Gladiators knock off Class 5A Jaguars

By DEAN DELLAMALVA JR.

MVI Sports

The South Allegheny boys basketball team failed in two prior attempts to move up in class and pick up a victory. 

The third time proved to be the charm as the Gladiators took down Class 5A Thomas Jefferson, 48-36, Saturday. 

Omar Faulkner was a force inside for South Allegheny (10-2), scoring 13 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and swatting away six shots. Bryce Epps scored 14 points to lead the Gladiators.

SA’s two losses have come to Class 5A Mars and Class 4A Lincoln Park. Being competitive against larger schools is an accomplishment, but picking up a win is a tremendous confidence boost, according to Gladiators coach Tony DiCenzo.

“It’s huge, we needed to be on the other end of one of these (games),” he said. “We battled like crazy against Mars and Lincoln Park and could have won both of those games. A couple bounces went the other team’s way.

“In those two losses we gained confidence and the realization that we belong. We can play at that level. To follow through with a win against a great team, with a great resume of who they’ve beaten, it’s great for our kids to get that sour taste out of their mouths. Hopefully, this just propels us as we go forward.”

It was a different story for Thomas Jefferson. Jake Pugh led the Jaguars (14-3) with 16 points, but was the only player in double figures. 

Typically a balanced-scoring team, Thomas Jefferson struggled scoring the basketball against the stingy South Allegheny defense.

“(South Allegheny) is a very good defensive team, not taking anything away from them. But our lack of movement hurt us,” TJ coach Dom DeCicco said. “We were standing around watching Ian (Hansen) and Jake (Pugh) dribble the basketball and not doing the things we normally do.”

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