Published Wednesday, March 24, 1999 
"You've gotta go out and earn it every second,'' the veteran mentor began regarding the school's ninth state Final Four berth during his tenure. And although the Golden Eagles have won 18 of their last 19 contests, he is thinking only of today's 7 p.m. tilt at Butler High School.
"You have to understand, it's every game. Our last game was tough -- Homer Center was good and it was a tough game and we earned it -- and (tonight) will be no exception. You've gotta earn everything in life; you can't talk about 'Well, Kennedy's back in the Western Finals' or 'They won the state championship last year.' You've gotta earn everything!''
Kennedy (22-6) and WPIAL titlist Duquesne (25-5) have met in previous PIAA playoffs. In '94-95, the Golden Eagles avenged a 43-36 setback to the Dukes in the '93-94 Final Four by beating them in the second round, 70-47. Kennedy also decisioned Duquesne, 46-40, in the '85-86 state semifinals before beating Bristol for the first of three Commonwealth crowns orchestrated by Votino (362-130).
And just as Votino has led Kennedy to Hershey on four occasions, so, too has Duquesne flourished under Rich Moran.
The Dukes made three consecutive appearances at state ('92, '93 and '94), winning twice, and have won eight section and five WPIAL titles. But Moran (273-156), in his 16th season, has announced he will retire following this season's conclusion.
Athough their respective careers have paralleled, there are few similarities between the teams Votino and Moran coach.
"They're extremely athletic and they pound the boards, which is a concern of ours," Votino said of Duquesne. "If we rebound like we did the other night (against Homer Center), we will not be successful. They also run the floor well, so if we don't get back -- sprint back -- in transition defense, it could be a long night. And we have to break and attack their press. ... We can't have too many turnovers.''
Votino likened Duquesne to the Clairton team Kennedy faced two years ago.
"Very similar, but they have better skills and they're a more experienced team," he said. "They're similar (to Clairton) athletically, but have way better guards.''
The Dukes' backcourt features the 6-foot-2 tandem of Joe Boxley and Jaison Cook. Boxley is the club's leading scorer (18.6 points per game) and surpassed the career 1,000-point plateau in a quarterfinal-round victory over Juniata Valley. Cook (15.4 ppg.) is headed to Northwestern University on a football scholarship.
Moran echoed Votino's contention regarding the importance of cleaning the glass.
"We're going to have to hit the boards, that's where the game's going to be won," Moran told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "If we can outrebound them, then I like our chances. We've gotta keep (John) Reimold off the boards and (Gary) Satterwhite on the other side.''
The 6-5 junior Reimold has been the big gun for the Eagles all season and is currently Joe Boxley points, the Dukes drew no closer than four points for the duration. That was due in large measure to Reimold, who equalled Duquesne's collective 22-point output as the Golden Eagles assumed a 29-22 bulge at the break.
Then, while Reimold attempted only nine second-half shots, sophomore Keenan Christiansen took the baton and tallied 13 of his 15 points. Reimold also made the most of his modest shot selections, posting a 10-point, 6-rebound second half.
Perhaps the most surprised person in Butler Tuesday night was Reimold, not owing to his performance as much as to all the post-game media attention.
"My teammates were finding me ... they were wide-open shots ... they weren't hard to make,'' he humbly summarized.
"We're a very unselfish team,'' Votino echoed. "We move pretty well without the basketball, we run our plays very well, and we find people when they're open. ... We play great team defense and we move the ball so well offensively. It was just a great team effort.''
WPIAL titlist Duquesne, meanwhile, labored through a 4-point third quarter en route to a 42-26 deficit entering the fourth frame. The Dukes ended with a 15-for-43 (34.8 percent) shooting performance and 15 turnovers.
Illustrating their woes was Boxley, who reached only half his 18.6 points-per-game norm before fouling out with 4:29 remaining, and Jaison Cook, who entered the game averaging 15.4 ppg., but was limited by a leg injury to a single trey.
"Reimold, that's the key player there,'' retiring Duquesne mentor Rich Moran praised. "We knew he was a good ballplayer coming in, and he just had the hot hand, shooting-wise. We were aware of it; we just didn't defense him.
"That's the way life goes, peaks and valleys,'' Moran mused regarding his scholastic coaching swan song. "We had a tremendous year. I don't think anybody expected us to get this far, and I thought we might be able to sneak one in here, but we ran into a very good ballclub with a player with a hot hand.''
Conversely, Kennedy Christian -- the defending PIAA Class A champion and the Keystone State's top-ranked team according to the Harrisburg Patriot-News -- is on a mission according to its taskmaster.
"I had four kids that were here last year,'' Votino, referring to Reimold, Ryan McElhinny, Marcus Oatis and Tony Hurl, explained. "When you're talking about experience -- and I have a lot of respect for the Duquesne program -- but I think our experience played in tonight, because we went this far last year and there were four kids that played on that team and they had a lot of (playing) time. Even though we lost four seniors, I think the experience in this particular big game showed.''
