Gators section title hopes end with loss to Crusaders
Bishop Canevin was expected to be the No. 1 seed Monday night when the WPIAL Class A boys basketball pairings were released and its easy to see why.
Geibel Catholic, ranked in the district top five most of the season, took its second shot at the Crusaders on Sunday afternoon and came up short again.
Jalen Gales scored a game-high 23 points as Bishop Canevin snapped the Gators’ 11-game winning streak with an 83-61 win at Geibel. Kevaughn Price and Kai Spears added 12 and 11 points.
The Gators’ last loss was at Bishop Canevin, 91-55, on Jan. 11.
The Crusaders, who wrapped up Section 2-A play with a perfect 10-0 record and are 16-4 overall, have won 14 of their last 15 games. Their four losses have come to one Class AAAAA team (Penn Hills) and three Class AAAAAA teams (Fox Chapel, Central Catholic and Butler), all of which are all headed to the playoffs.
Jaydis Kennedy topped the Gators in scoring with 19 points. Trevell Clayton followed with 17 points and Kaiden Grady had 11 points.
The Gators (8-2, 17-5) don’t have a bad resume themselves. Two of their other three losses and seven of their wins have come again teams in higher classifications.
Among Class A playoff teams from outside their section, Geibel lost to Neighborhood Academy and defeated Leechburg.