A year ago, highly touted Sewickley Academy was expected to make a run at a WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball crown.
However, the Panthers were upended in the district semifinals by eventual champion Jeannette.
Was there any talk about that leading up to this year’s semifinal Monday against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart?
“No, we have just stayed focused on ourselves and trying to stay centered on what we need to do to continue to play,” Sewickley Academy coach Mike Iuzzolino said.
The focus was there in a major way as Sewickley Academy led throughout in beating OLSH, 56-30, on Monday at Peters Township.
The win punches the Panthers’ ticket to the WPIAL Class 2A finals at 5 p.m. Friday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.
“I feel like we focus on what’s right in front of us,” Sewickley Academy senior Lucas Grimsley said. “We were just focused on the goal ahead.”
Both teams started out slow on the scoreboard with a Mamadou Kane field goal 2:12 into the game giving the Panthers the lead.
The Chargers did not hit a single field goal in the first quarter, finally scoring their first points on a pair of Tiernan McCullough free throws with 3:15 remaining in the opening frame.
“One of the problems is we only get 15 minutes to warm up,” Iuzzolino said of the slow start for both teams. “It’s ridiculous when you only get 15 minutes to warm up. Sometimes it is hard to get yourself going. I just don’t understand.”
The slow start picked up steam when Sewickley Academy scored twice in a span of a couple of seconds late in the quarter.
Kane scored on the blocks, and then Adam Ikamba stole the inbounds pass and scored underneath as well.
Sophomore guard Drew Steals hit his second 3-pointer as time was winding down in the first, giving Sewickley Academy the lead after one, 12-3.
“Drew is great,” Grimsley said. “He’s always a big energy guy and he likes to get us going. We are extremely grateful for Drew, who gave us that little early push and other followed.”
Jake Johnson connected on the Chargers’ first field goal of the game 22 second into the second quarter, and he followed up by hitting a 3-pointer to pull OLSH to within four points.
However, that was the closest the No. 3 seed got the rest of the game.
Back-to-back slam dunks by Kane and Ikamba bumped the lead to eight points for Sewickley Academy and a little bit later on in the second quarter, the Panthers increased the lead into double-digits for the rest of the game.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart came into the game averaging nearly 60 points per game on offense but could never get going against the Sewickley Academy defense that gives up no space in the half-court due to great quickness and length.
“One of the things we focus on defensively is playing for 32 minutes,” Iuzzolino said. “We have some depth we can play and (Monday), the big goal was to not give up any 3s. Our team goal is to keep teams under five 3s. We did a great job.”
While the Chargers were limited to three 3-pointers, the Panthers had nine, led by four 3-pointers and 12 points by Steals.
“Man, he’s a warrior,” Iuzzolino said. “He’s got toughness that helps you win. The game he had in the state championship last year, he has just continued that. Plus on defense, he brings so much more energy. His defense is phenomenal.”
OLSH (20-5) saw its 16-game winning streak come to an end.
Patrick Altmar led the Chargers with 12 points as they will host Clairton on Wednesday for the No. 3 seed out of the WPIAL in the PIAA playoffs.
Steals and Kane has 12 points and Grimsley added 11 points for Sewickley Academy (24-1).
The Panthers will get a rematch with top-seeded Jeanette, this time in the WPIAL Class 2A championship game.
“It feels great, especially for us seniors” Grimsley said. “Now that we have the opportunity to play there, it’s really special. We don’t focus on other teams, but whoever it is, we’ll be ready to scout and execute whatever we have to do.”