"It's unbelievable, man, I'm so pumped. But I've got to stay calm, though, 'cause we've got one more game,'' Votino emphasized. "That's why I called a timeout with about two minutes to go. I told our kids we would not celebrate and we would finish the game and we have one more game left. And that's very important because you don't want to celebrate like that because the season's not over; you celebrate when the season's over.''
Notes: Led by Reimold and Christiansen, who turned in 6-for-11 shooting, Kennedy connected on 26 of 51 floor shots. ... Sophomore substitute Gary Satterwhite hauled down a game-high 10 caroms, leading the Golden Eagles to a 27-all stalemate on the boards against the athletically-gifted Dukes. Ryan Blackwell and Don Daniels each snared six for Duquesne (25-6). ... KC committed only seven turnovers, four in the final frame. ... Boxley, Daniels and Lafayette Little evenly divided 27 points for Duquesne, which led 7-4 with 3:42 left in the first quarter on Cook's trey and a Blackwell bucket. However, following a Reimold layup and jumper from the elbow and a Christiansen corner trey, Kennedy led 11-7 with 1:34 left and never trailed again. ... Oatis was injured on a drive with 2:15 remaining in the second stanza. He sat out the rest of the first half and returned for limited second-half duty. Team physician Dr. Michael Namey said Oatis was taken to a hospital for X-rays on his right wrist and right hip, and his prognosis was not known.
* * *
PIAA CLASS A SEMIFINALS
KENNEDY CHRISTIAN 16 13 13 22 64 DUQUESNE 9 13 4 15 41
KENNEDY CHRISTIAN -- Oatis 0-2-2-2; R. McElhinny 1-2-2-4; J. Reimold 14-3-6-32; Christiansen 6-2-3-15; Hurl 2-0-0-4; Satterwhite 2-1-2-5; D. McElhinny 1-0-1-2; N. Reimold 0-0-0-0; Passerrello 0-0-0-0; George 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: J. Reimold 1, Christiansen 1. Totals: 26-10-16-64.
DUQUESNE -- Boxley 3-3-4-9; Cook 1-0-0-3; Blackwell 2-0-0-4; Dubyak 0-2-2-2; Daniels 3-2-8-9; Davidson 1-0-0-3; Little 4-1-3-9; Demery 0-0-0-0; Russ 0-0-0-0; Cobbs 0-0-0-0; Jefferies 0-0-0-0; Brownfield 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Cook 1, Daniels 1, Davidson 1. Totals: 15-8-17-41.
Bishop Hannan, the District 2 champion, earned a PIAA Class A title berth matchup with Kennedy Christian with a 48-38 victory over Susquehanna Community, the District 2 third-place finisher.
Gerry McNamara led Bishop Hannon with 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers early in the first quarter and a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left in the game.
In Class AAA, No. 2 Blackhawk and unranked Holy Ghost Prep advanced to Friday's 8 p.m. championship game with semifinal victories.
Blackhawk (29-3), the District 7 champion, earned its fourth trip to the finals, and first since 1996, with a 74-52 victory over District 7 runner-up South Park (20-10).
Blackhawk jumped out to a 16-8 lead and kept charging with two 11-point runs in the second quarter. Mark Franitti led the Cougars with 16 points.
South Park was led by Reggie Wells Jr., who had 23 points, but without center James Pinkston, who sat out with a hip injury.
Holy Ghost Prep (26-5), the District 1 runner-up, earned its title berth with a 40-25 victory over District 3 third-place finisher Susquehanna Township (27-5). Holy Ghost Prep's Jimmy George, who had 12 points, was the only player to score in double figures for either team.
In Class AAAA girls, top-ranked Cheltenham and No. 7 Upper St. Clair earned berths in Friday's 6 p.m. championship game.
Cheltenham (31-1), the District 1 champion, earned its berth with a 62-54 victory over District 1 third-place finisher Council Rock (30-2).
Upper St. Clair (29-2), the District 7 third-place finisher, advanced with a 64-49 victory over District 7 fourth-place finisher Mount Lebanon.
Upper St. Clair broke open a close game by outscoring Mount Lebanon 15-5 in the third quarter.
Teniece Johnson led Upper St. Clair with 21 points, while Beth Friday added 16. Erin Marshall led Mount Lebanon with 15 points.
In Class AA girls, defending champion and top-ranked Girard and No. 8 Bishop Hoban earned a trip to Friday's title game, which is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
Girard (30-1), the District 10 champion, earned its second consecutive berth in the finals with a 48-45 victory over District 7 champion East Allegheny (28-3).
Ann Mimm led Girard with 22 points, while Brooke Stewart paced East Allegheny with 27.
Bishop Hoban (27-3), the District 2 champion, earned its title berth with a 63-46 victory over District 11 champion Panther Valley (25-6).
