Feb 18, 2007 By Derek Day For The Herald Standard 3 min read

WEXFORD – Although it’s February and the NCAA tournament is nearly a month away, Saturday was still full of Madness. Laurel Highlands, the No. 15 seed, knocked off second-seeded Highlands, 85-76, in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA boys playoffs.

The Mustangs (13-12, 11-6) overcame an 11-point third quarter deficit to oust the Rams (21-3, 10-3).

Junior forward Kaleb Ramsey controlled the game, pouring in 43 points for the underdog Mustangs, who had three players in double figures.

“Kaleb is outstanding athlete, and he can be a handful to defend,” said Laurel Highlands coach Rick Hauger. “But all of our players came through today.”

Laurel Highlands’ Mike Iannamorelli scored 12 points, with Ronnie Fudala adding 11.

The Mustangs came out firing and jumped out to a 24-21 first-quarter lead, but scored just nine in the second quarter, which left them trailing by seven at the half.

“For some reason, the second quarter is our bad quarter; we’ve struggled with that all year,” Hauger said.

“I think it was that, plus Highlands got comfortable at the end of the first quarter and carried that momentum through the rest of the half.”

It looked as though the Rams would make the game a rout in the third quarter as Cornell Thomas scored eight of his 10 points to put Highlands up by 11.

Laurel Highlands rallied, then put the game away in the fourth quarter the foul line. The Mustangs hit 14 of 16 free throws down the stretch with the Rams desperately trying to come back.

“You never expect to shoot that well when you’ve shot 60 percent all year from the line,” added Hauger.

“Our offense is more inside oriented, which increases your chances of going to the line. But you have to make the shots when you get to the line.”

“They deserved to win,” said Highlands head coach Rich Falter. “Obviously w’re disappointed we lost, but they beat us to the loose balls and out rebounded us.”

Despite an effort that was topped only by Ramsey, Rams forward Jeff Sinclair’s 29 points weren’t enough to advance to the next round of the playoffs.

“Jeff played well, as well as our reserves, Seth Edwards and DeVaughn Mitchell,” said Falter. “But we just weren’t able to put them away.”

Laurel Highlands’ physical style also proved beneficial on the defensive end.

“That 1-3-1 defense they stayed in turned the game around,” said Falter. “They dominated the glass and we were unable to defend underneath.”

“Highlands mostly plays a man defense, so we thought we could surprise them with that zone,” said Hauger. “They are a very athletic team and luckily we picked up our rebounding late in the game.”

With the win, Laurel Highlands advances to the quarterfinals. Their opponent will be decided on Tuesday, when Valley and Steel Valley tip off at 6:30 p.m. at North Allegheny High School.