Many of the top undergrad WPIAL basketball players took part in the Rising Stars Invitational as part of the Roundball Classic at Rize Sports. The two rosters were comprised of top returning players across all classifications and all corners of the WPIAL.
The coaches for the event were two of the most well-known names in WPIAL basketball as well. Newly appointed Pine Richland Head Coach, Steve McNees, was the coach for Team Black and Moon Head Coach, Gino Palmosina, was at the helm for Team Gold.
Fans packed the stadium style seats as the starters took the floor. Getting the start for Coach McNees and Team Black was Josh Pratt (Aliquippa), Grant Spacciapolli (Pine Richland), Andrew Gettinger (Butler), Nathan Schanbacher (North Hills), and Lucas Grimsley (Sewickley). Coach Palmosina and Team Gold started the game with Amon Hawthorn (Penn Hills), AJ Tarpley (Greensburg Central Catholic), Dylan Donovan (Peters Twp.), Mykel Bruce-McCrommon (Gateway), and Jason Fredricks (North Catholic).
Spacciapolli got the scoring started for Team Black as they jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter. The starters got the score to 12-2 in a hurry before a full line change for both teams. Jordan Epps (Shaler) came in and immediately hit a 3 to give Team Black a 15-2 lead. Obama point guard, Naron Jackson, answered back for Team Gold with a pull-up jumper shortly after checking in as well.
Stanley Rajkovich (Derry) made his presence felt early, hitting a corner three for Team Black as they took a 25-8 lead late in the quarter. Team Gold fought back early in the second quarter however and was able to go on a 13-7 run to get the score to 32-21.
Josh Pratt began to heat up, hitting a pull-up jumper from the elbow and Kai Cox (New Castle) drained the catch and shoot three as the lead continued to grow for Team Black. Team Gold continued to battle though, with Jackson going downhill and getting another bucket and South Park big man, Luke Scarff, throwing down a two-handed dunk.
Rajkovich took over the final moments of the first half for Team Black with multiple offensive rebounds and putbacks, a block on the defensive end, and a tough 3 off the dribble. When the halftime buzzer sounded, Team Black was ahead 50-29.
The two teams traded buckets to start the 3rd quarter with Fredricks and Hawthorn scoring early for Team Gold and Damien Harrison (New Castle) finishing off an alley-oop for Team Black. Pratt continued to show why he’s a D1 recruit and one of the best scorers in the WPIAL as he put up 7 quick points early in the second half.
Dylan Donovan drained a 3 from the left wing as Team Gold looked to get going midway through the 3rd quarter, but Spacciapolli would answer with an offensive rebound and putback on the other end.
Harrison continued to flash his elite athleticism putting down dunk after dunk, but North Catholic’s Jason Fredricks and Jude Rottman were keeping Team Gold in the game with their sharp shooting.
Team Gold continued to hit 3s and Mykel Bruce-McCromman began to takeover late, hitting a three and throwing down a monster dunk. After trailing big all game, Team Gold had cut the lead to just 12 with 2:25 to go.
Team Gold was in full-attack mode with Team Black back on their heels late in the game. After another dunk from Scarff and a steal and score by Bruce-McCromman, Team Gold had cut the deficit to just 3 points.
Rajkovich answered with a tomahawk dunk of his own to put Team Black ahead 87-82 as time winded down in the 4th quarter, but Team Gold cashed in from 3 again to make the score 87-85. Forced to foul to extend the game, Team Gold sent Josh Pratt to the line.
Pratt knocked down both to give Team Black an 89-85 lead with 5.7 seconds left to play. Coach Palmosina drew up a play for Team Gold and eventually found a way to get the ball to Rottmann, who was fouled on the 3-point attempt.
He drained the first two to make it 89-87. With just 1 free throw left and only 2.8 seconds left in the game, Rottmann attempted to intentionally miss the free throw in the hopes of getting an offensive rebound and putback to tie the game.
He succeeded in the first part by missing the free throw, and the ball did bounce around for a bit before Josh Pratt eventually came down with it and dribbled out the clock, securing the win for Team Black. They would emerge victorious in this one, defeating Team Gold by a score of 89-87.
Stanley Rajkovich finished with 14 points, winning the MVP for Team Black, and Jude Rottman took home the MVP for Team Gold with his 15 point performance.
Both coaches recognized the great play of both teams and level of talent on display here with McNees saying, “It was a lot of fun. Lots of talent in the gym spread out all through Western PA”.
His team was ahead most of the game, but McNees knew this one would end up being close at the end. “With two evenly balanced teams, the longer the game went, it was just going to eventually even out. It was well played on both sides. We got an early lead, but credit to them. They fought back.
Palmosina’s team trailed most of the game, but he spoke to the resilience of his squad saying, “It shows the competitive spirit of that group. Most kids would have packed it in at that time of the game and with that score, but we fought back.” He went on to say, “Hats off to that group. Down 20-25 all game and only lost by 2. That says a lot about them”.
The Roundball Classic continues this weekend with the Senior Games taking place on Saturday and Sunday at North Allegheny High School.