Riverside Advances, Wolverines Fall in WPIAL Opening Round Action

The 12-seeded Riverside Panthers knocked off Burrell 32-27 Friday Night in Class-3A WPIAL opening round playoff action.

Ty Thellman led Riverside with nine points while Donovan Russell led Burrell with 11.

The defensive struggle saw a halftime score of 15-13, and later a Panthers 9-0 run to end the third quarter.  Riverside held Burrell without field goal for final 6:27 of the third frame, but had to withstand a 12 point rally late.

“I told the guys, at this point in time, you’ve just got to win,” Rorick said after the game to Trib-Live reporter. “If we would have won 3-2 or 8-6, at this point in time, you just want to win the game.”

The Panthers, who held Section-3 Class-3A co-champion Burrell to a season low in points, advance to face the 4-seed Aliquippa ‘Quips who easily defeated South Side Beaver 62-45 Friday Night.

WOLVERINES FALL TO DEFENDING CHAMP NORTH CATHOLIC

Despite racing out to an early lead with a strong 19-point first quarter, the Ellwood City Wolverines fell to Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, the defending Class 3A champion, 67-53 Friday Night at Ambridge.

Sophomore Trojan Ryan Feczko scored a game high 21 points (8-11 shooting, 5 3-pointers), including 18 in the first half.  North Catholic used a 16-3 second quarter surge to flip momentum and enter halftime up 30-22.

Wolverine Broc Boariu scored a team high 17 points, including nine during the third period. He also contributed four rebounds and one block.

Anthony Roth (13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals) and Rick Pitrelli (6 points, 4 assists) each sunk multiple three-pointers. Also helping the effort for Ellwood were Sean Busby (8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block), Luca Botti (7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), and Andrew O’Brien (2 points, 2 rebounds).

The Wolverines collected 16 assists as a team but were downed by the Trojans offense that shot 66 percent from the field, collected 38 points in the paint, and had three players score in double figures.

“Their match-up zone definitely doesn’t look like that on tape. They’re flying,” Ellwood City coach Steve Antuono said after the game to a Times Online reporter. “There’s a reason why they are who they are.”

The 6-seed North Catholic Trojans advance to play 3-seeded Washington in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class-3A Playoffs.

Riverside beats Burrell at its own game in opening round https://t.co/nCshbtqWOd pic.twitter.com/CEwRXZqBYU

— BURGHline.com (@burghline) February 17, 2018