Martin Fatzinger

EBENSBURG — Bellwood-Antis made known it is not the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference basketball doormat of last year.

The Blue Devils erased a five-point deficit late in the third quarter and eked out a 45-41 victory against Bishop Carroll Catholic in the conference and season opener for both schools on Friday night at Bishop Carroll Catholic High School.

“We battled back, chewed away, the kids believed, and they battled through,” Bellwood coach Tyler Mertiff said after he sought refuge from a jubilant and noisy dressing room that was filled with music.

Huskies coach Cosie Aliquo came away impressed with the way Mertiff and the Blue Devils played on this night.

“That’s a good opener for us. Bellwood’s well-coached, and they do a good job,” he said.

Martin Fatzinger, a 6-foot-4 senior, led Bellwood-Antis with 10 points and established his presence inside the paint. Jackson Dormino and Quinn Leeper added eight points each.

Bellwood-Antis carried a three-point lead into the second half. A lay-in by Joey Phillips with 23 seconds left pushed the Huskies ahead, 33-28. The Blue Devils, in possibly a harbinger of what would come soon, received a 3-point field goal by Curtis Shedlock that sliced the Bishop Carroll lead to two entering the final period.

The adage that pertains to hoping to win and expecting to win proved evident on this night.

“Last year we didn’t think we could go into a game and win. That was solely on me,” Mertiff said. “This year, no matter who we step on the court with … yeah, we’ll be underdogs in most of them. But we believe we can win, and it showed in that fourth quarter; a lot of gutsy performances.”

“They’re well-coached and well-experienced,” Aliquo said.

The Huskies, despite throwing strong full-court pressure, did not shake off Bellwood-Antis. Connor Mayes’ lay-in at the 5:57 mark tied the score at 35-all. It was “game on” from that point.

“Last year we had two wins. So in games like that we would fold under pressure. We’re young. But a lot of those guys came back, and we worked on those pressure situations,” Mertiff said.

Leeper’s 3-pointer gave the Blue Devils a 40-39 lead with 2:49 left. Fatzinger added a basket with 2:27 to go, and Colin Gibbons hit a runner with 1 minute left to put the Huskies in a three-point hole.

Bellwood-Antis milked the clock and forced Bishop Carroll to use up its team fouls.

Bishop Carroll received a game-high 20 points from senior Jace Casses, and not much else.

“It comes down to inexperience and bad coaching,” Aliquo said.

Neither team shot well from the free-throw line. Bellwood-Antis made 4 of 8; Bishop Carroll was only 2 for 8.

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (45): Dorminy 3 1-2 8, Gibbons 1 1-2 3, Shedlock 3 0-0 7, Mayes 3 0-0 6, Fatzinger 4 2-4 10, Leeper 3 0-0 8, McClellan 1 0-0 3, Bardell 0 0-0 0. Totals — 18 4-8 45.

BISHOP CARROLL (41): Casses 8 1-3 20, Lucko 3 0-0 7, P. Phillips 0 0-0 0, Kirsch 1 0-1 2, Hall-Campbell 1 0-0 2, J.Phillips 2 0-2 4, Tremel 1 0-0 2, Conner 1 0-0 3, Seymour 0 0-0 0. Totals — 17 2-8 41.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellwood-Antis 14 7 10 14 – 45

Bishop Carroll 9 9 15 8 – 41

3-point field goals: Bellwood-Antis 5 (Leeper 2, Shedlock, Dorminy, McClellan), Bishop Carroll 5 (Casses 3, Lucko, Conner).

Officials: Sam Zambinini, Mike Baum, Justin Fischer. 

Records: Bellwood-Antis (1-0), Bishop Carroll (0-1).