SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Farrell gave defending PIAA state champion Imani Christian all they could handle, but it wasn’t quite enough.
Farrell trailed by just one, 29-28 at halftime, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Avery Wesley keyed a 9-0 run by Imani to start the third quarter en route to a 70-60 win in the PIAA Class 1A quarterfinals.
It’s the second year in a row the Steelers (21-6) have fell to the Saints (17-10) in the quarterfinal round.
“We gave up too many offensive rebounds,” said Farrell coach Myron Lowe. “I told the guys before the game, I said the only way we can lose this game is if we don’t box out, don’t make our free-throws and turn the ball over and we did all three. The start of the third quarter we just came out flat and we couldn’t get it back from there.
To Lowe’s point, the Steelers were 16-of-27 from the line for the game.
The lead fluctuated between eight and 12 points for most of the third quarter
A 3-pointer from Markus Williams and a drive from Wesley gave Imani its largest lead of the game, 60-42, with 5:35 to play.
There was also the matter of Nate Brazil, who scored 25 points in the win.
“We knew they were going to play like that,” Lowe said. They’re an up-tempo type team and they’re going to make their runs. Basketball is a game of runs.”
The Steelers got back within eight, 68-60, but there were only 30 seconds left in the game after a 3-pointer from Juelz Johnson and a Danny Odem layup.
Odem scored 11 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter.
“They didn’t quit,” Lowe said of his team. “They tried to fight back and get back in the game. We missed a couple free throws in the fourth, missed a couple of layups and it cost us.”
The first half was back-and-forth. Farrell took an 8-2 lead on a Kabron Smith drive, the most either team led by in the opening 16 minutes.
In addition to Brazil’s 25 points, Wesley had 16 points and Williams 14.
Dontaye Bell had 14 points and Johnson seven for Farrell.
“They’re leaders, they were leaders all year and we are definitely going to miss them next season,” Lowe said. “But we were pretty young this year. We’ll be back next year.”
Imani Christian will play Bishop Carroll in the semifinals Monday, March 18 at a site and time to be determined.
