Jan 31, 2008 By Mike Ciarochi 3 min read

Commodores give Leps a scrap PERRYOPOLIS – Belle Vernon didn’t play well in its 77-64 exhibition win at Frazier Wednesday night, but the Leopards still managed to work on the phases of their game that will come in handy once the WPIAL playoffs get underway.

The Leopards chewed up a good portion of the fourth quarter possessing the ball with a lead and made 37 of 44 free throws. Those are two key ingredients in any post-season game plan.

“Our last four games we’ve been playing playoff-type basketball,” Leopards coach John Dudzinski said. “They’ve all been close and (Tuesday) night, we played a double-overtime game. That part has worked out well because everyone on our team seems to do something positive to keep us in the win column.”

Even though Belle Vernon improved to 18-5 by beating the 2-20 Commodores, this was far from an easy win for the Section 5-AAA champs. The Class A Commodores gave Belle Vernon all they could handle through the first three quarters.

The score was tied 20-20 after a quarter, and 38-38 at halftime. Belle Vernon led, 56-52 with only eight minutes remaining and Frazier got a basket from Dave Smith to open the fourth to make it 56-54.

But Jacob Dudzinski completed a three-point play at 7:15 and the Leopards started a parade of made foul shots, pulling ahead by eight, 67-59 with 2:39 remaining.

Dudzinski’s field goal was Belle Vernon’s only one in its 21-point fourth quarter. The Leopards made 19 of 23 to seal the win.

“Except for the Elizabeth-Forward game (Tuesday night), we’ve been hitting our foul shots down the stretch of the season,” John Dudzinski said. “These kids have a sense of confidence about them that we can pull out a win if we’re in a tight game.”

Jacob Dudzinski made 20 of 22 on the night and finished with 35 points, Josh Pohlot added 14 and Cory Williams 12 for Belle Vernon. Frazier had four players in double figures, led by Craig Rebovich’s 15. Eric Rock added 13 off the bench, Smith finished with 12 and Frank Bartolomucci scored 10.

Frazier coach Larry Mikesell noted that it is tough for kids to keep playing hard near the end of a 20-loss season, but spoke proudly of the effort he has received.

“The effort of our kids, especially the last four or five games, has been tremendous,” he said. “It’s not easy coming out here and giving your all when the losses keep piling up, but these kids have shown great fortitude and courage. These kids play hard all the time.”

“Give Frazier a lot of credit,” Dudzinski said. “They’ve improved dramatically since we played them earlier. Tonight they gave us everything we could handle.”

“Belle Vernon is a quality team and they are having a fine season,” Mikesell said. “John does a good job with them. They beat us 67-19 in our first game, so we’ve improved a good bit.”