Brandon Bennett scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to help Montour rally to beat McKeesport, 53-52, Thursday night in a nail-biter of a WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball play-in game at McKeesport High School
Bennett scored 11 of his points in the third quarter when the Spartans turned a 26-19 halftime deficit into a 40-32 lead, and he added six more points in the final eight minutes to help his teamsecure the win.
Zane Schachter added 15 for Montour and Rob Schmitt chipped in 10, including five straight in the fourth quarter.
With the win, the 17th-seeded Spartans – now 9-14 — advance to take on top seed Chartiers Valley at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, at the Colts’ gym.
Montour coach Bill Minear liked the way his young team played.
“I was pleased with our composure,” said Minear, whose had two sophomores and a junior on the floor during crunch time. “Our guards and Loic (Kalau) in the middle did a good job against their pressure. We were able to get the ball to the middle and Loic found the open man. He usually got it to Bennett or Schmitt trailing and those guys produced.
“I’m happy for our guys. This was the most emotion they’ve shown after a win all season.”
The 7-foot Kalau scored just three points but pulled down 12 rebounds, had four assists and was a major presence defensively despite playing the last portion of the game with four fouls.
Montour led 15-13 after one quarter but the Tigers used a 13-4 second-quarter advantage to build a 26-19 lead at halftime.
The Spartans turned the tables in the third quarter, outscoring McKeesport 21-6, and they led 40-32 heading into the final eight minutes.
Bennett scored 11 of Montour’s 21 points in the quarter, including the final two on a driving layup to give his team an eight-point lead.
But McKeesport wouldn’t go quietly, going on a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter and take a 44-42 lead with 5 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the game.
Trailing 46-44, Montour’s Schmitt drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key and added another bucket after a Spartans steal to make it 49-46 with 3:50 to play.
After a McKeesport basket, Bennett got inside for a layup to give Montour a three-point advantage, but Gionni Grace’s 3-pointer tied it for McKeesport, 51-51, with 1:05 to play.
Moments later, however, Bennett streaked down the floor and converted a driving layup to give Montour a 53-51 lead with 58 seconds left.
With 29 seconds left, McKeesport’s Darryl McCullough was fouled but could only convert the first of two free throws. Montour corralled McCullough’s miss but an errant pass gave the Tigers the ball back with 25 seconds remaining.
McKeesport worked the clock down and after calling another timeout with 11.8 left, the Tigers put the ball in the hands of their leading scorer, Lamont Perkins. But Schmitt’s strong defense forced Perkins to give up the ball to Aaron Reeder in the deep corner, and his 3-point attempt missed the mark in the final seconds.
Perkins led McKeesport with 14 while Brian Jones had 12 – all in the first half – and McCullough 10.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Two West Hills teams will make their WPIAL Tournament debut Friday night – both in the Class 3A bracket.
Sixth-seeded Our Lady of the Sacred Heart will host No. 11 seed McGuffey at 7 p.m. at OLSH’s Angela Activities Center while 12th-seeded Sto-Rox takes on No. 5 seed Seton-LaSalle at 6 p.m. at South Fayette High School.
OLSH enters Friday night’s game with a 17-5 record while McGuffey is 12-10.
Sto-Rox finished regular-season play 8-11 while Seton-LaSalle was the Section 3 champion with an 11-1 league mark and a 14-8 overall record.
SWIMMING
Moon Area vs. Carlynton
Moon took both the boys and girls meets Tuesday, with the boys winning by a 92-31 margin and the girls prevailing 94-51.
Logan Ellis, Evan Slawuta, Noah Bogatay, Ryan Slawuta and Chris Bailey each posted first-place finishes for the Tigers. The meet’s top performer for Moon was Fayz Bakhtiyorov.
On the girls side, earning wins for the Tigers were Ria Schwartz, Anya Muralidharan, Mimi Munnell, Olivia Foley and Gabby Donnelly. Ria Schwartz and Risha Muralidharan were Moon’s top performers.
The Tigers finish their dual meet season on Thursday as they travel to section rival Pine Richland.
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