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PIAA Class 2A: Constitution falls short in overtime to Sewickley Ac.

03/24/2017, 7:45pm EDT
By Michael Bullock

Tamir Green (0) and Constitution receive their second-place medals after losing to Sewickley Academy, 68-63 in OT. (Photo: Patrick Blain/CoBL)

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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HERSHEY — Off to a remarkably quick start just moments after the game tipped off — one so powerful it would have wobbled most adversaries and left them planted in the ground — it seemed as though Constitution would have its way throughout.

Yet that never happened.

Every time Rob Moore’s Generals seemed to generate enough momentum to open things up and create some separation, a determined Sewickley Academy side found a way to climb back in and strike with consistency.

And when the suburban Pittsburgh program finally had a chance to squeeze in front — in overtime, no less — it was Constitution that did not have the needed antidote.

Nate Ridgeway and Justin Pryor combined for seven points in the extra session as Sewickley Academy, down 16-4 late in the opening quarter and 31-23 at the halftime break, charged back to claim a 68-63 victory over Moore’s Generals in the PIAA’s Class 2A championship game Friday afternoon at Hershey’s Giant Center.

“We had runs and they were just able to counter each time,” Moore lamented. “And then down the stretch, we couldn’t get any stops on [Pryor]. We couldn’t get the ball out of his hands; he just made things happen.”

“We didn’t keep our foot on the gas and we started trying to coast instead of keeping our lead up and keeping it going,” 5-8 senior catalyst Tamir Green added.

The 6-3 Pryor, terrific off the dribble yet possessing range on his jumper, finished with 21 points to lead Win Palmer’s program (25-4) to its first state championship since 2010 and its third overall. Pryor had 14 of his 21 points after the break.

“He gets it, that’s what great about him,” Palmer said. “When you need him, he can step up. And he’s become such a great defensive player. … He’s so tough.”

Ridgeway, a 6-5 sophomore lefty, also scored 14 second-half points for the WPIAL champions and finished with 16. Chris Groetsch, a heady senior lead guard ticketed for Johns Hopkins added eight points for the fundamentally proficient Panthers.

In fact, Sewickley Academy committed just three turnovers in 36 minutes.

Constitution (19-10) countered with 21 points from Green — 19 from the halftime break on — as well as 19 points and 11 rebounds from 6-6 Maurice Waters.


Maurice Waters (above) had 19 points and nine rebounds while taking just 10 shots. (Photo: Patrick Blain/CoBL)

Waters was sensational early, pocketing eight points and grabbing five boards before the midway point of the first quarter when the first media timeout arrived. He netted 12 points and snared seven rebounds before encountering first-half foul issues.

“He was ready from the jump,” Green remarked.

“Defensively, we just stopped helping off on him. If you had him, you had to stay on him,” Palmer said. “If he was going to get a layup, he would get a layup. Hopefully, we’d box him out and he’d cool off. I thought that really made a difference.”

“They made the adjustments,” Moore added. “They made great adjustments.”

Yet despite all of the high-octane ebbs and flows that materialized throughout a highly entertaining contest, Constitution appeared to be in terrific shape midway through the fourth quarter when Green gave the Generals a 57-51 lead with back-to-back treys.

Pryor responded with a finish at the rim to slice Sewickley’s deficit to four, but another Green bucket at the 2:25 mark restored Constitution’s six-point edge.

While Ridgeway authored an old-school three-point play with 2:14 to go that halved Constitution’s lead — the Generals going 0-for-3 at the stripe in the fourth also aided the Panthers — Palmer’s bunch pulled even when David Groetsch calmly bagged a 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:22 showing.

“At the end of the game, it was all about the defensive end,” said Green, who also dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds. “Every time we scored, they would score and they would answer all day. It wasn’t enough.”

Locked in a 59-all tie, Constitution opted to run clock before requesting time with just 13 seconds to go. Green, with the ball in his trusty mitts, was able to hoist a contested 3-ball from the left wing with seconds to go yet that shot didn’t drop.

“I should have went to the hole,” Green said. “I could have gotten to the basket. Another man might have slid over and I could have found someone open.

“There was just a lot going on at the time.”

As a result, overtime was in store.

Still tied at 63-63 with 1:52 remaining in OT, Pryor snapped that tie 10 seconds later with a pair of freebies. Following a Ridgeway block, Pryor gobbled up the loose ball and was fouled, converting only the front half of his two-shot look.

Green had several subsequent opportunities that failed to fall and when Ridgeway dropped in a layup following a lengthy outlet to make it 68-63, the Generals’ flickering hopes for their fourth state championship quickly were extinguished.

While Sewickley Academy spent two-plus quarters climbing uphill, Palmer’s Panthers were effective off the dribble and also employed a switching man defensive ploy that helped them neutralize whatever quickness edge Constitution may have had.

“That’s a key, we switch all the time,” Palmer said. “We tell our guys from the beginning of practice, from 5-8 to 6-6, you’ve got to be able to play any player.”

All of helped the Panthers find a way to prevail.

“It’s unbelievable. We had a lot of 2010 guys here tonight and that was special,” Palmer said, revisiting Sewickley’s last state championship celebration.

“It’s so hard to get to Hershey, this is such a great feeling.”

Yet for Constitution, which was efficient on the offensive attack for most of the game, it was a tough way to end the 2016-17 season.

“We shot 56 percent from the field,” Moore said of his team’s 28-for-50 performance. “We made one less 3 than they made, but ultimately they got to the free-throw line 26 times and we got to the free-throw line nine [times].

“That’s a huge issue, but that comes down to them being disciplined on defense and making free throws when they got there,” Moore continued. “And they made the plays down the stretch. Plus, we couldn’t get stops on [Pryor].”

Moore also spent a few moments lauding his greatly disappointed players.

“I told our guys, ‘Let’s keep our heads up because at the end of the day, we were playing with the house money tonight,’” Moore added. “After winning Tuesday night (73-68 over Math, Civics & Sciences in overtime), just getting here after two years [was a big, big deal]. A reporter from out west asked me, ‘Did we underestimate them?’

“I said, ‘The Philly teams that I had in 2012, 2014 and 2015 had multiple Division I players on them.’ It’s a different group of kids. We knew how good they were. We knew how good those three players were,” Moore said.

“I knew these kids were gonna come and bring it. I was not surprised. Every time we got up, we said keep going or you’re going to be in a dogfight at the end. … Everyone wants to win, but just the experience of coming here [is big]. Obviously, I lose guys but I have a bunch of underclassmen and hopefully they’ll understand what it takes to win.”


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