Mustangs start fast, pull away in 4th to top Colonials
A “must-win game” is one of the most overused clichés in sports, but Laurel Highlands’ 56-43 victory over Albert Gallatin in Class 5A Section 1 boys basketball play on Tuesday at Harold “Horse” Taylor Memorial Gymnasium was as close to “must win” as it gets for the Mustangs.
Laurel Highlands closed the first and fourth quarters on runs of 10-1 and 10-0 to earn its first section triumph of the season.
The Mustangs improved to 1-4 in section play and 4-8 overall. The Colonials dropped to 2-3 in section action and 7-5 overall.
Two of Laurel Highlands’ losses in the section were by a combined eight points to McKeesport (63-58) and Gateway (63-60).
“In a year-and-a-half, this was my first section win,” Laurel Highlands coach John Smith said. “Not to discredit anything from those guys last year. We were really close last year in a couple of really close games, and couldn’t get over the hump.
“We have been in some really close games this year. I think we surprised some people in some of those games, and I’m proud of that.
“That hasn’t necessarily translated to a bunch of wins this year, but we are moving in the right direction, and tonight was a big win for us.”
LH plays cross-two rival and section-leading Uniontown (5-0, 10-3) on Friday at AJ Everhart Memorial Gymnasium.
“I said at the beginning of the season that I thought this was one of the strongest sections in the WPIAL from top to bottom,” Smith said. “In my opinion, Uniontown is at the top. I think Robbie (Kezmarsky) has been doing a great job with those boys. He has a good team, they play the right way and they really shoot the ball well.
“I think there are a lot of good teams in this section. It is not just one or two top teams and the rest.”
Albert Gallatin looks to get back on track when it hosts Franklin Regional.
The Mustangs used their 10-1 run to finish the first period with a 15-5 lead.
The Colonials cut the deficit to 17-11 with 3:57 left in the second quarter after a 6-2 scoring spree. Smith took a timeout and Laurel Highlands outscored the visitors, 9-8, to close the second half with a 26-19 advantage.
Both teams scored eight points in the third quarter and the Mustangs had a 34-27 lead heading into the final frame.
Albert Gallatin cut the Laurel Highlands’ advantage to 46-43 with less than two minutes remaining on a transition layup by the Colonials’ Jason Jackson and a putback by Darrin Ford after two offensive rebounds.
The Mustangs responded to Albert Gallatin’s rally in scoring the last 10 points.
Luke Martin made 1 of 2 free throws before Aiden Black converted a three-point play and Antwan Black made a pair at the foul line for a nine-point lead.
Aiden Black made two free throws and scored the last field goal as the buzzer sounded. He had a game-high 23 points on eight field goals, and he was 7 of 8 at the foul line. Black scored 16 of Laurel Highlands’ 22 points in the fourth period.
“I thought Aiden had a heck of a fourth quarter,” Smith said. “He made some good decisions, he got downhill and to the basket. I was really proud of the effort for sure.”
Antwan Black added 14 on five field goals, including two 3-pointers, and was 2 of 3 at the line. Martin had 12 on four field goals (two 3-pointers) and was 2 of 3 at the line. LH shot 13 of 16 at the charity stripe.
“In the first few games of the year that we lost, our free-throw percentage was not good,” Smith said. “Over the last five or six games, we have dramatically improved at the free-throw line, and that’s a credit to my coaching staff: Dr. (John) Krizner, Shandon (Marshall), Coach (Rick) Hauger and Paul Eckert. We spend a lot of time shooting free throws because we know the close games are won and lost at the free-throw line a lot of times.”
Ford had a team-high 10 points and Shymere Wilson put in nine. Jackson had eight, but didn’t score in the first three quarters.
“I told Antwan, who in my opinion, is our best athlete, that I wanted him to start on him (Jackson),” Smith said. “I think he did a great job, and credit to AG because I knew they were going to run him off screens and do pick-and-rolls, and we did a lot of work the last couple of practices on how we were going to handle that situation, and what we were going to do. The boys executed it great today.”
Albert Gallatin coach Spencer Macke was unavailable for comment.