Mt. Lebanon didn’t want to get into a track meet with No. 1 New Castle on Tuesday, so the Blue Devils probably couldn’t have been much happier following a first quarter that saw the teams combine for four field goals and just 14 points.
“I don’t think they wanted us to score a lot,” New Castle senior Isaiah Boice said. “They wanted to keep it a close game.”
Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, the final three quarters didn’t go as smoothly.
New Castle busted out of an early funk by using a second quarter filled with 3-pointers to roll to a 58-42 win against No. 4 Mt. Lebanon in a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal at North Allegheny.
It will be yet another championship appearance for New Castle (22-2) and coach Ralph Blundo, who has now guided the Red Hurricanes to the title game nine times in his 13 seasons. They will try to win an eighth title in that time and add to their record 14 overall when they take on section foe Central Catholic (15-9) in the championship at 7 p.m. Saturday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. The teams split a pair of regular-season meetings.
To get there, New Castle won a game that was a contrast of styles. Mt. Lebanon (16-8) has the No. 1 scoring defense in the classification and is a bit more methodical on offense, while New Castle likes to push the ball and boasts the No. 2 scoring offense in the class. And for a quarter, the teams played at Mt. Lebanon’s preferred pace and to a 7-7 tie.
“We needed to pull away,” Boice said. “We didn’t want to stay close and for it to be a two-point game at the end of the game. We didn’t want any of that. We locked in and put up some good shots and played good defense.”
And in the second quarter, the shots were put up and nearly all of them fell. New Castle looked like a machine, outscoring Mt. Lebanon, 22-5, to take a 29-12 lead into the half. The Red Hurricanes were 8 of 9 from the field in the quarter and the three-ball was their best friend. Boice provided 3s on three consecutive possessions to begin the quarter and junior Ralphie Blundo added two more later on. Senior Jonathan Anderson didn’t make a 3-pointer, but he did have a 3-point play.
“We obviously shot it well in the second quarter,” coach Blundo said. “That created a little bit of space and allowed us to spread the floor a little bit against them. I really thought we played really good basketball from that point forward.”
New Castle cooled off a bit in the second half, but Boice and Blundo both added another 3-pointer. New Castle’s five starters accounted for all of its points. Boice and Anderson scored 16, Ralphie Blundo 12, senior Da’Juan Young eight and senior Nick Wallace six.
Senior Lucas Garofoli led Mt. Lebanon with nine points (all on 3-pointers) and senior Michael Pfeuffer had eight.
New Castle will now try to win its first WPIAL championship since 2021. The Red Hurricanes lost a double-overtime heartbreaker to Laurel Highlands in last year’s Class 5A final.
“We’re hungry, especially all the seniors,” Boice said. “We don’t want to go out losing again. We want to win.”
Other Class 6A semifinal
• Dante DePante scored 25 points and No. 3 Central Catholic (15-9) coasted to a 65-41 win against No. 2 Upper St. Clair (15-9) at Peters Township. The Vikings led by 11 points after one quarter and 18 at the half en route to their first championship appearance since 2012. They lost to Fox Chapel in last year’s semifinals. Randy Wilkerson added 14 points for Central Catholic and Debaba Tshiebwe and Payton Wehner chipped in 11 apiece. Nick Sukernek, Julian Dahlem and Christian Wieczenski all scored nine points for Upper St. Clair. The Panthers were trying to win their second title in three seasons.
Class 2A semifinals
• Northgate pulled off one of the biggest stunners of the semifinals, as the No. 6 Flames (19-6) upset No. 2 seed and two-time defending champion Bishop Canevin (20-5), 63-54, at West Allegheny. Northgate, which advanced to the final for the first time since 1988, was playing in the semifinals for just the fourth time since the school opened in 1976. The Flames got a huge effort from Josh Williams, who scored a game-high 36 points. Northgate, which trailed by 12 points after one quarter, led by three points after three before outscoring Canevin, 24-18, in the fourth. Landon Lockett and Desmond Williams added 10 points apiece for the Flames, while Shea Champine led Canevin with 18 points and Jason Cross had 17. The Crusaders won the PIAA Class 1A title last season before moving up to Class 2A.
• Quentin “Cheese” Goode, quarterback of the Aliquippa football team, scored a game-high 24 points to quarterback the No. 1-seeded Quips (19-6) to a 61-36 win against No. 4 Greensburg Central Catholic (17-6) at West Allegheny. Aliquippa, which has won 12 WPIAL titles, moves onto its first final since going 30-0 in 2015-16. Cameron Lindsey added 10 points for the Quips, winners of 10 of their past 11 games. Tyree Turner paced Greensburg C.C. with 22 points. The Centurions, who saw their 10-game win streak snapped, trailed, 30-20, at the half and were outscored, 19-10, in the third quarter. They fell in the semifinals for the second year in a row.
For WPIAL postseason basketball brackets, results and schedules, go here.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.