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Sports

Mt. Lebo Takes Round Two, Beats USC 58-30

The Blue Devils avenge their only league loss by beating the Panthers thoroughly on their home floor.

Twenty-three nights ago, Upper St. Clair students stormed the court at Mt. Lebanon after a . It's a vision Blue Devils fans and players did not forget. Following Friday night's 58-30 trouncing of the Panthers, USC fans got a dose of their own medicine.

Mt. Lebanon players and fans were given time to enjoy their own "storming of the court" immediately following the game. It was the last game of their regular season -- crowned champions on Upper St. Clair's home court.  They deserved their moment.

The next team that storms a court in Class AAAA basketball will be the team crowned champion at the end of the WPIAL playoffs -- that's the real prize. 

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USC and Mt. Lebanon have now won in the other team's gym. If they meet again in the playoffs, it will be at a neutral site and it will be a game worth watching.

Friday night's game was also worth watching, despite the lack of drama surrounding who would win. Every year, USC students pick one game to be the "battle of the beach." They sat all night in the student section, donning their Hawaiian attire and endured wave after wave of Mt. Lebanon's potent offense.

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"We got beat in every aspect of the game tonight. We laid an egg. I'm sorry you had to see this," assistant coach Gavin Williams said apologetically.

The first wave came right after the opening tip. Mt. Lebanon scored the first five baskets of the game. Three minutes in, and the Blue Devils led 10-0.

USC head coach Danny Holzer called a timeout and quickly regrouped a very frustrated squad. In front of their home crowd, the Panthers hoped to set the tone of the game.

Upper St. Clair responded well to the timeout. Senior guard/forward Steve Limberiou got the Panthers on the board 4:30  into the game and when center Garrett DelRe scored back-to-back hoops early in the second quarter, the Panthers trailed by only one, 12-11.

The 11-2 spurt was a false hope. Mt. Lebanon responded with a 15-0 run that was nothing short of spectacular. In a three minute span, Mt. Lebanon senior guard Luke Hagy scored the final 10 points of the run by hitting four consecutive baskets.

First, an innocent jumper and the lead was 8. Then, another jumper accompanied by a look at his own student section that appeared to say, "Wait, there's more." 

Moments later he nailed a wide open 3-pointer that upped the lead to 13. As an encore, he swished another 3-pointer with Limberiou flying past to defend. This one increased the lead to 16 and was accompanied by a short pose of his follow through. Not quite the brash style of Michael Jordan on a night everything's dropping, but he made his point.

Hagy led the Blue Devils with 17 points thanks in large part to that Jordan-esque moment. The halftime score was 30-15, but the way things were going, you knew what was in store after the break.

Garrett DelRe came out the second half with controlled aggression. However, his hard-earned six points early in the second quarter were no match to the contributions George Hensler and Evan Eaton were giving the Blue Devils. Their 12 points each helped pace Mt. Lebanon to the 58-30 victory.

Limberiou was held to six points, one game after scoring 32, and Dakota Conwell, who scored 17 in that big win at Mt. Lebo in January, didn't record a point.

"We got our butts kicked tonight.  Let's go out and get 'em tomorrow," coach Holzer said.

That's what he told his starters after pulling them with four minutes left in the game. While the reserves were closing out the final moments, coach Holzer's attention was on the five starters who will tip it off Saturday afternoon at home against Chartiers Valley.

"At least we get a chance to get the taste out of our mouths," assistant coach Gavin Williams said after the game.

History suggests this Panthers basketball team will do just that. They responded well after their previous lopsided in the Pittsburgh Classic. It took Friday's stellar performance from the Blue Devils to snap the 3-game win streak which followed the Shaler loss.

A win against Chartiers Valley Saturday afternoon at 4:30 and the Panthers will finish their season 15-7 overall, and 10-4 in the conference.

Next week is the playoff pairings. The next team to storm a court will have earned it.

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