`Sewickley Academy cops A crown`

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) _ Neil Hoy scored 20 points and Sewickley Academy led from start to finish, beating Schuykill Haven 52-45 Friday to win the PIAA Boys Class A championship.

Sewickley Academy (24-8) closed the game with a 17-12 run in the final 3:25 and ensured the win with Steve Nesmith's dunk off Hoy's steal and Dwight Quarles' assist with 51 seconds to play.

The Panthers finished winning 11 of 12 games, including a win over Class AA finalist and Sewickley neighbor Aliquippa. Hoy scored 64 points in the Panthers' final three playoff wins.

Sewickley won despite a 5-point third quarter and 53 percent foul shooting.

Schuylkill Haven guard Jeff Metza's 3-pointer as the third quarter ended cut Sewickley's lead 29-27. The Hurricanes (29-4) had a chance to tie the game at 35, but Lad Hudak blocked Mike Swoyer's shot with 4:06 left in the fourth, and Hoy retrieved the ball.

Swoyer scored 12 points and had a game-high 17 rebounds for the Hurricanes, who shot only 36 percent from the field and 44 percent from the foul line. Swoyer outrebounded Hudak, who had only 6, despite being 4 inches shorter.

Sewickley raced out to a 13-4 lead in the first 7:00 and was ahead 24-15 at halftime behind Hudak's 11 points and a defense that held Schuylkill to 29 percent shooting.

Hudak, who had 12 points, compensated for 5-for-14 shooting in a 14-point loss to Clairton in the recent PIAA District 7 finals.

Sewickley Academy, which like Schuylkill was in its first title game, won the ninth boys' Class A championship for a western Pennsylvania team in the last 12 years. Kennedy Christian, Monessen, Duquesne and Juniata Valley were other recent champions.

CLASS AAA
Susquehanna 64, Lewistown 45

Kevin Nicholson scored 18 points _ 14 after the break _ and Susquehanna Township won its first PIAA championship.

Susquehanna outscored the Panthers 23-5 in the fourth quarter and held them to 7 percent shooting.

The Indians started the second half up 26-23, extended the lead to seven and kept it there for about 5:00 until Scott Kochenderfer, Lewistown's leader this season with 18.9 ppg., scored 11 straight points _ his only points of the night _ for Lewistown (27-7) to end the third quarter, including a banked, 60-foot 3-pointer as time ran out to make the score 41-40.

Jim Collins tied the score at 41 with a free throw a minute into the fourth period. Kochenderfer then missed his next three shots, threw away a pass on a fast break and missed a layup as Susquehanna built a 6-point lead.

Shaun Burke's 3-pointer for the Indians with 3:06 left put the lead at 50-42. Nicholson, Burke and Reggie Guy led scoring as Susquehanna (30-2) pulled away at the end.

Girls
CLASS AAAA
Downingtown 55, Woodland Hills 52

Janeka Lopp blocked a shot and stole a pass in the last 2:00 and scored 17 points as Downingtown won its fourth AAAA championship.

Danielle Johnson, who led Woodland Hills with 18 points, missed all three of her free-throw chances with four seconds left, the last intentionally. Johnson's subsequent 3-point attempt following an offensive rebound sailed wildly into the stands. The lead changed hands seven times in the third.

With Woodland Hills down by four late, Leslie Fishbeck missed three short shots, and Johnson one, after getting offensive rebounds on the same possession.

Woodland Hills' Korie Morton, the top scorer in the suburban Pittsburgh school's 8-year history with 1,931 points, was held to 12 points.

Downingtown (31-1) also won the title in '87, '91 and '92, all under Schnure, and was runner-up in '86 and '94.

The Whippets opened an 8-2 lead in the first 3:06, but Danielle Johnson's third 3-pointer of the half put Woodland Hills (30-3) up 24-23 midway through the second quarter. Downingtown made 21 turnovers, while Woodland Hills gave the ball up 20 times.

Greensburg C.C. 48, Trinity 45
Hillary Prokay scored 20 points and led a late rally as Greensburg Central Catholic bounced back from an overtime loss in last year's final.

Greensburg (31-2) trailed by as much as 13 in the first half and 11 with 5:00 left in the third quarter. The Centurions turned the ball over 11 times and shot only 22 percent in the first half, including Prokay's 1-of-8. She brought Greensburg back in the second with 13 straight points, the last on a wide-open 5-footer with 5:09 left in the fourth quarter that tied it at 39. Prokay made 7 of 9 second-half shots.

After Prokay's run, Jenny Berrett's basket gave the Centurions their first lead (41-39), capping a 13-4 rally. Her twin sister, Becky, stole a pass from Chrissy Walker to Tara Twomey and made two free throws to preserve the win.

Down by three in the last seconds, Colleen Duffy made a short jumper instead of a trey.

Greensburg lost 67-59 to Pine Grove in last year's championship after rallying from 11 points down to force a tie but collapsing in overtime. Jenny Berrett had 17 against Trinity, including 4-of-7 3-pointers.

Trinity (30-2) lost its fourth consecutive championship appearance since beating Bishop McCort 56-51 in '86. Its only other loss this season was to Elco, 52-51 in overtime, in the District 3 finals. The Shamrocks turned the ball over 10 times in the second half, compared with four in the first.

Trinity, getting crisp passes from Chrissy Walker and 5-foot-4 Tara Twomey, opened with a 7-2 run over 3:44 capped by Chrissy Herchelroath's layup. Jenny Berrett's back-to-back 3- pointers tied the score at 11 for Greensburg three minutes later. The Shamrocks responded with an 11-3 run early in the second quarter and led 28- 19 at halftime.

Walker had 11 points for the Shamrocks.

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Updated March 22, 1997
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