Mar 15, 2017 5 min read

One of the things you have to like about the McGuffey High School boys basketball team is the Highlanders know a good thing when they see one.

McGuffey made its first foray into the PIAA playoffs last Saturday and had so much fun that the Highlanders decided to stick around for at least another round.

The Highlanders (19-6), coming off a down-to-the-wire 48-46 victory over District 9 champion Clearfield, will return to the court Thursday when they play WPIAL champion New Castle (25-2) in a Class AAAA second-round game at Ambridge. Tipoff is 5 p.m.

The win over Clearfield, a team that entered the game with an impressive 23-1 record, was vintage McGuffey. The Highlanders have played 14 games decided by single digits, winning 11, and are 6-1 in games decided by three points or fewer.

“We played very good basketball for three quarters and built a big lead,” McGuffey coach Mike Fatigante said of the Highlanders’ initial win in the state tournament. “The fourth quarter, we missed some shots and Clearfield got hot. They made some three-pointers and tied the score with 28 seconds left.”

That set up the thrilling finish as McGuffey’s Colin Chapman made a game-winning shot while being fouled with only three seconds remaining to stun the pro-Clearfield crowd at DuBois Middle School.

“It was a pretty neat atmosphere,” Fatigante said. “The gym was full, but there were a lot of McGuffey fans who made the three-hour drive.”

The Highlanders’ fans would like to celebrate another PIAA victory tonight. McGuffey knows that won’t come easily against New Castle. The Red Hurricane defeated McGuffey 73-40 in the quarterfinals en route to winning the WPIAL championship.

The Highlanders, however, can draw some confidence in knowing that game was much closer than the final score indicates. New Castle led by only two points at halftime.

“New Castle is very talented. They’re ranked No. 2 in the state for a reason,” Fatigante said. “We had a game plan going into that first game and we executed it pretty well through two quarters. We also played solid defense. In the third quarter, we had some turnovers that they turned into easy baskets.”

The Highlanders will have to do a better job of protecting the basketball this time and play better defense against New Castle’s Marcus Hooker, who scored 26 points against the Highlanders.

McGuffey could use a repeat performance of Saturday from junior forward Trent Belleville, who scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Clearfield. Belleville is McGuffey’s second-leading scorer at 15 points per game. Chapman averages 16 per game.

McGuffey is one of six area teams still alive in the state playoffs and each will be in action tonight after the PIAA moved all second-round games to Thursday because of the winter storm that hit the central and eastern parts of the state and the travel restrictions imposed by Gov. Tom Wolf. The PIAA on Monday changed the start time and site of several games.

The Washington boys (21-5) will play Erie First Christian (17-9), the third-place team from District 10, in a Class AAA contest at Farrell High School. Tipoff is 6 p.m. The site of the game was moved from Slippery Rock University.

In Class A boys, WPIAL champion Monessen (20-7) plays District 5 champion Shanksville-Stoneycreek (24-1) at Norwin High School with an 8 p.m. tipoff. Shanksville hasn’t lost since early December when it was beaten 49-45 by Class 6-A Bethel Park.

The WPIAL Class AA champion Chartiers-Houston girls (24-2) put their 18-game winning streak on the line against District 6 runner-up Bellwood-Antis (23-4) and its 2,000-point scorer Karson Swogger, who averages 26.7 points per game. The game will be played 5 p.m. at Hempfield High School. Chartiers-Houston has not lost to a Class AA team all season but the Blue Devils might be the best team from that classification the Bucs have faced.

There are two Class 5-A girls games that match WPIAL teams. Trinity (23-3) will play Chartiers Valley (20-7) at Peters Township (7:30 p.m.) in a rematch of the WPIAL semifinals. South Fayette (18-6) plays Hampton (23-3) in an 8 p.m. game at Ambridge.

Trinity and Chartiers Valley are meeting for the third time. The Hillers rolled to a 58-41 victory in December at the California University Hoopfest, but CV rallied for a 47-35 win in the WPIAL semifinals. Trinity must do a better job against CV’s Mackenzie Wagner, who scored 26 points in the most recent game, and keep the Colts off the free-throw line. Chartiers Valley made 21 of 23 fouls shots in the Colts’ win over the Hillers.

Trinity also must do a better job of protecting the basketball as it had 20 turnovers in the loss to the Colts. The Hillers need to get Sierra Kotchman on track. She was held scoreless in the last meeting after scorching the Colts for 27 points in December.