No repeat: New Castle rides quick start to 69-60 win over Mustangs
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
New Castle’s Mike Graham (1) contests a jump shot by Rodney Gallagher during Wednesday night’s WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game at New Castle. Gallagher scored a game-high 28 points but the Red Hurricanes won, 69-60.
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Laurel Highlands’ Brandon Davis scores over New Castle’s Don Cade during Wednesday night’s WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game at New Castle. Davis had 14 points but the Red Hurricanes won, 69-60.
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Laurel Highlands’ Nick Egnot (21) is fouled by New Castle’s Sheldon Cox (11) during the first quarter of Wednesday night’s WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game at New Castle. Egnot made both free throws for the Mustangs first points of the game.
Laurel Highlands' Jayden Pratt scores in front of New Castle's Mike Wells during Wednesday night's WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game at New Castle.
Laurel Highlands' Keondre DeShields takes a 3-point shot during Wednesday night's WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game at New Castle.
Laurel Highlands coach Rick Hauger shares his opinion with an official during Wednesday night's WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game at New Castle.
Laurel Highlands' Rodney Gallagher defends New Castle's Mike Graham during Wednesday night's WPIAL Class 5A semifinal game at New Castle.
NEW CASTLE — This time the hole was too big for Laurel Highlands to climb out of.
As a result, the WPIAL Class 5A defending champions won’t have a chance at a repeat title.
For the second consecutive game the Mustangs got off to a slow start and had to battle from behind. While they were able to rally from 11 points down for a home victory over Penn Hills in the quarterfinals on Saturday, New Castle’s early 21-point lead proved to be too much for them to overcome on Wednesday night.
The host Red Hurricanes stormed out to a 20-4 lead in the first quarter and held off a second-half push by Laurel Highlands to secure a 69-60 semifinal win.
“I thought our guys did what they needed to do,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. “Whatever defense we called or whatever offense we called I thought they executed it well.”
Sheldon Cox and Mike Wells were the big guns for second-seeded New Castle, scoring 23 and 20 points, respectively. Isaiah Boice followed with 15 points. The Red Hurricanes made eight 3-pointers — three each by Cox and Boice and two by Cox.
New Castle (20-2) will face Section 2 rival Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL final on Saturday.
Rodney Gallagher poured in a game-high 28 points for the third-seeded Mustangs (14-4), including 20 in the second half, but was held scoreless until midway through the second quarter.
Brandon Davis tallied 14 points for LH, which saw its 12-game winning streak snapped. Nick Egnot and Keondre DeShields added seven points apiece.
Laurel Highlands didn’t make a field goal in the first quarter, getting only two free throws each from Egnot and Davis.
Meanwhile, the Red Hurricanes hit four 3-pointers in the opening frame, then added another by Wells early in the second quarter that gave the hosts a commanding 25-4 lead.
Laurel Highlands coach Rick Hauger had a simple explanation for his team’s slow start.
“The game was supposed to tip off at six o’clock,” Hauger said, “but it seemed like our guys were still on the bus at that time.”
All kidding aside, Hauger added, “The fact is you can’t come out and be down 20-4 in the first quarter, not make a basket, and I don’t think we had an offensive rebound either. Our shot selection was questionable.”
Blundo had his team hold back on its signature pressing style, figuring that would play into Laurel Highlands’ and Gallagher’s hands.
“You’re not taking the ball off Rodney Gallagher,” Blundo said. “We weren’t going to waste our time and our energy trying to accomplish something that’s probably not in our favor.”
The strategy worked as LH’s offense fizzled in the first nine minutes.
DeShields made a 3-pointer and a jump shot early in the second period for LH’s first two field goals but the Mustangs were still down 29-9 when Hauger called a timeout with 5:44 left in the half.
Laurel Highlands regrouped and fought back with a 12-4 run. Gallagher started the burst with a 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper, Davis followed with two baskets and when Gallagher hit a free throw to complete a three-point play, the visitors had cut the gap to 12.
Wells’ late bucket gave New Castle a 35-21 halftime lead.
The Mustangs started the third quarter with a six-point burst on a basket by Egnot, a steal by Caleb Palumbo that led to two free throws and a baseline jumper by Gallagher after an offensive rebound by Egnot.
Laurel Highlands had a chance to get within six or closer but had two straight empty possessions. The Mustangs’ suddenly stirring defense got the ball back again, prompting Blundo to call a timeout.
“I’m thinking we better do something different because whatever we’re doing right now isn’t working,” Blundo said. “We knew they weren’t going to go away. They just kept playing.”
With the Mustangs closing in, New Castle answered with a crucial eight-point run that pushed its advantage to 43-27.
Hauger felt his team helped the Red Hurricanes out with some ill-advised shots. Laurel Highlands missed four straight 3-pointers and New Castle scored at the other end each time.
“We didn’t come back and cut it to eight because we were making threes,” Hauger said. “We got away from what got us back and they made an eight-point run. So everything we cut into they got back.”
Gallagher scored all of Laurel Highlands’ points in a 6-2 run to close the quarter, leaving the Mustangs down 45-33.
With LH still within striking distance, New Castle opened the fourth quarter with a 16-4 run that included two 3-pointers by Wells and one by Cox to give it its biggest lead of the game at 22 points.
Laurel Highlands refused to quit and a three-point play by Egnot began a closing 21-6 flurry that included 12 points by Gallagher and made it a three-possession game with 31 seconds left.
New Castle was able to run out the clock to wrap up the win.
The Mustangs out-scored the Red Hurricanes in each of the final three quarters but the early deficit proved to be the difference.
“It changes everything you want to do,” Hauger said. “You’re figuring it’s going to be a close game throughout and there are certain things as the game went along you may want to try to maybe get a little bit of an edge, something they haven’t seen before.
“But when you get that far behind that fast, all that goes out the window.”
Blundo praised the Mustangs and Gallagher.
“That’s an impressive group,” Blund said. “That’s as talented a team as we’ve played all year.
“Rodney Gallagher, his best attribute and what makes him special is that he plays to win the game. He’s a winner. He makes the right play. He’s uncommonly unselfish for a player of his talent. He’s engaged in what he has to do to win. I know college coaches love seeing that.”
Hauger’s squad, which won the program’s second WPIAL championship last year, will have to wait until next season for a shot at a third title.
“I basically told them after the game I was proud of the fact they didn’t quit,” Hauger said. “I also said that I would hope they would take the opportunity to look at film and see about some of the things we discussed that are, in my opinion, necessary ingredients for a championship, and understand how in some of those area we need to do a better job than what we did tonight.
“Some things resurfaced tonight that we hadn’t done since the beginning of the year. There are different ways you have to be disciplined. I’m all for playing fast because we’re athletic. I just want to make sure that we play intelligently fast. Know when to push it and go at them, and, if you don’t have it, come back and get in a set and go.”
The Mustangs will return three starters next year — Gallagher, Davis and DeShields are all sophomores — as well as sixth man Jayden Pratt, a junior who’ll likely move into a starting role.