No. 6 Belle Vernon Area topples No. 7 New Castle to advance
By JEREMY SELLEW
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All season long, Joe Salvino and some of his players knew the Belle Vernon Area boys basketball team had something special.
But everyone needed to play their role for a whole game.
Wednesday night, despite missing one of their top scorers in Cam Nusser, the Leopards played another complete game and their role players did their thing.
Now the Leopards (19-6) will play for a WPIAL Class 4A championship.
Belle Vernon Area watched New Castle regain the lead for the first time since the end of the first quarter with 3:22 remaining in the game, but it never wavered.
The pride of the Leopards took over from that point and BVA scored the final 11 points of the game, shutting out the Red Hurricanes over the final three minutes to claim a 56-46 semifinal win at North Allegheny to advance to Pitt’s Petersen Events Center Saturday.
Salvino and his players could feel it in the huddle during a timeout after Isiah Boice completed a three-point play to give the Hurricanes (17-8) a 46-45 lead.
“Coach told us in the huddle to take things one play at a time and play our game,” BVA sophomore guard Devin Whitlock said.
“We knew we were going to be OK.”
Thomas Hepple, who played a key role with fellow senior Mitch Pohlot in foul trouble, scored off an offensive rebound with 1:59 remaining to give BVA the lead it never relinquished.
Heading into the game, Salvino acknowledged the role rebounding was going to play. And BVA found its footing under the boards late in the fourth.
After getting a stop, Hunter Ruokonen scored to make it 49-46. And Whitlock came up with a key strip on New Castle’s Michael Wells near the basket, leading to an alley oop lay-in for Hepple from Daniel Gordon to make it 51-46 with a minute to go.
New Castle, which shot nearly 30 3-pointers in the game, couldn’t get enough legs into their shots late.
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