The Bethel Park Black Hawks took on Upper St. Clair for a greatly anticipated Quad-A Section 4 match-up. Bethel Park came into Tuesday’s game with a 2-game losing streak against Cannon-McMillan and Mt. Lebanon.
With the Storm Squad in full effect, Bethel Park defeated USC 72 to 48. This bounce-back was just what the doctor ordered.
USC jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the beginning of the game which caused uncertainty among the Bethel Park faithful. Slow starts have been too familiar for Bethel this year. But the Black Hawks would not let another one happen.
Bethel Park went on a 21-point run while converting on six 3-pointers in the first quarter. The Black Hawks went in the locker room with a 45-30 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, USC narrowed the lead to 47-37. Bethel Park then stretched the lead to 56-38 and would not look back, marching on to victory.
The Black Hawks made twelve 3-pointers in the game in which five of them came from senior forward, Josh Krafczynski.
Krafczynski supplied 19 points coming off the bench while junior guard Joey Mascaro dropped 26 points. Mascaro knocked down four 3-pointers.
J.J. Conn lead Upper St. Clair with 12 points. Zach Stalley and Andrew Wheeler both had 10 points.
In an interview with Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, USC head coach Danny Holzer said, “We didn’t rebound. We didn’t defend. We did everything you’re supposed to do to lose a game by a lot of points.”
After the game, the beloved Storm Squad struck again. But due to security and safety issues, the Storm Squad stormed Bethel Park’s locker room with the team welcoming them in their celebration.
The game was selected as one of the US Army “Hoops Hysteria Tour Games”. US Army had an Army Strong table presentation. They also held a half-court shot contest and a raffle for a pair of “Beats by Dre” headphones. None of the five contestants made the half-court shot but senior Mitch Nordstrom won the raffle receiving a pair of “Beats by Dre”. Nordstrom declined to comment.
Nothing feels better than beating your biggest rival. What the boys basketball team did was more than just win a basketball game, they created a memory that we will never forget.
