A balanced scoring attack and tight defense proved to be the recipe Montour needed to claim a 59-50 victory over previously unbeaten Upper St. Clair Saturday in a boys basketball game at LaRoche University.
Kaleb Platz and Colton Straight each scored 14 points to lead the Class 5A Spartans, now 3-0, while Ama Tening Sow had 12 and AJ Alston 10. Niko Gidas led the Class 6A Panthers with 11.
The game featured two of the WPIAL’s top senior big men in the 6-foot-11 Sow, a UT-Martin recruit, and Upper St. Clair’s 6-10 Tyler Robbins, who is bound for Miami of Ohio.
Sow won the battle of the numbers, scoring 12 to Robbins’ 10, and Montour coach Bill Minear said his big man “got the best of him.” Minear said Sow ended up with four dunks, more than 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
“It seemed like every time (Upper St. Clair) might have momentum and had a lane to the hoop, (Sow) blocked the shot and we ended up with a possession,” he said.
Minear saluted the defensive play of 6-4 Ryan Gamble, who had the defensive responsibility against Robbins in the first half while Sow was guarding Robbins’ “little” brother, 6-7 sophomore Ryan Robbins. When Gamble got in foul trouble, Sow took the elder Robbins while Trey Hopper and Platz took turns guarding the younger Robbins.
Minear also praised the play of Mark Carter and Rob Schmitt, who came off the bench in the second quarter when Straight, Gamble and Sow ran into foul trouble. Platz, in his first game back from an injury, also played well, Minear said, while Alston did an outstanding job of controlling the tempo.
“He got us into everything we needed to get into offensively,” he said of Alston. “He scored 10 points but I’m sure he could have scored more. He made sure everyone else got involved.”
Minear said Straight and Hopper also did fine work helping the Spartans break Upper St. Clair’s press. “Straight did a great job of getting the ball up the court,” he said. “And when they were trapping, Hopper was able to get to the open spot to alleviate the trap.”
Minear said the fact that his team hadn’t played in a week worked to its advantage, as the Spartans were able to gameplan for the Panthers. Upper St. Clair, meanwhile, played Friday night.
“We went over the sets that they like to run when they need a basket,” Minear said. “Our guys were calling them out. We knew what was coming. It’s a pretty high sports IQ team. Some teams you get are not. This one is.”
Montour opens Section 4 play at unbeaten (6-0) Chartiers Valley Tuesday night.
GIRLS: Bishop Canevin 55, California 39
Isabella Sysak scored a game-high 21 points and the Crusaders pulled away in the final two quarters to improve to beat the Trojans and improve to 5-1 on the season.
Kya Cooley added 14 points for Bishop Canevin, which led by just a point – 21-20 – at halftime. The Crusaders owned a five-point lead going into the final quarter but outscored California 19-8 to secure the victory.
Bishop Canevin coach Rob Travis said his team struggled early to find a rhythm on the offensive end.
“But our defense turned up the pressure in the middle of the third quarter, and we got out in transition,” he said.
Travis said the second-half contributions from of senior leaders Alexis Summers and Natalie Kirsch proved to be crucial. Summers scored seven and Kirsch six in the final two quarters.
Hayley Gibson led the Trojans with 15 points and Addison Gregory contributed 13.
GIRLS: Moon Area 49, Shaler 40
The Tigers had double-figure scoring from three players and used a strong first quarter to get out in front early on the way to a win over the Titans.
Jayla Brown scored 18 points to lead Moon, which improved to 2-2 overall and handed Shaler its first loss in six games.
Jaedin Griggs added 15 points for the Tigers, who led 16-7 after one quarter and 22-18 at halftime.
The Tigers added slightly to their lead in the third quarter, taking a 35-30 advantage into the final eight minutes, and they went on to the victory.
Maria Depner contributed 11 points in the win for Moon.
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