By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News

Things looked bleak for the Shenango High boys basketball team last night.

The Wildcats trailed by 12 points with just three minutes to play against host Aliquippa.

A determined Shenango squad came together down the stretch, though, and rallied for a 54-53 WPIAL Section 2-AA road win over the Quips.

Greg DePorzio sank a runner as the buzzer sounded, lifting the Wildcats (3-7 section, 7-10 overall) to the win.

“They just knew it wasn’t over,” Wildcats coach Bob McQuiston said. “We called a timeout with three minutes to go and the guys said it wasn’t over; there’s a lot of time left.

“It was a great game. I’m proud of the effort. A lot of teams would have folded. But they kept their composure. They didn’t leave anything out on the floor. I’m really proud of the effort and I couldn’t ask anything more of the kids.”

James Jacobs gave the Wildcats a one-point lead with 13 seconds to play. But Aliquippa (5-5, 5-10) drove the length of the floor and took the lead right back with a field goal, setting up DePorzio’s shot.

“Aliquippa didn’t back down,” McQuiston said. “They played physical and we didn’t back down, either.”

DePorzio tossed in a game-high 21 points for Shenango to go along with a team-best 10 rebounds.

Jacobs chipped in with 12 markers for the winners, while Brenton Booher was next with eight points and eight boards.

Malik Stewart paced the Quips with 14 points.

The win pulls the Wildcats to within two games of New Brighton (5-5, 12-6), Riverside (5-5, 9-8), Mohawk (5-5, 7-10) and Aliquippa, which are all tied for third.

Shenango has four more section games left.

“When you look at the big picture, we’re not really out of it,” McQuiston said. “It’s going to be tough, but we still have an outside shot.

“We have to take care of things on our end.”

(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com)