North Allegheny Handles Shaler In Section Opener

Posted on: by Big 56 Conference

by Dave Floyd

In the section opener for both teams, North Allegheny overwhelmed Shaler Friday night, using pressure defense and a frenetic pace to score an 86-53 home win. The Tigers forced 28 turnovers and put up 24 more shots than the Titans, never trailing en route to the victory.

With the win, North Allegheny stayed undefeated on the young season. The Tigers are 4-0 overall, including a 1-0 mark in Section 3. Shaler is still searching for its first victory at 0-4 overall and 0-1 in section play.

Early on, Shaler hung right with North Allegheny, and a pair of free throws by sophomore Tanner Reinheimer pulled the Titans within two, 10-8, midway through the first quarter. The Tigers, however, responded with a 10-0 run and never looked back.

Shaler shot the ball well from the field, at 53 percent, but they registered only 34 field goal attempts compared to North Allegheny’s 58. The Tigers also drained nine three-pointers in the contest.

Reinheimer led the way for Shaler offensively, tallying a team-high 16 points. Senior Brendan Deasy added 10 for the Titans.

North Allegheny had three players in double figures, led by senior guards Cole Constantino and Will Sandherr with 22 and 19 points, respectively. The duo did its scoring in different ways, as Constantino went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line while Sandherr hit 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Junior Keegan Phillips added 17 points for the Tigers.

Each team returns to section play Tuesday night. North Allegheny travels to Pine-Richland, while Shaler hosts Butler. The Titans, though, have a quick turnaround overall, as they are back in action tomorrow afternoon with a non-section game against Penn Hills.

"Game of the Week" Players of the Game

DATEPLAYERTEAMGAME
12/11Lexus LambertSeneca ValleyGirls BasketballSeneca Valley at Oakland Catholic
12/12Will SandherrNorth AlleghenyBoys BasketballShaler at North Allegheny
12/19Joey MascaroBethel ParkBoys BasketballUpper St. Clair at Bethel Park
12/22McKenzie BusheeMt. LebanonGirls BasketballBethel Park at Mt. Lebanon
12/23Andrew PetcashPine-RichlandBoys BasketballCentral Catholic at Pine-Richland
1/5Lauren GilbertBaldwinGirls BasketballBaldwin at Upper St. Clair
1/10Matty McConnellChartiers ValleyBoys BasketballMt. Lebanon at Chartiers Valley
1/13Zack IrwinHempfieldBoys BasketballLatrobe at Hempfield
1/15Taylor LakeNorth AlleghenyGirls BasketballNorth Allegheny at Shaler
1/22Maria PalarinoPenn-TraffordGirls BasketballHempfield at Penn-Trafford
1/26Shannon ConelyBethel ParkGirls BasketballMt. Lebanon at Bethel Park
1/27Clayton NolaGatewayBoys BasketballGateway at Franklin Regional
1/30Will SandherrNorth AlleghenyBoys BasketballCentral Catholic at North Allegheny
2/3Alayna Gribble NorwinGirls BasketballNorwin at Hempfield
2/3Kason HarrellHempfieldBoys BasketballNorwin at Hempfield