Notes and quotes from the WPIAL basketball playoffs:
•Sewickley Academy senior Amare Spencer’s celebrated his 18th birthday Feb. 16 at the Panthers’ WPIAL playoff win at home against Greensburg Central Catholic.
Spencer connected on one of the 13 triples recorded by Sewickley in the 77-17 victory with 6:11 remaining in the game.
•The Panthers stunned the visitors by scoring 13 times from 3-point range, with six in the fourth quarter.
•The game’s leading scorer, Sewickley senior forward Lucas Grimsley, tossed in four treys and finished with a 20-point total. Grimsley started with a bang, exploding for 13 first-quarter points that include a trio of triples.
“Lucas got us off to a great start and really set the tone for us,” Sewickley coach Mike Iuzzolino said. “We played a solid game; we did what we had to do to advance.”
•Other long-range production was generated by sophomore guard Drew Steals and freshman guard Eric Craciun with three 3-pointers apiece. Spencer, sophomore forward Ja’mere Guyton and sophomore guard Connor Tull each added one.
•Sewickley, the No. 2 seed in Class 2A, didn’t miss once from the free-throw line, hitting on all 12 attempts with Grimsley going 6 for 6.
•Not only are the Panthers tall, talented and tenacious, they play an intense, air-tight defense that was tops in the district in the regular season.
•GCC, the No. 18 seed, found out the hard way as it managed just five, five, four and three points in each of the quarters of the first-round playoff game.
•Sewickley lowered its already low defensive average to 29.6 ppg to complement its 70.7 offensive average. Along with owning the district’s best defense, the Panthers rank No. 2 on offense. Class 4A North Catholic was tops, averaging 76.5 ppg.
•The next closest team defensively was Class 2A Jefferson-Morgan with a 34.5 ppg average. Other top defensive-minded teams in 2A were Chartiers-Houston (38.4), Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (39.8) and Jeannette (39.8).
Neighborhood Academy held firm with a 38.6 ppg defensive average in Class A while 6A Central Catholic had a 35.9 ppg average on defense.
•The Centurions hit the first of their two triples against Sewickley in the opening seconds of the first quarter, then managed just two more points for the remainder of the stanza.
•Offensively, Sewickley rattled off 24, 15, 18 and 20 points in each of the quarters as nine players reached the scoring column in the game: Grimsley, Steals (13 points), Adam Ikamba (11), Guyton (9), Craciun (9), Rob Southall (5), Mamadou Kane (4), Spencer (3) and Tull (3).
•Iuzzolino is known to substitute freely in games and this one was no different. The five starters — Kane, Ikamba, Grimsley, Spencer and senior point guard Caiden Battles — accounted for 38 total points. The “second five” of Guyton, Steals, Southall, Craciun and Tull clicked for 39.
“I’m happy we are getting great bench production,” Iuzzolino said. ”Selfless is one of our core principles; enjoy the success of others.”
•GCC edged No. 15 Union, 43-41, in the preliminary round.