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LH pulls away late, wins battle of unbeatens over Belle Vernon

4 min read

UNIONTOWN – The hype surrounding Wednesday’s non-section boys basketball game between Laurel Highlands, the undefeated and top-ranked team in the WPIAL’s Class 5A, and Belle Vernon, the undefeated and top-ranked team in Class 4A, was warranted.

However, even the hype didn’t live up to the contest two teams put on with the Mustangs protecting their sold-out home court with a 76-67 victory.

“I think it lived up to the hype,” LH coach Rick Hauger said. “You go into the last quarter tied and no one could ask for more.

“We both got to see we were doing well and things we need to work on.”

Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino liked the way his team battled back after falling into an early double-digit deficit.

“It was a good game, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “We got off to a slow start but battled back and I could not be prouder of the team.

“Laurel Highlands is a good team, and we haven’t faced a team like them.”

The energy in the gym was electric and the players fed off it the entire game.

“We went out and played hard as a family in front of a big crowd,” said LH’s Brandon Davis who finished with a game-high 29 points. “I loved the energy, they were talking, we were talking, and we were able to get the win.”

Davis led LH (12-0) in the first quarter as he set the tone with 11 points and the hosts led 20-9 after one quarter.

“He is an energetic guy, and his motor just keeps going,” Hauger said of Davis. “He energized us tonight.”

In the second, Belle Vernon (12-1) switched from its man-to-man defense to a zone, and it neutralized the Mustangs athletic advantage.

Whereas LH was able to get to the hoop frequently in the first quarter, Belle Vernon’s zone turned the Mustangs into a jump shooting team, and it allowed the Leps to get back into the game.

“They have some good players who can shoot, and I was worried about that,” said Salvino. “It worked out for us and got us back into the game.”

The Leps opened the second quarter on a 14-5 run to trim the LH lead to 26-25 on a Daniel Gordon three-pointer with 2:41 to go in the half, but the Mustangs countered with a closing 12-5 run to take a 38-30 lead at the break.

Belle Vernon slowly chipped away in the third and a Devin Whitlock three-pointer gave BVA its first lead at 49-47 with 2:04 to go in the quarter.

“We spent a lot of energy getting back into the game,” said Salvino. “Our guys were excited to play them and knew we could hang, but getting behind early like we did, it just didn’t work out.”

Rodney Gallagher scored with 12 seconds to go in the third to tie the score at 49-49 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs went on a quick 5-0 run to take a 54-49 lead a minute in to the fourth, but Whitlock and Daniel Gordon hit consecutive three-pointers to give Belle Vernon a 55-54 lead with 6:58 to go.

LH responded with an 11-0 run to take a 65-55 lead, and the Leopards would get no closer than six points the rest of the way.

“This was a great win against a great team,” Gallagher said. “They made us better today and their zone was super hard. They will have a chance to win a (WPIAL) title.”

Gallagher (16), Keondre DeShields (15) and Jayden Pratt (10) joined Davis in double figures while Whitlock (27), Gordon (20) and Quinton Martin (10) points did the same for Belle Vernon. Martin added 12 rebounds and five blocks while DeShields grabbed eight for LH.

Hauger concluded talking about the environment in the gym and how Penn State’s James Franklin, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi and coaches from Notre Dame, Miami of Ohio and others were in attendance.

“Everyone knows who they were here to see, but they saw a good game,” Hauger said while smiling. “And coaches have big networks, so maybe they saw something they liked and will pass it along.”

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