Published Thursday, March 19, 1998
PITTSBURGH _ George Junior basketball coach Bob McConnell has had his share of quality wins on the Tigers' bench. None, however, were as good as his club gave him Wednesday night.
George Junior overcame an 11-point third quarter deficit to post a 77-66 victory over Aliquippa in the PIAA Class AA semifinals before a packed house at Duquesne University's A.J. Palumbo Center.
``It's the best I can remember,'' McConnell said. ``We didn't have a win like this where we've been down 11 and fought back and beat a team this good.''
The victory sends the Tigers (30-1) back to the PIAA Class AA title game after a one-year hiatus and for the third time in six years. Tip-off is 3 p.m. Saturday at HersheyPark Arena in Hershey.
The victory also gives George Junior a rematch with Reading Central Catholic _ the team GJR beat 61-59 in 1995-96's title game. Reading Central Catholic defeated Dunmore 39-30.
Aliquippa finishes one-game shy of making a return trip to Hershey. The Quips were the
``We did what we could do,'' said Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac. ``We're the best public school, double-A team in the state. Whatever that gets us. Maybe we'll make up our own T-shirts.''
Leading the Tigers was 6-10 junior center B.J. Grove, who dominated the inside en route to a 22-point, 14-rebound performance.
Jamal Benjamin added 16 points and 5 rebounds for the Tigers, Jarrod Graham chipped in 15 points, all of which came in the second half, along with 12 assists and Harold Kelly came off the bench to notch 10 points.
Aliquippa (27-4), with a noticeable lack of height, suffered on the inside late in the game, playing with only one player on the court over 6-foot-3 in Brian Curenton. George Junior's trapping defense also took its toll on the Quips. The result was the Tigers outscoring Aliquippa 26-14 in the fourth quarter and 46-28 over the final two frames.
``I think we've got tougher kids than people think,'' McConnell said. ``Our kids were down whatever at halftime, five, six, seven. There wasn't any fear in their eyes at halftime. When we were down 11? I started looking for it and thought maybe we'd get down but their heads stayed up the whole time.''
The first half was a different story as the Quips' quickness pared apart the Tigers' vaunted half-court trap and even led McConnell to switch to a zone defense. The trio of Curenton, Marcus Moore and Bernard Lay slashed and dashed through GJR, posting a 38-31 lead at halftime.
Curenton drove, got fouled and converted the free throw to give the Quips a 12-6 advantage midway through the first quarter. The Tigers, however, were able to cut the Quips' lead to 18-16 after Grove tipped in a Kelly miss at the buzzer.
The Tigers took their first lead of the game after a Kelly 3-pointer opened the second quarter. The shot seemed to ignite GJR as it went on a 6-0 run to forge a 25-20 lead.
But a Lay layup followed by a Banks trey retied the game. Banks then took one of 11 first-half Tiger turnovers coast-to-coast for another inside score and the Quips went on to close the half on a 13-6 run.
``Anybody that thinks Aliquippa would be scared or wouldn't come to play or wouldn't have confidence is crazy,'' McConnell said. ``I watched them play so many times on tape, I saw them down to New Castle, to Blackhawk and just come fighting back. I've seen them put people down. It didn't surprise me that they gave us all they could handle.
``They just sliced us in the first half. We'd be guarding the ball and they'd go around and between two guys and lay it in. They're just as athletic as can be.''
Curenton, who scored 25 points before fouling out late in the fourth, put back a Lay miss to give the Quips their biggest lead, 48-37, with 41/2 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers, seeing their dream season flash every so faintly before their eyes, rebounded with a vengeance. George Junior switched back to its trap after abandoning it in the first half and effectively shut down Aliqippa's tired offense.
George Junior closed the third quarter on a 14-4 run to trail by one, 52-51, heading into the fourth quarter.
Grove opened the fourth quarter with a jumper to give the Tigers their first lead since early in the second. The two teams traded baskets and Curenton tied the game at 60 with just under six minutes remaining.
But the Quips suddenly went cold from the floor, managing just six points the rest of the way. The Tigers, meanwhile, lit up the nets as Benjamin scored 7 of the Tigers final 17 points to ice the game.
``We got beat by a team that is obviously more talented than us,'' Zmijanac said. ``I thought my kids played their hearts out. They played like Aliquippa kids. They bleed red and black. I'm very, very proud of them.''
PIAA Class AA Semifinals GEORGE JUNIOR _ Grove 9-4-8-22, Graham 4-7-9-15, Benjamin 6-4-5-16, Kelly 3-2-2-10, Keen 1-2-2-4, Ruff 3-3-3-10, Ford 0-0-0-0, Bazemore 0-0-0-0, Wiley 0-0-0-0. 3-point goals: Kelly 2, Ruff 1. Totals: 26-22-29-77. ALIQUIPPA _ Abercrombie 2-0-0-5, Lowe 1-0-0-2, Moore 2-4-4-8, Walker 1-0-0-2, Lay 4-0-0-9, Curenton 12-1-4-25, LeDonne 1-0-1-2, Banks 4-2-5-13. 3-point goals: Banks 3, Abercrombie 1, Lay 1. Totals: 27-7-14-66. GEORGE JUNIOR 16 31 51 77 ALIQUIPPA 18 38 52 66
Updated March 9, 1998
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