Back on top: Aliquippa hoops cruises to sixth state title in program history
HERSHEY – There was no one moment that decided the PIAA Class 2A boys’ basketball championship on Friday afternoon.
But there was one moment that symbolized it, that represented how so much went right for Aliquippa and so much went wrong for Holy Cross.
At the buzzer of the first quarter, the Quips’ Cameron Lindsey made an impressive block at the hoop of the Crusaders Matt Lyons. Though it appeared to be a clean play, the officials called a foul on Lindsey. However, given the second chance, Lyons missed both of his free throws.
That sequence at the end of the first quarter was in the middle of a 17-0 run by Aliquippa, which earned the Quips the sixth boys’ basketball state championship in program history with a 74-52 win at Giant Center.
That sixth state championship trophy – which came along with a five-pound chocolate bar - moves the Quips up the all-time standings in boys’ hoops titles.
“This is better,” Aliquippa head coach Nick Lackovich said. “I cherish this one more. It was a lot of hard work, a lot of work throughout the whole year. You don’t know what we go through all year. To deal with all the interruptions and get a state championship is amazing.”
They are now tied for seventh in Pennsylvania across all classifications with Steelton-Highspire. Kennedy Catholic (10), Neumann-Goretti (9), Imotep Charter (9), Chester (8), Farrell (7) and Lower Merion (7) have more.
The 17-0 run featured an 8-0 mini-run by Joshua Pratt, who finished with 36 points on 14-of-19 shooting.
“Josh gives us that consistent scoring,” Lackovich said. “We know going into the games, especially the big games, that he’s going to be a consistent scorer. He can score in a variety of ways.”
Pratt scored the last hoop of the first quarter to put the WPIAL champs up 17-9 after eight minutes. Then Pratt made three straight jumpers to open the second quarter to give the Quips (25-5) a 23-9 advantage. Brandon Banks capped off the rally with a 3-point basket to put Aliquippa ahead 28-9 with 5:00 left in the half.
Holy Cross (23-4) did get a dramatic moment of its own at the end of the half, when Adam Badyrka made a 3-point shot on the buzzer. However, the Quips still had a 41-21 advantage heading into intermission after shooting 69 percent from the floor in the second period.
The Crusaders made a couple of runs in the second half, but only after Aliquippa forged a 29-point lead in the third period. Holy Cross never pulled closer than 16 points after that.
“We knew they were good,” Lackovich said. “They were a fundamental offensive team, shot well from 3-point range. But we knew if we played defense, they hadn’t seen anything like that.”
The Quips held the Crusaders to 43 percent shooting.
The victory offered some redemption for the seniors, who went through championship game losses the last two seasons. The Quips lost 60-44 to Lancaster Mennonite last year and 76-58 to Devon Prep in 2022.
“We felt like we let one get away last year,” Lackovich said. “We felt like we were a step slow. Not this year. They were flying.”
The Quips won the turnover battle 21-13 and had a 24-10 advantage in points off turnovers. Pratt alone had five steals, which he converted into four coast-to-coast layups.
Lindsey scored 10 for the Quips and led them with six rebounds. Aliquippa had a 29-17 advantage on the boards. Quentin Goode added nine points and dished out six assists. The Quips shot 55 percent from the floor and 33 percent from behind the arc.
The state title on the court will pair with the state championship the Quips won on the gridiron with a 60-14 win over Dallas in December.
Mike Hughes led Holy Cross with 13 points. Mario Matrone had 11 points, while C.J. Thompson and Badyrka each had 10.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Back on top: Aliquippa hoops cruises to sixth state title in program history
