CLARION, Pa. – Up just five at halftime, District 10 champion Farrell knew it just needed to get back to its game against District 6 runner-up Harmony.
And that is what the Steelers did, outscoring the Owls 22-13 in the third quarter and 46-30 in the second half on their way to an 86-65 win in the second round of the PIAA Class 1A boys’ playoffs at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gym.
“We came out in the first quarter and played hard,” Kylon Wilson, who scored six of his 16 points during a 17-7 run to open the second half for Farrell, said. “Then everyone started getting lazy, slacking on defense and stuff. He (head coach Myron Lowe) told us to push it up. Don’t settle for threes and stuff like that. He told us to just play and work hard.”
Farrell (22-4) was able to get to its game quickly in the second half scoring four points in the first 39 seconds of the half while scoring 11 of the first 14 points in the half to take a 40-35 halftime lead and turn it into a 51-38 lead on a Lamont Samuels 3-pointer less than three minutes into the third quarter.
That spurt was part of the larger 17-7 run that got the lead to 15, 57-42, on a Wilson bucket with 2:58 to go in the quarter.
“In practice, we always practice at a high intensity,” Wilson said. “We always practice that you push the ball up the court, and on defense don’t reach, just slide your feet and keep them in front of you.”
How the Steelers played in the second half was how they started the game.
A pair of 3-pointer from Nasir O;Kane, who had a team-high 18 points, and a pair of offensive putbacks from Malachi Owens had Farrell leading 12-1 just over three minutes into the game.
But Harmony found its legs and closed the gap to 21-13 by the end of the first quarter.
The Owls (23-4) then rode the hot shooting of Anthony Maseto, who hit three second-quarter 3-pointers, to get within two, 31-29, on a basket by Cohlton Fry with 2:44 left in the second quarter.
“In the first quarter we came out on fire,” Lowe said. “Then, I think we kind of thought the game was over.”
It was far from over, as Harmony kept within two points three more times down the stretch of the first half at 33-31, 35-33, and 37-35 the last time coming on a pair of Fry free throws with 41.9 seconds left in the half.
But Farrell was able to regain some momentum going into halftime when Wilson hit a free throw with 22 seconds left and then scored on a layup with 2.5 seconds to play to make it 40-35 at the break.
Owens then pushed the run to 5-0 with a basket 15 seconds into the second half before Danny Odem’s steal and bucket made it 44-35 just 39 seconds after halftime.
“It was very important to get back to what we do,” Lowe said. “In the second half, we started getting steals and easy buckets. That’s why our scoring is pretty even across the board.”
Tuesday night was no exception to the balanced scoring.
In addition to the 18 points from O’Kane and 16 from Wilson, Lamont Samuels added 14 points and Owens chipped in 12 points.
“That’s perfect,” Lowe said. “Like I told the guys before, it’s anybody’s game. It’s a different person every time. That’s a credit to the way we play.”
Only four players scored for Harmony led by a game-high 23 points from Jack Bracken. Fry added 19 points, Maseto had 13 points, and Lucas Tarnow added 10 points.
Eleven different players scored for Farrel with Odom chipping in eight points to go with the four players in double digits.
The Steelers are in the PIAA quarterfinals for the first time since 2020, although that year they didn’t get to play a quarterfinal game in 2A against OLSH because COVID-19 shut down the PIAA Tournament after the second round. It will be Farrell’s first quarterfinal game since losing to Bishop Guilfoyle in 2019 in 2A.
“It means a lot,” Wilson said of reaching the quarterfinals. “Everybody (doesn’t) think we got the team to do it. Last year, we lost (in the second round) and fell short. This year we are going to come home and shock the world.”
Watch Wilson’s full postgame interview
Farrell’s task in the quarterfinals won’t be easy, as the Steelers will face WPIAL champion Imani Christian, a heavy favorite to win the PIAA title Friday at a site and time to be announced.
“I told the kids the other day, let everybody sleep,” Lowe said. “That means we can come into this game and be the underdog. We are going to come out and compete and play hard.”
CARLYNTON RALLIES FROM 13 DOWN IN SECOND HALF TO STUN ECC
CLARION, Pa. – When Michael Jacobs scored with 5:47 left in the third quarter to give District 9 champion Elk County Catholic a 36-23 lead over WPIAL third-place finisher Carlynton, the Crusaders seemed destined for another PIAA quarterfinal appearance.
But the Cougars ( 19-7) went on a 23-6 run in a span of just over 11 minutes to turn the double-digit deficit into a stunning 49-44 win in the second round of the PIAA Class 1A boys’ playoffs at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gym.
That run included a 10-0 spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that took a 40-32 ECC lead heading to the quarter and turned it into a 42-40 Carlynton advantage on two Jaiden McClure free throws 1:45 into the fourth quarter.
