Third time no charm: Bishop Canevin too much for Gators, again
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Geibel Catholic’s Trevell Clayton and Bishop Canevin’s Amare Evans (3) fight for a rebound in the first quarter of Saturday’s WPIAL Class A semifinal at Fox Chapel.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Geibel Catholic’s Trevell Clayton (24) banks the ball into the basket over Bishop Canevin’s Amari Evans (3) in the second quarter of Saturday’s WPIAL Class A semifinal at Fox Chapel.
Bishop Canevin's Jaden Gales (15) is unable to block a shot by Geibel Catholic's Trevell Clayton (24) in the second quarter of Saturday's WPIAL Class A semifinal at Fox Chapel. Clayton finished with nine points in the Gators' 71-36 loss.
Geibel Catholic's Kaiden Grady (25) pulls up for a short jumper in the lane during the second quarter of Saturday's WPIAL Class A semifinal game against Bishop Canevin.
Bishop Canevin's Kai Spears defends Geibel Catholic's Jaydis Kennedy (3) near midcourt during the first quarter of Saturday's WPIAL Class A semfinal at Fox Chapel.
FOX CHAPEL — Geibel Catholic appeared to be in position to shake off two lopsided section losses to Bishop Canevin with a 7-4 lead at the midpoint of the first quarter in Saturday’s WPIAL Class A semifinal game.
However, the Crusaders rallied from the deficit and kept rolling until the final buzzer for a 71-36 victory and a berth into the WPIAL championship.
Bishop Canevin (19-4) will play Union in the district title game on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center. The Scotties (22-2) defeated Imani Christian Academy, 66-54, in the first game at Fox Chapel behind Matt Stanley’s 36 polnts.
Geibel (18-6) kept pace with the Crusaders in the early going until the No. 1 seed really turned up the defensive pressure. With Geibel leading 7-6, Bishop Canevin forced four turnovers in the Gators’ five possessions, reversing the deficit into a 14-7 lead.
One last turnover with 2.9 seconds remaining in the first quarter led to a deflating half-court, buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Jhamil Fife, giving the Crusaders an 18-11 lead.
“The thing is you can only hold the floodgates back so long. We were hoping to try to spread the floor and slow the game down,” said Geibel Catholic coach Don Porter. “That first quarter it was 15-11 and they hit that halfcourt shot that put them up seven.
“If we could limit their possessions, that would keep us in the ball game.”
The fourth-seeded Gators generally like to run in the transition game, so the altered game plan was an adjustment.
“I could tell the guys were kind of antsy, but we just don’t have as much scoring power as the do. We figured if we could keep this game in the 50s, we could maybe play with them,” said Porter.
Bishop Canevin’s defense pushed the Geibel offense further away from the basket and often resulted in an errant pass. The turnovers transitioned into points.
Kai Sparks’ 3-pointer with 3:27 remaining in the first half gave Bishop Canevin a 25-13 and caused Geibel coach Don Porter to call a timeout. Sparks led the Crusaders with a game-high 16 points.
The timeout didn’t slow down Bishop Canevin because the Crusaders outscored the Gators, 18-2, in the final 3½ minutes of the second quarter for a 43-15 halftime lead.
“They had a couple dunks, a couple breakaways (in the second quarter). If we could limit their possessions, that would keep us in the ball game,” said Porter. “There’s really not much of a reason to scout them. They pretty much do what they do.”
“I could tell the guys were kind of antsy, but we just don’t have as much scoring power as they do. We figured if we could keep this game in the 50s, we could maybe play with them.”
The Gators were able to match points in the third quarter, but unable to slice into their deficit. Both teams scored 12 points in the quarter with the Crusaders entering the final eight minutes with a 55-27 lead.
Jaden Gales’ 3-pointer just 13 seconds into the fourth quarter invoked the mercy rule.
Bishop Canevin closed out the victory with a 16-9 advantage in the fourth quarter.
KeVaughn Price scored 14 and Jaden Gales added 11 for Bishop Canevin.
Jaydis Kennedy and Trevell Clayton shared team-scoring honors for the Gators with nine points apiece. Kaiden Grady scored eight.
Geibel returns to action on Tuesday, March 8, in the opening round of the PIAA Class A playoffs. The Gators’ position will be determined on Bishop Canevin’s result in the WPIAL final.
A victory in the title game has Geibel playing the District 10 champion, and the Gators will play the District 5 champion with a runner-up finish
“We’ll give them a couple days off. Heal from all the bumps and bruises, and figure out who we will be playing,” added Porter.