Tigers fight for win at LH

After the McKeesport and Laurel Highlands boys’ basketball squads were deadlocked at 14 at the end of one, the Tigers turned the tide and grabbed the momentum in the middle quarters with a 43-24 scoring edge and claimed a hard-fought 70-62 win on the road Friday night.

With the win, the Tigers (5-10, 3-5) snapped a four-game losing streak and got right back in the playoff hunt in Section 1-5A.

“We dominated the second and third quarters tonight,” McKeesport coach Troy Blackwell said. “But then we made it a little bit tougher than what it had to be in those final eight minutes. But credit to our kids, when things got tough, they showed their composure. The turnover bug got us, and you got to give LH a lot of credit for not giving up.”

McKeesport sweeps the regular season series, as they won on their home court 63-58 on Dec. 12.

“Last time we played them it was a heck of a game, too,” Blackwell said. “We were down double-digits in the second half and our main scorer was out of the game. We fought all the way back and some younger guys stepped up. That was a huge win for us, but we knew tonight was going to be a tough game at their place. It was a long bus ride tonight for us.”

Lamont Perkins and Brian Jones each tallied 15 points apiece in the victory, while Aaron Reeder poured in 13 off the bench. Darrly McCullough added nine points and Matthew Sebella grabbed eight for the balanced scoring attack.

Blackwell was once again impressed with the play of Perkins, his three-year, all-everything junior.

“Lamont is our go-to guy,” he pointed out. “He has the most varsity experience than anyone on our team. He is a great leader and a great teammate. He is a complete guard, can drive to the hoop and has a nice jump shot. When there is a play that needed to be made, he makes it.”

Luke Martin grabbed a game-high 28 points for the Mustangs (4-11, 1-7), while Kayden Smith scored 12 and Antwan Black chipped in with nine.

McKeesport jumped out to a 5-0 lead, courtesy of a trey by Jones and an interior hoop by Sebella. LH rallied back with seven of the next 10 points before the visitors countered with a three-pointer by Jones and a pair of foul shots by Reeder that made it 12-7.

The home team ended the opening quarter with a 7-2 run, as all seven points were scored by Martin, to knot things up at 14-14.

The Tigers’ relentless pressure and their opportunistic transition game were the key pieces to turn the game in their favor, as they started the second stanza with an 11-2 spree, six points of which came from Perkins.

After a fast-break dunk by Brennen Varney got some energy on the home team’s side, McKeesport responded with an 8-3 rally to end the first half and were up 33-22 at halftime.

“We picked up the pressure on defense and forced them into some turnovers,” Blackwell said. “Even when they were able to get shots, it was tough shots. It was a great defensive effort, and to us that is the name of the game. If you want to be successful, you got to play good defense.”

LH began the third period with a 6-2 spree to cut things down to single-digits at 35-28, but the visitors used an 18-5 spurt to completely put the game back in their favor. Perkins started the run with a shot from beyond the arc, as Jones also grabbed his fourth triple of the evening.

The teams exchanged points the rest of the third quarter, as the Tigers carried a 57-38 lead into the final eight minutes of play.

The Mustangs made things interested and started to hit some shots from the outside, as they opened the fourth frame with a 7-2 spree. After the Tigers scored four of the next six points, LH rebounded with eight consecutive points to make it 63-55 with 2:45 left in regulation.

The Tigers hit enough of their foul shots late, and was able to escape Fayette County with a Section 1-5A triumph.

McKeesport will jump right back into section action Tuesday, as they host Franklin Regional.

“For us, it is all about playing consistently the rest of the way,” Blackwell said. “The difference here for us tonight was our defense. We forced some turnovers and got some easy shots on offense because of our hard play on defense. We just have to play that gritty, defensive style.”