Basketball

Road to Hershey ends in semis for Bishop Carroll

By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonmirror.com

GREENSBURG -- Bishop Carroll Catholic's boys basketball team made it into the PIAA Class 1A semifinals because of its speed and athleticism.

The Huskies came up short of making it to Hershey for the state championship because they simply ran into a team with more of both.

Imani Christian Academy ran past Bishop Carroll, 98-69, at Hempfield Area High School on Monday night to make it back to the PIAA championship game for a rematch of last year's final against Berlin Brothersvalley.

The Saints outscored BC, 29-7, in the first quarter.

"I don't believe people realize we play as fast as we do," Imani Christian coach Khayree Wilson said. "We practice that fast, so we have to play that fast. We play hard, and we came in with a defensive mentality for this one. We didn't have our best showing in the last game against Farrell, so I think tonight we wanted to prove a point and make sure we got back on track with Hershey being on Thursday."

The Huskies actually outscored Imani Christian, 26-25, in the second quarter and were only outscored by seven for the game after the first quarter, but the damage was done.

"After the quarter, our coach told us if we didn't start playing, it was going to be over quick," Bishop Carroll senior Luke Repko said. "We knew we had to get something going."

Repko scored 22 points, sophomore Jace Casses led the Huskies with 25 points and BC finished with 12 3-pointers.

"I'm really proud of what we accomplished," Repko said. "A lot of people doubted us and for us to make it this far says a lot. It was rough at the beginning of the year. Our record wasn't that great, but we knew if we dug in deep and worked together, we could get here. It's a shame we didn't make it to the finals, but I'm proud we got this far."

Imani Christian was coming off a 10-point win over Farrell, its closest game of the postseason, and seemed to be focused right from the tip.

"Their speed surprised us, and we started off slow and didn't come out too good," Repko said. "They caught us off guard."

Senior Nate Brazil scored his 1,000th career point midway through the first quarter and finished with 48 points, including a dunk at the final buzzer on which he hung on the rim for an extended period.

"He has been a bright spot, and this is what we grind for, moments like this," Wilson said. "It was a beautiful situation to watch him get his 1,000th point, and then he was trying to go for 50, and I was going to let him. It was fun to watch."

Along with Repko, Bishop Carroll will lose Parker Alexander, Max Oravec and Zander Sekerak to graduation. Alexander had four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points.

"I'm just super grateful to have the opportunity to be here," Casses said. "We got to show our talent and how much work we have put in. I'm going to miss the seniors a lot. They are my best friends. It just feels good that we got this far with them and made memories I'll never forget."

The Huskies finished 18-11 and won their third District 6 championship in the last four years.

"You take a look at last year's record where we didn't make the playoffs," Bishop Carroll coach Cosie Aliquo said. "Then, here we were in the final four. I'm really proud of them. They put us back on the map. I'm proud of every one of them. They all bought into it. We could have had a season like last year and not made the playoffs or a season like this year, and they came to practice every day and worked."

Following the disastrous first quarter in which Imani was sending players back to cherry pick on each Carroll shot, Bishop Carroll held its own against the top-ranked team in the state.

"We had more confidence and started making some shots," Aliquo said. "We just couldn't keep up with them. By the time we scored, they inbounded it and had the ball at halfcourt. We just never recovered. Our transition wasn't good, and that's on me."

It was the Huskies' fifth trip to the PIAA semifinals, and they fell to 0-5 in those games. But the senior class will graduate with plenty of gold.

"They leave here with three district titles, and that says right there what they meant to the program," Aliquo said. "They have never quit."

BISHOP CARROLL (69): Casses 9 0-0 25, Oravec 3 0-0 6, Tremel 0 0-0 0, Repko 8 5-7 22, Alexander 4 0-0 12, Becquet 0 0-0 0, Lucko 1 0-0 2, Phillips 0 2-2 2. Totals--25 7-9 69.

IMANI CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (98): Williams 3 0-0 7, Sledge 6 1-2 13, Holmes 2 0-0 4, Wesley 3 0-0 7, Brazil 21 1-2 48, Bradshaw 0 0-0 0, Hubbert 0 0-0 0, Gordon 2 0-1 5, Brown 4 0-0 8, Burnett 3 0-0 6, Compton 0 0-0 0. Totals--44 2-5 98.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Carroll 7 26 18 18 - 69

Imani Christian 29 25 23 21 - 98

3-point goals: Bishop Carroll 12 (Casses 7, Alexander 4, Repko); Imani Christian 8 (Brazil 5, Williams, Wesley, Gordon)

Records: Bishop Carroll (18-11); Imani Christian Academy (18-10)

Officials: Jon Beck, Joe Januck, Tim Tyler