Mt. Lebanon Wins OT Thriller Over Bethel Park, 63-61

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Mt. Lebanon sophomore McKenzie Bushee blocked a layup attempt by Bethel Park’s Justina Mascaro with 10 seconds left in overtime to help the Blue Devils preserve a 63-61 victory over the Black Hawks in Section 4-AAAA play on Monday night. Bushee scored 24 points for the Blue Devils, 16 after halftime, and contributed several clutch baskets in the second half and overtime.  For her efforts in helping fend off a feisty Black Hawks team, Bushee was named the Player of the Game by the Quad-A Sports Network.

With the help of Bushee, sophomore Kate Sramac and junior Maura Wallace, Mt. Lebanon built a 42-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  Sramac finished with 13 points and Wallace added 11 to help spur on the offense.

Despite holding a 9-6 lead early in the game, Bethe Park trailed most of the night until using an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter to take a 52-50 lead with two minutes to play.  A pair of free-throws by Mascaro put the Black Hawks ahead.  However, Mt. Lebanon quickly tied the game and took back the lead on two buckets by Bushee, the last of which coming with 20 seconds remaining in regulation for a 54-52 lead.

Not long after Bushee’s go-ahead basket, Wallace was fouled and sent to the line for a chance to put Bethel Park away with seven second remaining.  Wallace, though, missed on the front of the one-and-one free throw allowing Bethel Park one last chance to force overtime.  Junior Shannon Conely corralled the rebound following the Wallace miss, raced the length of the court for a game-tying layup at the buzzer to even the score, 54-54. Conely finished with 18 points for the Black Hawks and Mascaro netted a game-high 25 points. Both players were key to BP’s rally in the second half.

In overtime, Mt. Lebanon jumped to a five-point lead at 62-57 before Bethel Park rallied again to trim the score to 63-61 in the waning seconds.  However, Bushee’s block on Mascaro helped deny Bethel Park any additional rallies and Mt. Lebanon held on for the two-point victory.

Mt. Lebanon remains perfect with a 6-0 overall record and 4-0 mark in Section 4-AAAA.  Bethel Park drops to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in section play.

To listen to our pre-game interview with Mt. Lebanon coach Dori Oldaker, click here. To listen to our pre-game interview with Bethel Park head coach Jonna Burke, click here.