Back in the late 2000s, before Allderdice began its dynastic run of 12 City League titles in 15 years, the Dragons began to overtake Schenley as the premier basketball program in the city with a defensive-minded brand of basketball known as “Hawk D.”
Allderdice has featured a handful of high-scoring stars and potent offenses while dominating the city in recent years, but the Dragons harkened back to their “Hawk D” roots to complete their City League championship three-peat.
In a physical low-scoring affair that saw both teams struggle mightily from 3-point range, Allderdice outlasted archrival Obama Academy for a 44-37 victory at Duquesne University’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon. The Dragons led by one point, 38-37, when a turnover gave the Eagles possession of the ball in the final minute. That’s when Allderdice star senior Logan Golle made arguably the biggest play of his career — simply by stepping in front of Obama’s Torrien Perkins and drawing a textbook charge call.
Golle finished with only 12 points, well below his season average of 22.9 ppg. But he made his biggest impact when it mattered most, without even touching the ball.
“I don’t know how the rest of the people in the gym felt — my heart was in my throat,” said Dragons coach Devin Crummie. “You hate to see a team like Obama, that fought so hard, lose that way. But it was the right call in my opinion, and credit to Logan for taking the charge.”
The Eagles still had a chance to tie the score while trailing, 40-37, with 30 seconds remaining, but they were unable to set up a play without any timeouts left. The Dragons activated their “shell” defense to put the clamps on Obama’s offense, swarming to the ball and forcing a steal that led to a game-clinching transition bucket by Golle.
One final assist by Golle to fellow senior Azerick Jetter put the finishing touches on the win with a last-second layup, polishing off Allderdice’s third consecutive City League title.
“We just had to trust our offense,” Golle said. “I know when my shots aren’t falling, I have to do other things on the court. Passing my teammates the ball and playing defense. Even though they weren’t falling, I just knew I had to keep playing.”
Senior forward Pavle Slepcev posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Dragons, helping them control the glass alongside sophomore Lukas Stead. Starting in place of star senior Major Rainey, who is out for the season with a knee injury, Stead scored only two points on three field-goal attempts — but he led all players with 14 rebounds while making things tough on the Eagles every time they drove into the paint. Jetter also made his presence felt defensively with five steals for Allderdice.
“Lukas has really been refreshing,” Crummie said. “He brings that football mentality and toughness.”
Senior guard Keivan Harris led the way for Obama with 12 points in the Eagles’ gut-wrenching defeat. Perkins, who averaged a team-high 18.4 ppg during the regular season, finished with just seven points on the afternoon.
“I’ve been with these guys for a long time,” Perkins said. “It’s a brother thing. We came out here as a unit, and we’re going to leave as a unit. … We definitely came a long way.”
After winning by 28 and 30 points in the teams’ first two meetings during the regular season, many expected the Dragons to run away with this one. But the Eagles came into the game playing their best basketball of the season, and it became clear early on that Allderdice was in for a grueling fight.
“I said [before the game], ‘If we blink and aren’t ready, they’re going to steamroll us.’ Because that’s the kind of competitors [they are],” Crummie said about Obama. “They’re skilled, they’re strong, they’re athletic. They’ve got a great scheme. And it’s a huge rivalry. … To win in that fashion — I don’t want to say it was more rewarding, but I think it was fitting.”
Obama held an early 7-6 lead midway through the first quarter before the Dragons seized control of the game with an 8-0 run. Allderdice led going into the second quarter, 14-11, but the Eagles took a 20-18 advantage into the break as the Dragons went 0 for 8 from 3-point range in the opening half.
Seemingly playing with a lid on the basket for much of the game, things didn’t get much easier shooting-wise for either team after halftime. After scoring only six points in the first half, Golle went scoreless for nearly the entire third quarter until making a pair of free throws with 12.7 seconds left in the quarter. Those free throws gave Allderdice a narrow 31-29 lead going into the fourth.
Both teams went back-and-forth early on in the final quarter, with the score tied at 33 until Slepcev put the Dragons on top with a go-ahead 3-pointer with six minutes remaining. Obama cut the deficit to one in the final minute, but the Eagles’ valiant attempt at a stunning upset came up just short.
“We don’t really get any points for close games,” said Obama coach Naron Jackson. “We came here to win a basketball game. We knew we could win the game. We knew it was going to come right down to the end. … We got here, they were excited, they played hard. I couldn’t ask for anything else from any of the guys.”
Allderdice has seen several coaching changes since the “Hawk D” days, with Crummie now in his fifth year at the helm after taking over for Buddy Valinsky, who won 226 games and led the Dragons to several state playoff appearances across two separate stints at his alma mater. Allderdice has yet to make it to the PIAA Class 6A tournament under Crummie, but with a third consecutive City League crown secured, it appears a new hoops dynasty is brewing at “The Dice.”
“This is everything we worked for this entire year, to get here to this point,” said Slepcev, who earned Player of the Game honors. “I try my best out there every time I go out and play. I always give my all.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
