Davis' 33 points not enough in loss
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North Allegheny's JC Howard drives to the net Friday against Central Catholic's Sam Calhoun, left, and Mike Anselmo in the first half.
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Lincoln Davis scored a career-high 33 points for Central Catholic, but it wasn't enough as North Allegheny defeated the Vikings, 68-59, in a game with playoff implications.
The Tigers (11-6, 6-4) are now in good position to earn the third playoff spot out of Class AAAA Section 3, while the Vikings (10-10, 5-6) must battle Butler for the fourth and final spot.
"The kids know," North Allegheny coach Dave DeGregorio said. "We told them, 'Hey the playoffs for us just start early. It starts tonight.' "
While Davis made shots from all over the floor, but the rest of the Vikings had trouble finding the hoop. Sam Calhoun scored 12 points, but the rest of the team combined for just 14.
"Sometimes when you have a guy that's scoring a lot of points, other players have a tendency to stand and watch," Central Catholic coach Chuck Crummie said. "I think that happened quite a bit."
North Allegheny, on the other hand, got contributions from several players. Ricky Minsterman, J.C. Howard and Sean Hennigan all scored in double-digits, and Ty Neff grabbed nine rebounds.
"That's when we're good," DeGregorio said. "When the guys are moving the ball and sharing the ball. It makes a difference."
The Tigers jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first few minutes. Central Catholic answered back, as Davis, a senior guard, followed up his own bucket with a steal and a 3-point play to cut the lead to one. Davis scored the Vikings' first 10 points, and finished the first half with 18.
PG VIDEOCentral Catholic led, 20-18, after eight minutes, but the second quarter belonged to North Allegheny, when the Tigers outscored the Vikings, 15-8, and led by as many as nine.
First Published February 4, 2012 12:04 am
