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McCrae soars to win dunk title

By Dave Stofcheck 4 min read

Uniontown’s Mark Umbel took part in Friday night’s most electrifying moment. Ironically, Umbel was unaware of what was going on around him, which, as it turns out, was just the way he wanted it.

Umbel joined Connellsville’s Tyler DeCara and Brownsville’s Justin Binion-Thomas in forming a human pyramid, which high-flying Falcons’ senior Terrence McCrae then soared over before throwing down a one-handed slam dunk at halftime of the Fayette-Westmoreland High School Boys All-Star Game at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.

McCrae won the contest, and a plaque, after defeating Greensburg Central Catholic’s Dan Sawl in the final round.

“I made sure I was on the bottom,” Umbel said, referring to his position on the pyramid on McCrae’s winning dunk. “I didn’t even look when he (McCrae) went up. It’s scary when he’s coming at you.

“Terrence can fly.”

Earlier in the evening, Connellsville’s Rachel Means defeated Penn-Trafford’s Jenna Petrini in the 3-Point Shootout held at halftime of the girls’ all-star game.

Tied with Frazier’s Emily Null with four three-pointers after the first round, Means won a mini-playoff with Null before soundly defeating Norwin’s Erika Haitz, 9-4, in the second round.

Means and Petrini were then tied with six three-pointers each, but on Means’ last attempt, she swished a shot from the left corner while Petrini’s shot missed to give the Lady Falcons guard the title.

“I’ve been practicing softball; I haven’t shot a basketball in a long time,” Means said. “I had no idea we were tied with one shot to go. When it was over, it was a relief.”

In each round, the participants attempted a total of 15 shots, three from both corners, three from both wings and three from the top of the key.

Nineteen girls and 33 boys, all seniors, took part in the all-star events, but the games themselves played second fiddle to the three-point shootout and slam dunk contest.

At one point in the dunking exhibition, the crowd at Fayette Campus burst into chants of “Terrence! Terrence!”

McCrae scored perfect 10s from three judges on his winning dunk. In the first round, he was awarded three 9s for throwing up the ball off the shot clock before slamming it. He then received two 10s and a 9 for his dunk in the second round, which wound up being a one-handed slam over a bent-over DeCara.

McCrae then enlisted DeCara and Umbel’s help for his game-winner.

“I knew coming into the contest that I was going to try to dunk after catching a bounce off the shot clock, but after that, I had no idea,” McCrae said.

In the boys’ game, Westmoreland County’s all-stars raced out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed, winning, 70-60.

Burrell’s Joe Marzulla, a semifinalist in the dunk contest, scored a team-high 13 points, nine of which came in the first half and was named Most Valuable Player.

Southmoreland’s Travis Pierce added 10 points, while Sawl and Penn-Trafford’s Mark Cortazzo chipped in eight points each.

Westmoreland County played 18 players, meaning Southmoreland coach Harry Bowser often had his hands full juggling his lineup.

“We wanted to get the players as much playing time as possible,” Bowser said. “My son and I worked on a minutes system in our heads trying to get everybody in.

“The night was all about fun. The kids got to play with some of the kids they never get to play against, but only get to read about in the newspapers. It was nice to see the camaraderie between the kids develop, and it was really interesting to see the rivalry between the two teams build.”

McCrae led Fayette with 13 points, while Brownsville’s Adam Kezmarsky added 12, seven of which came in the first half.

Umbel added 10 points, all but two of which came in the opening 20 minutes.

“I played with about 10 of the guys on Fayette’s team in AAU ball, and it was really nice to be out here again together,” Umbel said.

The girls’ game was no contest, as Westmoreland County jumped out to a 21-2 lead and cruised to a 68-17 victory.

Petrini led all scorers with 17 points and was named Most Valuable Player, while Norwin’s Erika Haitz added 15 points.

Means led Fayette County with six points after connecting for two treys in the second half.

“We had a good team, but Westmoreland County has so many great players,” Means said.

NOTES: Albert Gallatin’s Dan Andria coached Fayette’s all-stars, replacing Nick Bosnic. Bosnic was unable to attend Friday’s game because of the birth of his first child, a daughter, Grace. … Frazier’s Les Martini coached Fayette’s girls’ squad.

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