The Crusaders, while trying the game one last time at 42, never led the rest of the way.
“Bottom line, you are up (13) going against a pretty good trapping defense and you get them out of that and they play man, which is what you hang your hat on, and we weren’t able to be strong enough with the ball and they were able to tie us up,” ECC head coach Aaron Straub said. “That was disappointing.”
ECC (26-3) will be seeing turnovers in its sleep, as the Crusaders gave up the ball 21 times on the night including in a crucial situation with under a minute to go down two after they had forced a Cougar turnover.
“We just weren’t strong enough with the ball,” Straub said.
Tied at 42 after an Adam Straub basket with 5:22 to play, ECC tried to milk the clock only to have Straub miss a jumper with just over two minutes to play.
Carlynton answered quickly on the other end with McClure getting fouled in the act of shooting and hitting two free throws to give the Cougars the lead for good, 44-42, with 2:10 to play.
Jordan Wasko then missed a shot, and McClure capped the 23-6 run with his basket with 1:31 left making it 46-42.
“We needed to make a couple of more shots,” Straub said. “We had the opportunity. I didn’t do a real good job communicating in the last three and a half minutes or so what we wanted.”
Jacobs get ECC alive with an offensive putback to make it 46-44, and then Austin Milliner threw the ball away for Carlynton.
But the Cougars were able to tie up the Crusaders, and the possession arrow was in their favor leading to a pair of free throws by Devonte Dean with 27.1 seconds remaining that restored the four-point lead.
ECC trailed 11-9 at the end of the first quarter but used a half-ending 12-4 run to take a 28-19 halftime lead.
The Crusaders scored the final seven points of the half after Carlynton’s Chase Jones was called for a technical foul during the 3:59 media timeout.
Wil Wortman hit the technical free throws and then scored another basket before Wakso drilled a 3-pointer with a minute-and-half left to put ECC up by nine at the break.
Colby Nussbaum then scored right out of halftime and Wortman scored twice to give ECC a 34021 lead 1:42 into the second half.
But after Jacobs restored the 13-point lead with 5:47 left in the third quarter, the Crusaders scored just four baskets the rest of the way.
It’s tough to run a continuity offense when the other team is that quick and that strong,” Aaron Straub said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t good enough tonight to score more points than them. That’s the bottom line.”
Jones led Carlynton with 13 points with McClure adding 12 and Milliner eight.
Wortman had a game-high 15 points for ECC with Jacobs adding 11.
Carlynton will face WPIAL runner-up Union (New Castle) in the quarterfinals Friday at a site and time to be announced. That is a rematch of a WPIAL semifinal game won by Union, 80-58.
SECOND QUARTER THE DIFFERENCE FOR UNION (NEW CASTLE) IN WIN OVER CAMERON COUNTY
BROOKVILLE, Pa. – An 11-3 second-quarter advantage was key for WPIAL runner-up Union (New Castle) in a 51-37 win over District 9 fourth-place finisher Cameron County in the second round of the PIAA Class 1A boys playoffs at Brookville High School.
The Scotties (24-3) led 17-12 at the end of the first quarter before Lucas Stanley hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight of their 11 second-quarter points to increase the lead to 13, 28-15, at halftime.
Cameron County (18-9) used a balanced third-quarter effort to get back in the game and only trailed by 10, 39-29, going to the fourth quarter.
Ryan Shaffer and Josh Smith each hit 3-pointers in the third quarter with Shaffer scoring five points. Five different Red Raiders etched their names in the scorebook in the third quarter.
But in the fourth quarter, Matt Stanley went 7 of 10 from the line to help Union (New Castle) salt the game away.
Matt Stanley finished with a game-high 23 points with Lucas Stanley adding 14 points.
Smith had 13 points for Cameron County with Shaffer adding 10 points.
Union (New Castle) will face WPIAL third-place finisher Carlynton in the quarterfinals Friday at a site and time to be announced. That is a rematch of a WPIAL semifinal game won by Union, 80-58.
IMANI CHRISTIAN TOO MUCH FOR D9’S UNION
VANDERGRIFT, Pa. – WPIAL champion Imani Christian wasted little time dispatching District 9 runner-up Union, 80-48, in the second round of the PIAA Class 1A boys playoffs at Kiski Area High Schoo.
The Saints (20-6) led 23-9 at the end of the first quarter and 43-25 at halftime before outscoring UNion 27-12 in the third quarter.
Dame Givner had 24 points to pace Imani Christian with Virgil Hall adding 19 points, Alier Maluk 13 points and Avery Welsely 12 points.
Payton Johnston led Union (15-13) with 22 points with Dawson Camper adding 10 points and Trey Fleming eight points.
Imani Christian will take on D10 champion Farrell in the quarterfinals Friday at a site and time to be announced.
