joe Foss. Greensburg Central Catholic starts two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior.
“Our guys are so young and inexperienced,” O’Rourke said. “There are zero guys that had a lot of varsity minutes last year. We had a couple guys with some varsity minutes coming back from last year, but this year was their first major matchup like that. They haven’t seen the stuff that a team like that is able to do, so they’re surprised by some of it. Things that work against our section opponents don’t work here because they’re longer, faster, bigger and better. It’s a learning experience.”
The Panthers held the Centurions to seven points in the second half. However, Botti left the court with a smile on his face.
“We’re so young that our arrow is pointed up, and this is going to help a lot,” he said. “I told them in the locker room, as much as it sucks, this is helping you in the long run.”
As for the Panthers, they are ready to go through the playoff gauntlet.
“We’re highly motivated, but we’ve got to take it one game at a time with the same mindset: just going out there and handling what we have to do,” Grimsley said. “Not get too high, not get too low and just try to stay the same throughout the whole tournament.”