Tigers Rally From 11-Point Deficit To Defeat Rams, 71-69
Isaiah Zeise’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining lifted North Allegheny to a thrilling 71-69 victory over the Pine-Richland Rams on Tuesday night. Pine-Richland had two chances to tie or win the game in the waning seconds, but Andrew Petcash missed a 3-point attempt with eight seconds remaining and a desperation perimeter jumper at the buzzer by senior Alex Goitz rattled out of the basket as the Tigers held on for the Section 3-AAAA victory.
The first half was a hotly contested seesaw affair that had the Tigers leading by two-points, 35-33, at intermission. Pine-Richland gained momentum with a strong third quarter, outscoring North Allegheny, 23-12, in the period for 56-47 lead. Sophomore Phil Jurkovec scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half to spearhead the PR attack. Senior Adam Alexander was also key to the Rams surge with 18 points on the night. Petcash chipped in with 11 points, nine in the second half.
The PR advantage swelled to 11 points in the early moments of the fourth quarter before the Tigers staged an electrifying fourth quarter rally. North Allegheny trailed until a Curtis Aiken layup gave the Tigers a 65-64 lead with just over two minutes to play. Aiken scored a game-high 21 points and was named the Player of the Game.
Pine-Richland immediately answered the Aiken bucket with a Petcash layup and free throw to pull ahead, 67-65. The Rams maintained a lead on the Tigers until the final minute when Zeise’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds to play gave North Allegheny a 71-69 victory.
Joining Aiken in double figures was junior Griffin Sestilli with 12 points and sophomore Ray Sandherr with 11 points, including two critical 3-pointers during the Tigers late rally.
North Allegheny leaps to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Section 3-AAAA. Pine-Richland dips to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in section play. For our postgame interview with North Allegheny head coach Dave DeGregorio, click here.
Pine-Richland vs. North Allegheny Game Summary
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | FINAL |
| Pine-Richland | 17 | 11 | 13 | 25 | 66 |
| North Allegheny | 19 | 17 | 15 | 22 | 73 |