It has been a difficult week for the McKeesport community, which has been mourning the loss of police officer Sean Sluganski, who was killed Feb. 6 in the line of duty.
Thursday, the McKeesport boys basketball team played a WPIAL first-round playoff game at Moon, just two days after the fallen officer was laid to rest. The Tigers had not advanced past the first round since 2018.
“This week was hard,” said star senior Travarese “Dunny” Rowe, adding that he also has a cousin who recently was shot in McKeesport. “That’s our ‘Why.’ We had a ‘Why’ today. That’s what made us fight so hard today. All the violence that’s going on in our city, it does mess with us a lot, so we use it as motivation.”
The motivation showed Thursday when Rowe and his pals won a battle of Tigers, as No. 12-seeded McKeesport defeated No. 5 Moon, 56-50, in a Class 5A quarterfinal.
McKeesport (11-10), which had not gotten out of the first round of the WPIAL playoffs since 2018, advanced to the quarterfinals Wednesday to meet the winner of No. 4 Gateway and No. 13 Woodland Hills. Those teams meet Friday in a first-round game. Moon, which got a game-high 27 points from standout junior Elijah Guillory, finished the season 12-11.
It was a giant win for McKeesport and second-year coach Troy Blackwell, a 2001 graduate of the school and a former player for the Tigers. Blackwell went 8-13 in his first season, which followed a season in which the Tigers finished 7-9 and won a preliminary-round playoff game.
“It’s the biggest win in the past five years,” Blackwell said. “I’m just so proud of these kids. Coming together. Hostile environment. On the road. A long ride. About an hour away from McKeesport. I’m so proud of them banding together, fighting adversity. Some questionable calls. Moon got hot. They have a great player. He got hot a little bit. We just fought through adversity. I’m so proud of them.”
The 12-over-5 upset has been trendy in the NCAA tournament for years, and the WPIAL playoffs aren’t immune to it, either. Rowe spoke about his team’s ‘Why.’ Well, Rowe was one of the biggest reasons why this particular group of Tigers was victorious. Rowe, a 6-foot-4 guard-forward, poured in 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds. Rowe averaged 20.2 points and 10.7 rebounds a game in the regular season. And he has been even better as of late, as he came into the night averaging 25 points over his past five games.
“When he puts a shot up, there’s a high percentage that he’s going to get it back if he misses it,” Moon coach Gino Palmosina said. “He’s super quick jumping off of his feet after that first shot goes up. We weren’t able to box him out as much as we’d like to. I think that was a big factor, especially early in the game. He was definitely a difference tonight.”
Although the game was close throughout, McKeesport surged ahead on Rowe’s basket with 3:09 left in the second quarter and led for the remainder of the game. Those were actually the first points of that quarter for McKeesport, which outscored Moon, 8-4, to tke a 22-16 halftime lead.
McKeesport took its largest lead, 42-30, on Aemond Knight’s 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but Moon responded with a 9-2 run to pull within 44-39 after Michael Santicola’s basket with 5:40 left. Caiden Holtzman then stepped up for McKeesport, making two free throws and adding a basket to extend the lead to nine. Holtzman scored six consecutive points for the Tigers that quarter and finished with 10 points. Knight also had 10.
“I’ve been telling these guys since the midway point in the season, let’s stop and think about all that adversity that we’ve fought through during this whole season,” Blackwell said. “Things off the court. Things on the court. It kind of prepares you for this moment, so we shouldn’t be shaking if things are going their way. We lock in, play tough and get back to the basics.”
But Moon still wasn’t done, as Guillory and Santicola made one final push. Guillory’s steal and layup with two minutes left pulled Moon within 48-44, but Moon could get no closer. Guillory, a 6-5 junior guard, and Santicola, a 6-0 sophomore guard-forward, combined to score all but one of Moon’s points in the final quarter. Guillory had 13 and Santicola 7. Santicola scored 16 points in the game.
It was a disappointing end of the season for Moon, which tied for second place in one of the WPIAL’s most difficult sections. Palmosina is in his first season after guiding Bishop Canevin to back-to-back WPIAL titles and a PIAA title last season. He took over a Moon program that went just 16-46 over the past three seasons. Moon’s most recent playoff win was against Archbishop Wood in the 2019 PIAA Class 5A championship.
“I have to take this one on my chest,” Palmosina said. “I think offensively we could have been a little bit more prepared, ran some different stuff. Our shots weren’t falling like they usually do. Some of our shooters didn’t make shots. We struggled from the free-throw line. I think the experience got to us a little bit. They were playing a lot of seniors. We played two. Their first playoff game. This time of year you have to do the little things right. Sometimes the other team makes more shots than you. You’ve got to credit McKeesport. Every time we cut it close, they punched back and they hit some big 3s.”
McKeesport finished 20 of 41 from the field (48%) and 12 of 22 from the free-throw line (54%) while Moon was 19 of 49 from the field (38%) and 7 of 15 from the line (46%).
McKeesport’s Ja’vonta Belton (1) dunks against Moon Thursday night in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round boys basketball game at Moon. McKeesport won, 56-50. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport head coach Troy Blackwell reacts after a play during the WPIAL Class 5A first round game against Moon, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
Moon’s Elijah Guillory (5) goes up for a basket defended by McKeesportÕs Lamont Perkins (32) during the WPIAL Class 5A first round game, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport’s Shayne McGraw (5) goes up for a shot against Moon’s Elijah Guillory (5) in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round boys basketball game Thursday night at Moon. McKeesport won, 56-50. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport’s Shayne Mcgraw (5) celebrates after a penalty call against Moon during the WPIAL Class 5A first round game, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport supporters react to a penalty called in favor of Moon during the WPIAL Class 5A first round game, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport’s Shayne Mcgraw (5) and MoonÕs Braeden Stuart (22) fight for possession of a ball on the ground during the WPIAL Class 5A first round game, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport’s Shayne Mcgraw (5) prepares to shoot after breaking away from Moon defense during the WPIAL Class 5A first round game, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport players and coaches celebrate a basket against Moon during the WPIAL Class 5A first round game, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport fans celebrate in the final minutes of the WPIAL Class 5A first round game against Moon, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport players Shayne Mcgraw, Aemond Knight, and Lamont Perkins celebrate their win over Moon in the WPIAL Class 5A first round game, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress) 
McKeesport’s Travarese Rowe (4) celebrates their win over Moon in the WPIAL Class 5A first round game, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at Moon Area High School in Moon. (Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress)
What was particularly impressive was McKeesport’s success defensively. The Tigers give up 63.6 points per game, highest of any playoff qualifier in the WPIAL’s two largest classes. They had given up more than 50 points in each of their past 12 games and in all but two games this season.
It was the seventh win in the past nine games for McKeesport, which is 10-4 since beginning the season 1-6. Regardless of who the Tigers get in the quarterfinals, it will be a familiar opponent. McKeesport split a pair of regular-season meetings with section rival Gateway and dropped a 2-point game to Woodland Hills early in the season.
During a time in which the McKeesport community is hurting, the city’s basketball team is bringing them some much-needed smiles. Blackwell, for one, is proud of the way his team has handled the adversity.
Said Blackwell, “On top of the tragedy with the officer, we had a teammate that was involved in some gun violence during the season. We had to cancel a game due to some violence that happened where we practice. A lot of the things these kids have had to battle through, it just makes it all the more sweeter. You’re trying to teach them about life while you’re teaching them basketball so they can coincide together. So they can be victorious in both. So them being able to battle through that adversity and stay focused is just awesome. I hope it carries them through life.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.