Championship games sometimes produce unlikely stars.
Keith Taylor and Markus Kuhn found themselves in that role Sunday, as their fantastic play down the stretch helped Allderdice rally from nine points down in the fourth quarter to claim a City League championship four-peat.
Taylor scored 16 points and Kuhn added 10 to lead Allderdice to a 59-53 win against Obama Academy at Duquesne University’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
It was not only the fourth title in a row for Allderdice (15-9) but also its 13th in the past 16 years. The Dragons, who beat Obama Academy (11-9) in the final for the third year in a row, have not lost a game to a City League opponent (minus a COVID-19-related forfeit in the 2021 playoffs) since falling to Obama in the 2020 championship.
Allderdice now has beaten Obama in 12 consecutive meetings, including by margins of four and eight points in the regular season, but early Sunday in the fourth quarter, it looked as if that streak and the run of City League titles might be on the cusp of coming to an end. Led by standout junior point guard Naron Jackson II, Obama surged to a 48-39 advantage after Darnell Clay’s 3-pointer with 7:19 left. Not only was Allderdice trailing by nearly double digits, but also starters Trey Schachter, a Green Bay recruit, and Asher Schwartz each had four fouls.
“It took a while,” Allderdice coach Devin Crummie said. “Even late in the third quarter, [there were] a few signs of hope, but nothing telling. Obama wouldn’t quit. They wouldn’t quit, they wouldn’t break. And then finally in the fourth we pushed through.”
Credit two unheralded players for breaking down the door, neither of whom even saw any time in the 2024 final. Taylor is a reserve sophomore guard whose 16 points were a career high, while Kuhn is a starting junior guard who scored in double figures for just the sixth time this season. Both did most of their damage late, with Taylor tallying 11 of his points in the second half, including 4 in the fourth quarter, and Kuhn scoring all 10 of his points in the fourth.
Kuhn knocked down two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 8 points in a game-changing 18-2 run that saw Allderdice take a 57-50 lead on Ryan Zuckerbraun’s two free throws with 29 seconds left. Allderdice outscored Obama, 23-8, in the fourth.
“It was great,” Kuhn said of playing such a critical role in the win. “Last year and the year before I got to watch it from the sideline. This year, the lights were bright, but I don’t think it phased us at all. It was great.”
Taylor scored four of his points in the big run, including a bucket that tied the score at 50-50 with 4:12 left. Teammate Lukas Stead then scored eight seconds later to put Allderdice in front for good. Taylor also greatly impacted the game with his defense. He finished with a game-high four steals, most of which led to transition baskets on the other end.
“The only thing going through my head was defense and playing hard,” Taylor said. “During halftime, I was definitely frustrated, nervous. I came out, did my thing, and made sure I was making the right choices. I played my heart out.”
Obama coach Naron Jackson said that while he was proud of his team’s effort, their uptick in turnovers in the later stages of the game ultimately made the difference.
“I just think late in the game we were giving away some easy buckets off of turnovers and in transition,” said Jackson, who has no seniors on his team. “We were locating guys, but some of the other guys made some open 3s, and that kind of hurt us.”
Jackson II led the Eagles with 14 points, while Elijah Rawlings added 12, Darnell Clay 11 and Sheikh Long 10. Long, who at 6-4 was often the tallest player on the court, scored all of his points in the first 11 minutes of the game.
Allderdice also got a big game from Stead, a junior forward and the team’s leading scorer and rebounder on the season who finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Stead (6-3, 215 pounds) is a tight end-linebacker in football who has a Football Bowl Subdivision offer from Akron. Stead used his size and toughness to give Obama fits in the paint.
“I watch a lot of Moses Malone film,” Stead said. “He was a really good rebounder. It’s just like, if you can bring your hard hat and lunch pail every day, there’s a good chance you’ll beat the guy across from you. Playing Obama, it’s like a street fight every game. Everyone is going to wake up with bumps and bruises and be sore. I like playing those guys. It’s a really good rivalry.”
A rivalry that remains one-sided. But it’s not like Obama is alone, as Allderdice, despite being on the ropes Sunday, kept its City League dominance going strong.
“It feels good,” Stead said. “It’s kind of like a standard around here. Our goal is to go undefeated in the city, win the championship, go win our play-in game, and then go on a state run.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.