Our Lady of the Sacred Heart boys basketball coach Mike Rodriguez had his grade book out after his team’s 41-28 victory over Jefferson Morgan Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 2A tournament.
“Did we play well in every aspect of our offensive possessions?” Rodriguez asked rhetorically following the third-seeded Chargers’ 16th straight victory, one that vaulted them into Monday night’s semifinal matchup against No. 2 seed Sewickley Academy.
“I’d say I’d give us a C. But I was proud of the way our kids defended. They were bumping and grinding out there.”
That “A” effort on defense proved to be the difference for OLSH, which improved to 20-4 overall with the victory at Peters Township High School’s AHN Arena.
The Chargers never allowed the Rockets to score in double figures in any quarter, holding them to seven in each of the first two quarters, nine in the third and just five over the last eight minutes.
On the offensive end, OLSH didn’t earn many style points against the physical Rockets, but Rodriguez did see some positive things.
“Offensively I think we can get a lot better,” he said. “I thought we rushed some shots. But we did what we needed to do. We executed the way we needed, especially down the stretch. We maintained the lead the entire game, and that was one of our goals.”
The Chargers figure to have their hands full with Sewickley Academy, which Rodriguez characterized as a “tremendous basketball team.”
“They have wonderful players, they have great size and they are well-coached,” he said of the Panthers, who advanced with a 61-33 victory over 10th-seeded Winchester Thurston. “They’re going to be a great challenge, but it’s a challenge we’re excited to face.
“It’ll be a little bit of a mountain for us to climb. Maybe a huge mountain.”
As for the 16-game winning streak, Rodriguez said it puts no added pressure on his team.
“It’s not something we talk about at all,” he said.
Regardless of what happens Monday, OLSH already has locked up a berth in the PIAA Tournament, as the top eight finishers in Class 2A advance to the state playoffs.
OLSH hasn’t tasted defeat since Dec. 23, when it suffered the last of three straight losses in the Tampa Holiday Tournament in Florida. The Chargers have lost only once all season to a Pennsylvania team; that came Dec. 12 in a 69-46 decision to Neshannock.
OLSH came out flying Thursday night against Jefferson-Morgan, building an 18-7 lead in the first eight minutes of play.
But after an early basket from Jake Johnson, the Chargers suffered through a cold-shooting second quarter and managed to put just four more points on the board to lead 24-14 at halftime.
OLSH’s cold spell continued through most of the third quarter, as the Chargers scored just four points in the first six minutes, allowing the Rockets to pull within seven points at 28-21.
But OLSH’s Nolan Reed reeled off five straight points, draining a 3-pointer and hitting a floater in the lane to make it 33-21. The quarter ended with OLSH leading 33-23.
The Chargers began to spread things out in the final eight minutes and despite several turnovers, OLSH’s lead was never in jeopardy as Jefferson-Morgan couldn’t solve the Chargers’ tight zone defense.
Tiernan McCullough scored 14 points to lead OLSH and Johnson added 10. Jeremiah Robertson scored 15 points to lead Jefferson-Morgan, which will continue its season in the consolation bracket.
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