Western Beaver edges Gators, 54-53
Jim Downey | 蘑菇视频
The Gators鈥� Trevell Clayton (24) powers his way through three Western Beaver defenders to score a field goal in the third quarter of Tuesday蘑菇视频 WPIAL Class A first round playoff game at Geibel Catholic.
Jim Downey | 蘑菇视频
The Gators鈥� Zach Allamon (13) follows through on a jump shot over Western Beaver蘑菇视频 Lincoln Martin in the second quarter of Tuesday蘑菇视频 WPIAL Class A first round playoff game at Geibel Catholic. Allamon led the Gators with 12 points.
Jim Downey | 蘑菇视频
The Gators鈥� Nati Mitchell (12) drives the lane between Western Beaver蘑菇视频 Jacob Stiger (20), Branden Kelleher (3), and Thad Gray in the first quarter of Tuesday蘑菇视频 WPIAL Class A first round playoff game at Geibel Catholic.
The Gators' Nijaah Hagens (4) dribbles around Western Beaver's Levi Gray (2) on his way to the basket in the third quarter of Tuesday's WPIAL Class A first round game at Geibel Catholic.
Western Beavers' Jacob Stiger (20) and Xander LeFebvre (4) close in on the Gators' Jeffery Johnson (5) in the lane during the third quarter of Tuesday's WPIAL Class A first round playoff game at Geibel Catholic.
CONNELLSVILLE TWP. 鈥� The Geibel Catholic boys made several runs in Tuesday蘑菇视频 WPIAL Class A first round playoff game, but visiting Western Beaver had a response each time to hold on for a 54-53 victory.
The Golden Beavers (11-4) advance to the quarterfinals Friday against Rochester. The Rams (12-4) defeated West Greene, 61-32.
Geibel Catholic had a couple chances to pull into the lead in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to three points on two occasions. The last time the deficit was sliced to three points occurred after the Gators鈥� Jeffery Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds left in the game.
The Gators called their final timeout after the shot, but the defense was unable to steal the inbounds pass. Western Beaver蘑菇视频 Lonnie Craft hit the second of two free throws for a 54-50 lead with about three seconds remaining.
Geibel蘑菇视频 Tre White hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final difference. White finished with 11 points.
Jaydis Kennedy nailed a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter to draw Geibel to 44-41, but the Golden Beavers鈥� Xander LeFebvre hit a pair of field goals, the second off a nice pass from Levi Gray to run the score to 48-41.
Western Beaver held seven-point leads of 50-43 and 52-45 in the final minute.
鈥淣othing dropped when we needed it to,鈥� said Geibel coach Jonathan Krizner. 鈥淲e had so many times we missed a two-foot putback. We鈥檇 slip or trip. Freaky things happened tonight.鈥�
The Gators were unable to make the most of their chances at the foul line, hitting 11-of-20 for the game and just 6-of-14 in the second half. The home team made 3-of-6 in the fourth quarter.
鈥淔ree throws were a killer. That was the difference,鈥� said Krizner.
The Gators fought back from an eight-point deficit to trail 35-31, only to have the visitors close the third quarter with a 5-2 run for a 40-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Geibel蘑菇视频 Kaiden Grady scored the final two points of the third quarter when he tipped in a shot before the buzzer.
Western Beaver had the early advantage, outscoring the Gators in the first quarter, 15-7.
However, Geibel Catholic (9-7) made its first run of the game to pull into a 17-17 tie. Zach Allamon蘑菇视频 spot-on shooting from the corner sparked the run. Allamon led the Gators with 12 points.
But, the Golden Beavers responded with a run of their own to extend the lead back to eight points at halftime, 25-17. The rally was capped when Thad Gray banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Thad Gray led Western Beaver with a game-high 17 points. Levi Gray finished with 15 points and LeFebvre added 10.
Krizner pointed to the overall youth of the Gators as compared to the senior-laden Golden Beavers.
鈥淭hey are a senior team. You can tell. We are very young,鈥� said Krizner. 鈥淭hey were very poised. That was the difference of the game.鈥�
As with so many teams over the winter, Geibel was adversely affected by the pandemic. Krizner feels his young team was just rounding into the level of play they should have been in early December.
鈥淚t was a lot of fun,鈥� Krizner said of hosting the playoff game. 鈥淭his is the first point of the season I feel where we should be. The shutdown, with all the new team (players), it was difficult to get practice.鈥