WC Rustin upset bid falls short

RADNOR >> Sometimes in an athletic event there are no losers, one team just scores more points than the other. Such was the case Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Radnor High School Gymnasium as the 12th-seeded West Chester Rustin boys basketball team battled arguably one of the top teams in the state in top-seeded and undefeated Radnor.

Rustin held a one-point lead after three quarters, but the host Raptors went on a devastating 17-1 run in the fourth as they shot a perfect seven-for-seven from the field and the undefeated Raptors wore down the gallant Golden Knights, 66-52, in the District 1 5A semifinal.

Radnor (26-0) will now face Unionville next Saturday at 2 p.m at Temple University for the district championship, while Rustin will travel to Chichester Wednesday for a third-place game.

“I think our legs got a little heavy in the fourth period tonight,” Rustin coach Vince Mostardi said. “We subbed for some guys in the second period, but we wanted to go with the guys that are our core guys that have brought us to this point. I think our fourth period, shots were off because of heavy legs.

“And give them credit. They hit shots and the guys taking those shots were the ones we wanted to take them, but they knocked them down tonight. I thought our effort was tremendous.”

Rustin was led by Ian Schlesinger and Tyler Giunta, who both tallied 14 points. Chase Hatton had all 10 of his points in the first half where the Golden Knights (14-14) built a 29-23 halftime advantage on 11-for-22 shooting from the field in the first half. They were outplaying and outhustling the favored Raptors.

With a slim lead after three, the Golden Knights looked to be in good shape when Giunta started the fourth with one of his four three-pointers for a 47-43 lead.

But, the Golden Knights would score only five more points in the stanza, where Radnor took over the game by outscoring them, 23-8.

The run started when Mike Savadore drained a three. The Golden Knights, who shot just two-for-10 in the quarter, misfired on a three and Jackson Hicke scored in tight for a 49-48 Radnor lead. Hicke had a great game as he scored a game-high 23 points to go along with 14 rebounds.

Rustin suddenly could not buy a basket and the Raptors were rolling. Hicke put back a follow, Jackson Gaffney drained a long three, then Hicke made a three of his own and it was 58-47 Radnor with only 2:40 to play.

“I don’t think we wore down,” Hatton said. “They are a real good team and they had the home crowd and give them credit, they hit their shots in the fourth period.”

After a turnover, one of 11 Golden Knights miscues for the game, the Raptors iced the game as Charlie Thornton ran the floor and threw down a monster slam that electrified the crowd and gave them a 60-48 lead. It was the punctuation point of a 17-1 run and the upset bid was over.

“We are the 12th seed and a lot of people said we did not belong in the playoffs,” Hatton said. “But, and I do not mean to be disrespectful, but I don’t think anyone really wanted to play us when states start. We are a very dangerous team right now and we just came up a little short today.”

Radnor 66, WC Rustin 52
WC RUSTIN: Giunta 5 0-0 14, Sproull 1 0-0 2, Schlesinger 5 1-3 14, Crispino 0 0-0 0, Nochumson 3 5-5 12, Hatton 4 0-2 10. Totals 18 6-10 52.
RADNOR: Gaffney 1 1-2 4, Hicke 8 5-7 23, Mueller 5 0-0 10, Pierce 2 0-0 4, Rosenbaum 4 2-4 13, Pierce 2 0-0 4, Salvador 2 0-0 5, Thornton 3 0-0 7. Totals 25 8-13 66.
WC Rustin 12 17 15 8-52
Radnor    7 16 20 23-66
3-point goals: Giunta 4, Schlesinger 3, Nochumson, Hatton 2, Gaffney, Hicke 2, Rosenbaum 3, Salvador, Thornton.