Bulldogs upset Gladiators in final seconds

By DEAN DELLAMALVA JR.
MVI Sports

The battle for supremacy in Section 3-3A is far from determined.
Shady Side Academy made sure of that Wednesday night.
Thompson Lau hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds to go to give Shady Side Academy its first lead of the night and propel the Bulldogs to a 67-62 win over visiting South Allegheny Wednesday.
Antonio Epps was called for a charge on the following possession after making a layup that would have put the Gladiators (10-3, 7-1) back on top. The Bulldogs (10-1, 8-1) made good at the free throw line in the final seconds to secure the win.
The loss snapped a 20-game section win streak for the Gladiators dating back to February 2019.
“Credit to (Shady Side Academy), they made big shots in big moments and we had opportunities to close the game down the stretch and didn’t take advantage of them,” South Allegheny coach Tony DiCenzo said. “They’re a good team; they play really hard, they’re really well coached and a great program. We knew coming in that this would be the toughest test in the section, it would be a challenge to come in here and get a win. We didn’t execute to close the game out.”
SA’s Omar Faulkner fouled out of the game with 26.4 seconds remaining and his team ahead 61-58. But the Gladiators’ Bryce Epps missed two of three at the line down the stretch and Faulkner being out left a defensive void SA just could not fill inside.
Faulkner, who sat out the first four minutes for disciplinary reasons, led all scorers with 26 points. Antonio Epps finished with 14 and Bryce Epps had 11.
Shady Side Academy, which had trouble scoring inside in the first meeting, got better penetration and inside play. The key was tto get Faulkner away from the basket.
“(Faulkner) is one of the best defenders I have ever coached against,” SSA coach David Vadnais said. “We rely on getting into the paint and if we get into the paint against him, it isn’t going to work. A lot of credit to my assistant coach Kyle Smith who ran this five-out offense in college, and he went back and studied it this week. Credit to our guys for buying in.”
Lau, who led SSA with 19 points, and Peter Kramer were able to get to the rim much easier with the designed strategy. Kramer finished the night with 15 and freshman Eli Teslovich added 12.
The Bulldogs hit six 3-pointers on the night.
It was not necessarily the quantity, but the timing of those threes that boosted SSA. Down six late in the third quarter, Lau and Rian Fitzgerald each drained a three to tie the game headed to the fourth quarter.
“We get lots of shots up every day, trying to work on it,” Vadnais said. “They always ask, ‘Coach, do I have the green light?’ We are starting to take higher percentage threes. Early in the year, we were taking quick threes.”
The Gladiators’ seven-point third quarter certainly did not help their cause.
Ethan Kirkwood hit a three for SA’s first basket of the second half with 4:39 to go, giving the Gladiators a 40-36 lead.
Kirkwood was called for traveling on a 3-pointer and missed an open layup on the following possession. Those five points were critical.
Free throws were another story as Shady Side Academy made 19 of 25. The Gladiators attempted only seven and made five.
The game was a learning opportunity for South Allegheny and one DiCenzo hopes can lead to better things down the road.
“If I know anything about this group, they are going to respond positively to it. We’re going to learn and grow from it. Hopefully it’s going to propel us to a deep playoff run. Maybe we needed this, maybe this is the reality check and wake up call we needed,” he said.
The Gladiators will get their chance to rebound Friday at home against Ligonier Valley.

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