Ice-Cold at the Line: Penn Hills Stuns Defending Champs in Dramatic Overtime Thriller

Amon Hawthorne’s calm under pressure sends Penn Hills to overtime — and delivers a statement win over Neighborhood Academy at The Challenge at Allderdice

Penn Hills coach Chris Giles, left, celebrates with Amon Hawthorne, right, after he made three free throws to send the game to overtime Saturday at The Challenge at Allderdice. The Indians beat Neighborhood Academy, 58-57, in overtime. / Josh Rizzo

PITTSBURGH - Amon Hawthorne silently repeated the same mantra to himself. The Penn Hills senior guard was tasked with stepping to the free-throw line with .3 seconds remaining in regulation for three shots while trailing by three.

Hawthorne Comes Through in the Clutch

Hawthorne delivered, allowing the Indians to force overtime and upend the defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A champions Neighborhood Academy 58-57 Saturday during The Challenge at Allderdice.

“I was telling myself I was the only one in the gym,” Hawthorne said. “I’m the only one in the gym. I had to harp on that.”

A Resume Win for Penn Hills

Hawthorne finished with a double-double, tying for a team-high 16 points and pulling down a team-best 15 rebounds. Penn Hills coach Chris Giles said this was a win that he believes will help once the postseason rolls around.

“It was a great resume win for us,” Giles said. “Even though they are Single A, they are probably the favorites to win. They showed up for a great game and they put on a show. They can compete in any class.”

Neighborhood Academy's Kedron Gilmore, who scored a game-high 23 points, is fouled from behind by Penn Hills' Braylon Green while Calix Clark, left, provides support on defense Saturday during The Challenge at Allderdice. / Josh Rizzo

Bulldogs Coach Has Interesting Walk to Car

Neighborhood Academy coach Jordan Marks didn’t have much time to collect his thoughts. While walking to his car following the game, a fan stopped him to give his opinion on how things ended. 

The Bulldogs had an opportunity to tie or go ahead after drawing a foul with three seconds remaining in overtime.

Neighborhood Academy (11-2) saw both hit off the rim and when the second miss resulted in a contested rebound, the ball was awarded to the Indians.

“It’s hard to referee,” Marks said. “Obviously, I looked up in the stands and they said they got the wrong call. Some guy stopped me going to my car and said that it was off Penn Hills on the baseline. You can’t leave it up to that. You are always going to have good and bad calls.”

Neighborhood Academy's Dante Wright, left, celebrates his go-ahead 3-pointer late in regulation against Penn Hills Saturday at The Challenge at Allderdice. Wright finished with 19 points, but the Bulldogs lost 58-57 in overtime. / Josh Rizzo

Gilmore and Wright Carry the Load

Neighborhood Academy’s players were putting in overtime against Penn Hills (7-5). The Bulldogs played without Eli Cunningham and Julius Page Jr. Neighbor Academy also played on Friday night, grinding out a 47-44 win over Serra Catholic.

“It’s tough on them,” Marks said. “We played a grueling game last night. When guys are playing 25-30 minutes a game, it is hard against a 5A team.”

Kedron Gilmore led Neighborhood Academy, scoring 23 points before he fouled out. Dante Wright scored 19 points and made five 3-pointers.

Wright made a 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining in regulation to put Neighborhood Academy ahead, 50-47.

“Neighborhood played great,” Giles said. “They had a good gameplan. We didn’t play last night, but we’ve all done it. You just have to prepare your guys and get as much rest as you can.”

Penn Hills Keeps Its Composure

Hawthorne said he was happy with how the Indians stayed cool. The game featured 13 lead changes and the score was tied 10 times. 

Following Wright’s go-ahead trey, Penn Hills got the ball to Hawthorne, who was able to draw a foul on his 3-point attempt as time expired. Hawthorne believed that shot was going in.

“The last two minutes, we trusted each other,” Hawthorne said. “We didn’t come back to the bench and panic at all. We knew what we had to do.”

Dallas Smith made the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime for Penn Hills, putting the Indians ahead 55-52. Calix Clark tied Hawthorne for a team-high 16 points, while Tyrone Johnson scored 10 points and added nine rebounds.

The Indians finished with a 47-21 edge in rebounding.

“We need these kinds of wins, those playoff atmosphere wins,” Hawthorne said.

--Josh Rizzo |rizzo42789@gmail.com| @J_oshrizzo