It will be a familiar sight at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon, where Allderdice and Obama Academy will collide in the City League boys championship game at 2 p.m. for the third year in a row and the seventh time in the past 10 seasons.
The Dragons (19-4) have won back-to-back City League crowns and eight of the past 10, with each of the previous two coming under coach Devin Crummie, who is now in his fifth year at the helm. The only team to defeat them in the City League title game over the past decade? That would be Obama (10-11), which knocked off the Dragons in the 2020 final, 50-39, to end their six-year title reign in Crummie’s first season as coach.
“When we go to play at Obama, you don’t make any turns on that trip,” Crummie said. “It’s like a mile-and-a-half apart, and the teams know each other well. It’s two good teams, but the rivalry also adds something to it. It should be fun again. It’s always a big challenge.”
Last year’s championship game was competitive throughout most of the first three quarters, then Allderdice caught fire in the fourth for a 66-45 triumph. The Dragons won by 28 and 30 in the regular-season matchups between the heated rivals earlier this season, accounting for Obama’s two most lopsided losses of the year. But the Eagles are coming on strong lately after an 0-6 start, with wins in seven of their past 10 games — and they haven’t been facing a cupcake schedule, either.
Other than an 81-53 loss to Allderdice on Jan. 30, Obama’s only defeats during that stretch are a 44-35 loss against WPIAL Class 5A No. 2 Franklin Regional on Jan. 28, and a 60-50 loss to WPIAL Class 4A No. 3 Montour on Feb. 12.
“It seemed like it was going to be a long season, starting off the way we did,” said Eagles coach Naron Jackson. “We had a tough schedule. It was one of our toughest schedules in a few years, but it paid off in the end, because I think we’re starting to jell a lot. It feels good.”
The Dragons are led by senior point guard Logan Golle, who ranks second among all City League players and No. 11 in the area with an average of 22.8 points per game. Golle’s signature moment came via his buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take down Fox Chapel in the Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Classic at PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 27, and he has only elevated his play ever since — especially in the absence of fellow senior Major Rainey, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in a 59-42 win against WPIAL Class 2A No. 1 Aliquippa on Jan. 20.
“It wasn’t really a hard hit,” Crummie said about Rainey’s unfortunate injury. “He played the rest of the game. He didn’t know anything was wrong. He said he guessed it was the adrenaline. … Once we got the X-ray, you could see the chip. I think they call it the patellar tendon on his kneecap. I think the inside left portion of it was a dislocated fracture.
“Everything went well with the surgery, but it was an 11-to-12 week recovery time, meaning his season was over.”
Allderdice has undoubtedly missed Rainey’s presence on the court, in particular the energy he brings with his high-flying dunks on offense and elite rim protection on defense. Several players have taken it upon themselves to fill the void in Rainey’s absence, though, with sophomore Lukas Stead stepping into a starting role and becoming a key contributor on both ends of the floor.
“With Dice, they’re like a machine, so you just move a part and change a part and put another part in the machine, and it’s still going to go,” Jackson said. “As far as Major, I was so hurt when I heard about it. You never want a kid to get hurt. But you’ve got to prepare the same way as if he was there. I know [coach] Crummie will have the next man up ready to go.”
For Obama, 6-3 senior Torrien Perkins is the driving force behind the Eagles’ offensive attack. He averages a team-high 18 ppg, and his ability to get to the rim effortlessly while also displaying a smooth shooting touch makes him a nightmare for opposing defenses to deal with.
Elsewhere, sophomore point guard Naron Jackson II is playing with a poise beyond his years while facilitating open looks for Perkins and the rest of the team. And while he typically prefers to set up his teammates, Jackson is also a capable scorer in his own right, and he has embraced that role more as the season has ramped up.
“I rely on him to get everybody involved and set our pace,” Jackson said. “He’s been getting used to having to score a bit more for us this year. I think he had to balance it out. His role was huge, and now he’s starting to get it all together. He’s scoring a lot more when he has to and he’s starting to understand when he needs to do it and when he needs to facilitate.”
Although the Dragons have largely owned this rivalry over the past decade, most of the matchups have been highly competitive, with players on both sides pouring every ounce of effort into each possession for all 32 minutes. Crummie expects nothing different on Sunday afternoon, especially with a championship three-peat at stake for Allderdice — and Obama doing everything in its power to stop it.
