Ford Drives Central Catholic To 84-60 Win Over Gateway

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Central Catholic turned a close game at halftime into a landslide victory as the Vikings topped the Gateway Gators on Friday night, 84-60, in the MSA Sports & Quad-A Conference Boys Basketball Game of the Week. Central Catholic led 34-31 at intermission and jumped on the Gators with a 14-0 run to start the second half.  Gateway never recovered, suffering their first section loss of the season and falling into a three-way tie atop Section 2-AAAA with Central Catholic and Plum.

In the early going, the Gators more than held their own as Brenon Thrift provided quality minutes off the bench when senior standout Delvon Randall ran into foul trouble early in the first quarter.  Thrift and Tom Kromka led the charge on the inside for Gateway, combining for 14 first half points and keeping the Gators within striking distance at the break, 34-31.

The second half was dominated by Central Catholic as freshman Paris Ford steered the Vikings toward victory with a career-high 19 points and knocked three three-pointers to pace all scorers. For his efforts, Ford was named the Quad-A Network’s Player of the Game.

Shooting 57 percent on the night, the Vikings were outstanding on both sides of the ball and outrebounded Gateway, 43-33. Juniors Sean Whalen and Alex Schoppen dropped 12 and 10 points, respectively.  The inside presence of sophomore Rashaad Wheeler displayed his range by pouring in a pair of treys and finished with nine points. The Vikings connected on 9 of 18 from beyond the arc while the Gators were held to 39 percent shooting from the field.

Because of early foul trouble, Randall never quite settled into the game for Gateway and ended the night with seven points, all in the second half. Randall averaged 17 points per game prior to the contest.  Three Gators scored in double-digits with Daylon Harris netting a team-high 12 points, followed by Kromka’s 11 and Shomari Thomas’ 10. Kromka fouled out of the game about midway through the fourth quarter.

Central Catholic improves to 8-5 overall and 5-1 in Section 2-AAAA.  Gateway falls to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in section play.  The Vikings visit Fox Chapel on Tuesday night while the Gators hope to bounce back with a home game against McKeesport.

To listen to our pre-game interview with Gateway head coach Mitch Adams, click here.
To listen to our pre-game interview with Central Catholic head coach Chuck Crummie, click here.

North Allegheny at Hampton Game Summary

SCORE BY QUARTERS1st2nd3rd4thOTFINAL
North Allegheny13111914461
Hampton14141316562
North Allegheny - Cole Constantino 21 pts, Mike Carter 12 pts
Hampton - David Huber 14 pts, Joey Lafko 12 pts