Basketball

BC’s energy on display in quarterfinal win

IRWIN -- A year ago, there were no PIAA playoffs for Bishop Carroll Catholic.

The Huskies didn't even get the opportunity to play in the District 6 postseason.

Now, they're headed to the PIAA Class 1A semifinals after an 80-73 win over Union Area at Norwin High School Friday night in the quarterfinals.

"This is a group that just keeps plugging away," Bishop Carroll coach Cosie Aliquo said. "It just made us hungrier (not making the playoffs last year), and we knew we had to work to get to where we were. No one is going to roll over. We knew we had to keep battling."

Aliquo, who emerged from the Bishop Carroll locker room after the game to a standing ovation from his players and the BC community, was the driving force behind getting his team to reach its full potential.

"We go through a lot of conditioning," Huskies guard Will Tremel said. "In October, our coach puts us through it. That's why we're better than teams sometimes. (Aliquo) is the best coach I have ever had. He truly loves Bishop Carroll. I don't think there's another person who could coach this team that could love it more than him."

Union led by five midway through the third quarter, but Bishop Carroll's constant pressure and offensive speed began to get to the Scotties.

"What got us was that defensively we have trouble guarding off the dribble, and that's what got us," Union coach Mark Stanley said. "We got worn out a little bit. Credit to them. They play hard and keep coming. I thought we got lackadaisical with a couple passes, and those are things that turned the game."

The unrelenting energy displayed by Bishop Carroll ended up hurting Union offensively too. The Scotties hit 10 3-pointers in the game and got a career-high 30 points from Braylon Thomas and 24 more from Lucas Stanley, but Union finally hit a rough stretch of shooting to start the fourth quarter.

The Scotties missed their first five 3-point attempts, four of them coming up short possibly due to fatigue, and the Huskies seized the window of opportunity.

Bishop Carroll opened the fourth quarter on a 13-5 run to turn a tied game into one the Huskies had firm control of midway through the final stretch.

"I told the guys we had to get some stops or we were going to get knocked out," Aliquo said. "Then we finally got the lead and finally got some stops, but man they were good."

Jace Casses scored seven of the 13 points in the stretch, several of which came off turnovers from a Union team that suddenly looked like it was moving in slow motion.

"We're not very deep, and we can't simulate that kind of pressure in practice," Stanley said. "We tried to play a tough schedule and prepare for it all year, but it's going to get you. They know how to do it. They are slick. (Casses and Luke Repko) are two very good guards."

Union got back within four on Rocco Galamarini's 3-pointer with less than two minutes to play, but Bishop Carroll made enough free throws and stayed aggressive going to the basket in the final moments to not only hold off Union but extend the lead.

"There were times this year that we got up 10 and held it, and we turned it over or took a bad shot," Aliquo said. "I thought we should just go back to normal and stay aggressive and keep attacking, and it worked tonight."

The Huskies will play Imani Christian Academy, the defending PIAA Class 1A champions, in the semifinals on Monday. Imani defeated District 10 champion Farrell on Friday and is moving up to Class 6A next season.

Repko and Casses both finished with 22 points for Bishop Carroll, which improved to 18-10, but the star scorers had plenty of help. Parker Farabaugh scored 14 points and made four 3-pointers, Tremel had 12 points and several key steals and Max Oravec added 10 points.

"With Will, Max and Parker in double digits, it makes it harder to guard Luke and Jace, because they can't help as much," Aliquo said.

The Huskies are in the PIAA semifinals for the fifth time and the third time under Aliquo, who also guided them there in 2018 and 2014. They have never made it to the state championship game.

"This feels amazing. We worked for this, and we're glad that we're here," Repko said. "We love that we have this chance. We're going to work on it this weekend and hopefully Monday we can go beat them."

UNION (73): Thomas 12 2-3 30, Stanley 9 2-2 24, Gettings 0 3-5 3, Johnke 2 6-6 10, Blakely 1 0-0 3, Gunn 0 0-0 0, Galmarini 1 0-0 3. Totals--25 13-16 73.

BISHOP CARROLL (80): Repko 7 7-11 22, Oravec 4 2-3 10, Alexander 5 0-0 14, Tremel 3 5-6 12, Casses 10 1-1 22, Becquet 0 0-0 0, Sekerak 0 0-2 0. Totals--29 15-23 80.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Union 18 17 20 18 -- 73

Bishop Carroll 18 12 25 25 -- 80

3-point goals: Union 10 (Thomas 4, Stanley 4, Blakely, Galmarini); Bishop Carroll 7 (Alexander 4, Repko, Tremel, Casses)

Records: Union (17-12); Bishop Carroll (18-10)

Officials: John Lienert, Carl Grinage, William Gubba