“They always seem to peak toward the end of the year,” Crummie said. “They usually have a few guys who are playing football, moreso than we do. … I know with Obama, whenever things get to a competitive level like this, they ratchet up the intensity. The physical play, on-the-ball defense, trapping — it will be intense from both teams.
“Their scheme is a little different from what we do, but the desired result is the same — to create havoc for your opponents. We’ll see which team can do it better.”
For Jackson and his squad, being the underdogs once again is a role they will relish as they try to capture their first City League crown since 2020. Making it to the finals three years in a row is certainly an impressive accomplishment, but none of the Eagles are going to be satisfied with another second-place trophy.
“One thing about the inner-city, man — the kids know each other,” Jackson said. “Some kids get up for it, other kids don’t. This is a game where there’s not a lot of talking to do to get guys going. This is it. … There were a lot of teary eyes [last year]. Nothing like coming right back to it and seeing what happens.
“This time around, it’s going to be a different look from us. A different hunger, and hopefully we can make it look different on the scoreboard.”
Girls championship preview
The only time Allderdice missed out on the City League girls basketball championship game in eight years under coach Ellen Guillard was in 2021, when the team withdrew from the tournament due to COVID-19 complications.
It has been five long years since the Dragons last won the title, but they’ll get another chance for City League supremacy when they face off against two-time defending champion Obama at noon Sunday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Last year’s matchup could not have gone worse for Allderdice (13-9), with the Eagles cruising to a 75-29 mercy-rule victory to repeat as city champs. Things should be different this time around, though, as the rivals appear much more evenly matched after splitting the regular-season series.
“It was like a task they didn’t think was attainable for them,” Guillard said about beating Obama. “They had never done it. I had to keep explaining to them, ‘It’s OK, you guys worked hard, we can do it.’ It felt good to give us some confidence.”
The Eagles (12-8) carried a streak of 24 consecutive victories in City League competition into the first matchup between the teams on Jan. 9, when the Dragons steamrolled Obama at home en route to a 76-43 rout. That also snapped a streak of eight consecutive wins against Allderdice for the Eagles.
Coming off the lopsided loss in the first meeting, longtime Obama coach Monique McCoy knew something would have to change when the Dragons visited the Eagles’ nest for the rematch in late January.
“They came out blazing [in the first game],” McCoy said. “And we were just honest with our team. We told each other, as well as myself and the coaches, ‘Listen, we’ve got to buckle down and lock in and communicate.’ Things that we just did not do in that game, for whatever reason.
“It was awful. It was really bad. But we adjusted, and turned it around.”
Obama evened the score with a 54-46 home win on Jan. 30, but even in defeat, Allderdice proved it would be a legitimate threat to the Eagles’ City League throne this season. And with most expecting a back-and-forth fight to the finish in this year’s title game, McCoy wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Who really wants a cakewalk?” McCoy said. “It’s even more rewarding when you do it this way. Otherwise — you’re happy that you win, of course, but you want the reward of knowing that you really, really had to work for it.”
Allderdice features a skilled sophomore point guard leading the charge in Bailey White, who averages a team-high 19.6 points per game — tops among all City League players and No. 11 in the area. Freshman Peyton Lynch is a 5-9 shooting guard who has emerged as White’s trusted sidekick while averaging 15 ppg in her debut season, giving the Dragons a potent one-two punch to match Obama’s talented tandem of Taylor Phillips (18 ppg) and senior Gi’Onna Simmons (15.5 ppg).
The way Guillard sees it, both duos are likely going to bring their A-game and do what they do best on Sunday, so the outcome could be decided by an unsung hero or little-known role player stepping into the spotlight.
“It’s been a while [since we won one],” Guillard said. “It’s kind of nice to see that we can compete for one. … We’re just looking forward to competing, and always thankful to be back.”
With Phillips and Simmons at the forefront of the Eagles’ fast, explosive lineup and several talented contributors stepping up on the supporting cast, Obama appears to have all the pieces in place to pull off the three-peat. And although Allderdice might have its best chance yet to knock the Eagles off their lofty perch, Obama is still the team to beat until proven otherwise.
“Technically, we’re still the semi-underdogs,” Guillard said. “We’ve been nonstop in the gym since last season. We maybe had a couple of breaks in between. To have their hard work and sacrifice pay off would be awesome for us.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
