Conwell-Egan survives Minersville on way to PIAA Final Eight (VIDEO)

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SHILLINGTON – Only when the backboard lit up, the final buzzer sounded and the three-quarter court desperation shot tossed up by Minersville sophomore Kei’dra Taylor clanked off the side of the rim and fell to the floor could Conwell-Egan Catholic breathe easy.

The Eagles (17-9) had survived round two of the PIAA Class AA Tournament with a 54-51 win over the Battlin’ Miners (22-5) and yes, the game was every bit as close as the score indicated.

Trailing by five at the half and by two after three periods, Conwell-Egan assembled a 10-4 scoring spurt that had the defending state champs ahead 48-40 with three minutes to go.

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But the District 11 champions refused to give up. In the final 1:45, Minersville surged forward with an 11-3 scoring spurt on the strength of a trio of three pointers by senior Chris Leshko (16 pts.) – who hit four of those in the game, junior Aaron Snyder (5 pts.) and finally Taylor (8), whose seemingly impossible 3-pointer off the glass drew the Miners back within two – 53-51 – with 6.8 ticks remaining.

“When (Taylor) made the last ‘three’ from one of the hardest bank angles you’ll ever see, you start thinking ‘this is a charmed life,’” commented CEC head coach Frank Sciolla. “When he threw up that baseball pass, I thought, ‘why not?’”

Sciolla was referring to Taylor’s final heave that hit the left side of the rim before falling away, sending the Eagles to a state quarterfinal battle against District 3 runner-up Camp Hill 1 p.m. Saturday, March 12 at Reading High School’s Geigle Complex. The Lions (20-6) advanced with a 45-40 triumph over District 2 champion Meyers (20-7).

While Egan got off to a slow start, trailing 27-22 at the half, the Eagles responded with a pressure defense after the intermission that stifled the Minersville offense and create turnovers, helping the defending PIAA champs tie the score at 36-all on CEC senior forward Vinny Dalessandro’s put-back basket with 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

While the Miners limited CEC senior Lapri McCray-Pace (30 pts.) to just eight points in the first half, they could not hold the Eagles’ leading scorer back after the break. McCray-Pace accounted for 12 of Egan’s 14 points in the third period and 10 of its 18 points in the final frame.

“On the offensive end, number 21 took over and started dominating the ball in that third and fourth quarter. He’s a heck of a player,” said Minersville head coach Cliff Woodford, who also led his team to the second round of states last season.

“That put a lot of pressure on our defense and started creating opportunities for some other people.”

Still, Minersville held a 38-36 edge going into the fourth quarter, thanks to a fluke play in which junior Steele Fekette saved the ball before it went out of bounds, flipping it high up over his back to Shane Hoffman (14 pts.), who was waiting under the basket for an easy layup registered just before the sound of the third-period buzzer.

To their credit, the Eagles answered back, mounting a 10-0 run to begin the fourth quarter, thanks to 3-pointers by Dalessandro and sophomore Eric Esposito and a pair of layups by McCray-Pace.

“We had to have a really good possession; we scored and we got a stop,” said Sciolla.

“From that point, we pushed it out to 48-40 so we did answer the bell and we did make the plays.

“We got just enough stops to win but at the end of the day, we’re in the final eight.”

Missed free throws by Conwell-Egan made this matchup much closer than it had to be. The Eagles hit just 6-of-13 shots from the stripe in the first half and shot just 54 percent from the foul line for the game. To his credit, McCray-Pace helped put this one in the win column by making six of his last eight foul shots but missed 1-and-1 shots by Kar’ron Johnson (4 pts.) and Esposito (3) allowed Minersville to hang in to the very end.

“We held on,” said Sciolla. “It would have been nice to make a few more free throws at the end but we get to play Saturday.

“I’m happy the kids get another opportunity to come out and play against a team that’s going to be really athletic. Camp Hill brings a lot of size and a lot of athleticism to the table.”

The Miners gave the Eagles all that they could handle in this one, getting off to a fast start that saw the challengers take the lead, mostly on the play of Leshko, who hit four shots from the floor in the initial frame, including a pair from 3-point range.

Leshko’s fourth field goal in the first period put Minersville on top 17-10 with a minute to go.

Egan closed the gap to three by the end of the quarter but the Miners launched an 8-3 scoring run to begin the second period. A driving layup by senior Adam Stoppie (4 pts.), a three-ball by Hoffman and a 3-point play by Taylor put Minersville up 25-17 with 5:20 remaining in the first half.

“You have to give them credit because they played really hard,” said Sciolla. “They were super-physical and they played like it was their last game. I thought they were more excited about playing than us and they jumped on us early.”

“They executed and they made it a game.”

After the big first period by Leshko, the 6-2 senior for the Miners was held to a pair of 3-pointers in the third period and no more. Credit Johnson for his defense of Leshko, said Sciolla.

“I thought Kar’ron Johnson was the key to the game,” said Sciolla. “I thought he defended really, really well. He plays super under control and got us into what we wanted to do (offensively).”

As hot as Minersville started out in this one, its shots grew cold in the fourth quarter. The Miners shot 3-for-12 from the floor in the final frame, perhaps one reason their season has ended and Conwell-Egan’s is moving on.

McCray-Pace led all scorers with 30 points, 22 of which he scored in the second half. For his part, Dalessandro chipped in with 15 points and 10 rebounds, his biggest carom coming off the defensive glass with 17. 4 seconds remaining.

That sent Lapri to the line where he canned a pair of free throws. He drained 1-of-2 on his last trip to the charity stripe, giving the Eagles the winning edge.

NOTES: Egan faced District 2 champ Mid Valley in the state quarterfinals last season and the Eagles emerged from William Allen High with a 72-56 triumph that sent them to the PIAA semis vs. Loyalsock. District 7 champ Aliquippa – the team Egan defeated in last year’s PIAA title game – remains unbeaten with a 56-38 win over Bishop Canevin. The Quips (25-0) face District 10 rival West Middlesex (20-8) in the state quarters. The Eagles could see Mastery Charter North (25-3) again in the state semifinals though the Pumas must get past District 3 champ Trinity (21-6) in the quarterfinals in order to see a rematch of this year’s District 12-AA championship. The Shamrocks – who look to avenge last season’s PIAA loss at the hands of Mastery North – destroyed Parkway Center City, 67-48, to reach the quarterfinals. District 7 rivals Lincoln Park (24-4) and Quaker Valley (22-6) face off in the other quarterfinal.

Contact the author at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

PIAA Class AA Second Round

Conwell-Egan Catholic 54, Minersville 51

(March 10 at Gov. Mifflin Intermediate School)

Minersville      17 10 11 13 – 51

Conwell-Egan 14 8 14 18 – 54

MINERSVILLE (22-5) — Aaron Snyder 1 2-2 5, Chris Leshko 6 0-0 16, Shane Hoffman 5 1-2 14, Kei’dra Taylor 3 1-1 8, Adam Stoppie 1 2-2 4, David Graham 2 0-0 4; TOTALS — 18 6-7 51.

CONWELL-EGAN (17-9) — Danny Green 0 0-1 0, Kar’ron Johnson 1 2-5 4, Lapri McCray-Pace 10 9-13 30, Eric Esposito 1 0-1 3, James Leible 1 0-0 2, Vinny Dalessandro 6 2-5 15; TOTALS — 19 13-24 54.

3-POINT GOALS: M — Leshko 4, Hoffman 3, Snyder, Taylor; C-E — McCray-Pace, Esposito, Dalessandro.

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Steve Sherman

Steve Sherman
Steve Sherman is the Sports Editor for Bucks Local News.

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