Belle Vernon knocks off Farrell, 74-63
BELLE VERNON – In a game of runs, Belle Vernon made one final late spurt to beat Farrell, 74-63, on Friday night, which allows the Leopards to continue a run toward their dream of the program’s first state basketball title and extend coach Joe Salvino’s run at a potential third.
“We started out on fire but then we didn’t control the momentum of the game,” said Salvino, who now has 745 career wins. “We had a 20-point lead and we are shooting three-pointers. There was no need for that.
“All we had to do was play defense and rebound. We stopped playing defense and they came back.”
The Leopards (22-4) came out blistering in the PIAA 4A first-round game, racing out to a 13-0 lead before Malcolm Norman banked in a three-pointer with 4:06 to go in the first quarter to give the Steelers (12-12) their first points.
Belle Vernon led 24-10 after one quarter, and an 8-0 run early in the second gave the Leopards a commanding 32-12 lead.
Although Belle Vernon led 37-23 at the half, Farrell used an 11-5 run to close the second quarter and a 7-3 start to the second half to trim Belle Vernon’s lead to 40-30 early in the third.
The Steelers made five of their 10 three-pointers in the quarter, and a 27-15 scoring advantage trimmed the Leopards’ lead to 52-50 heading into the fourth.
“In the third quarter, they hit a couple threes,” said Salvino. “We knew (Trae Cousin) and (Juelz Johnson) could shoot, and we didn’t rebound well in the quarter.
“When they started scoring, they did a good job. If we didn’t have that big lead, we would have been in for a dogfight.”
Farrell twice trimmed Belle Vernon’s lead to one point early in the fourth, but the Leopards never gave up the lead and closed the game on a 17-7 run to advance to the PIAA Sweet 16 for the second time under Salvino (2022) and only the third time since 1981.
Salvino spoke about being off for eight days as well as the advantage Belle Vernon had playing at home.
“We got through it, and when you are off eight days, sometimes that takes its toll,” he said. “One of the things is that two-hour bus drive (for Farrell). They were a little bit sluggish (early in the game).”
Belle Vernon’s Trevor Kovatch and Tommy Davis each scored 18 points while Zion Moore added 17 and Dominic Ghilani had 12. The leopards were 18-for-30 at the free-throw line while Farrell was only 3 of 9.
Ghilani (15 rebounds) and Davis (11 rebounds and three blocks) each finished with double-doubles while Moore added six assists.
“Dominic played a really good game,” Salvino said. “He is a man possessed when he wants that ball, and he goes after it. He did a good job.”
Ghilani made a three-pointer in the first quarter to give Belle Vernon a 16-3 lead, and it led Salvino to provide a rare smile on the sideline.
“That might be his second (three-pointer of the season),” Salvino quipped while providing a hearty laugh in his office after the game. “I mean, I had to smile at that. I felt like, how can we lose if he is hitting threes?”
Another key in the fourth quarter was the defensive pressure by Curty Wade and Kovatch.
Cousin and Johnson each scored 19 points for Farrell while Norman added 15.
Belle Vernon faces Sharon (19-8), the second-place team out of District 10, Tuesday at a time and place to be determined.