The Steelers didn't have to win the Super Bowl for Upper St. Clair boys' basketball coach Danny Holzer to channel his inner Mike Tomlin, and Steve Limberiou didn't have to wear a 7 on his jersey to make a clutch play with the game on the line Tuesday night.
The senior guard/forward knocked down a game-winning 3-pointer with eight seconds left to help the Panthers (14-6, 9-3) pull out a win at Moon, 55-53. Limberiou scored a game-high 32 points -- including 6-for-9 from behind the arc and 10-for-10 from the free throw line -- and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Senior forward Aaron Johnson led Moon with 22 as the Tigers (14-6, 7-6) fell in only the third game in their new gymnasium after beating the Panthers, 66-60, at Upper St. Clair on Jan. 14.
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The Panthers had the difficult task of winning on the road without junior guard Ben Dabat, who missed the game due to illness, and senior center Garrett DelRe, who re-injured his left ankle in the second quarter.
"He was special," Holzer said of Limberiou after the game. "The free throw shooting, on top of the 3-point shooting, is nothing short of great. He really took the bull by the horns for our team with DelRe going down."
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Holzer said DelRe had a hard time walking on the ankle, which he first injured in the early moments against Central Catholic in December. The Panthers won that game, and just as before, Holzer was forced to go deep into his bench, counting on sophomores Pete Coughlin and John Duffy to pick up the slack.
"I'm a big Mike Tomlin fan," Holzer said. "One thing he says that I really like is 'When you get injuries, it doesn't matter. The next person steps up and we expect you to do the same job the guy in front of you did.'"
"I tell these guys all the time, 'It's a long season. You never know.'"
"When Garrett does go down with an injury I feel like the guys behind him come in and they feel they have something to prove," Limberiou said. "I almost feel the intensity level goes up for all of us a little bit because we have to pick it up, and I think that showed again."
They responded as Duffy knocked down a baseline jumper just seconds after entering the game, sparking an 8-0 run. Duffy and fellow forwards Jack Schwaba, Harris Beck and Dakota Conwell all worked together to take on Moon's frontcourt tandem of Johnson and Kyle Henderson, both 6-foot-4.
"They do all the little things," Limberiou said. "They may not score a lot of points, but the screens to get me open, the rebounds -- especially Duffy. He really hadn't played in a long time, but I thought that was a really impressive performance from him."
It was also in the second that Limberiou took control of the game, out-scoring Moon by himself, 14-13, to give Upper St. Clair a 31-27 lead at the half. He had 18 points at that time.
Moon jumped right into what became a classic back-and-forth battle to take a 42-39 advantage late in the third quarter with a chance to extend it before Limberiou stole the ball in effort to heave a three-quarter-court shot at the buzzer.
The attempt from about 70 feet away fell well short, but an ill-advised foul by Jordan Spinosi during the play gave Limberiou three shots from the free throw line. He converted all three directly in front of Moon's student cheering section to tie the game.
It brought back memories of when Limberiou hit two technical free throws in front of .
"I really enjoy playing under pressure like that, taking the shots under pressure," Limberiou said. "I practice that a lot, obviously, and I really enjoy the moment."
Moon head coach Jeff Ackerman changed up the Tigers' defense in the fourth, putting Johnson man-to-man against Limberiou. They held the Panthers without a single field goal for the first seven minutes of the period, but it was the final minute that would matter most.
Limberiou came off a screen near the top of the key to knock down his fifth 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to pull Upper St. Clair within one.
"When I was coming off those screens I figured if there was any way possible for me to get the shot off I was going to try to do it," Limberiou said.
After a failed scoring opportunity by Moon, Upper St. Clair had the ball again with 21 seconds left and a chance to win the game. The Panthers went with the same play that worked the possession before: Limberiou came off the high screen by Conwell and dropped in the game-winner.
"The first time, I used a head fake to get [Johnson] past me," Limberiou said. "The second time I got some really good screens from Dakota and Jack, and they really freed me up to give me the shot."
Just as Upper St. Clair did, Moon put the ball in their leading scorer's hands for the last shot, but Johnson's 3-point attempt rimmed out at the horn.
"That was about as close as it gets," Limberiou said with a deep sigh of relief. "It went in and out, but that would've been one of the toughest losses I've ever been through if that did happen."
