By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News

The New Castle High boys basketball team is on the verge of playing for another WPIAL championship.

But before plans can be finalized for Saturday, there’s one more obstacle left for the Red Hurricane to take care of — Kiski.

New Castle will square off against the Cavaliers at 8 p.m. today at North Allegheny High School in the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals. A berth in the district title tilt is at stake.

The ’Canes’ 73-46 win over Bethel Park on Saturday clinched a berth in the PIAA Class AAAA playoffs as well.

Top-seeded New Castle (24-0) is the two-time defending district champion.

“We’re focused on Kiski,” said fourth-year ’Canes coach Ralph Blundo. “A large part of our success is because of players’ ability to focus on the task at hand.

“They’ve been really good at that all year and for the last three years, too. That hasn’t changed. Right now, we’re worried about getting better and being ready for Kiski.”

Blundo acknowledged his players are soaking in the moment of the latest trip to the semifinals.

“They enjoy it,” he said. “They enjoy the mental part of it and the physical part of it.

“I can really see them absorbing these last moments that we’ll have together as a team. They know there’s not a lot of time left.”

The ’Canes are ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL in Class AAAA by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and No. 2 in the state by the Patriot-News of Harrisburg. New Castle has won 44-straight games against WPIAL teams dating back to a 50-43 loss to Montour in the second round of the state playoffs in the 2011-2012 season. The ’Canes have won 80 of their last 82 games.

New Castle climbed in the national poll last week, moving from No. 41 to No. 38 in the USA Today poll. The ’Canes are the highest-ranked Pennsylvania school in the USA Today rankings.

New Castle fans will get to take a trip down memory lane tomorrow. The last time the ’Canes squared off against Kiski was in 2002 in the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals. New Castle won that matchup, 70-66.

First-year Cavaliers coach Joe Tutchstone was a senior guard on that Kiski team. This is just the third trip to the semifinals in program history for Kiski.

The ’Canes dominated the Section 3 field, grabbing their fourth-consecutive league crown and third-straight in undefeated fashion. The Cavaliers (17-5) took second in Section 1 at 10-2 behind league champ Hempfield.

“For us to go 10-2 in our section, I still think it’s a huge accomplishment for our kids,” Tutchstone said.

New Castle is one of three Section 3 squads still competing in the district playoffs. Hampton and North Allegheny are battling in the other semifinal.

“We’re proud to be in that Section 3 mix,” Blundo said. “We know that we have three really good teams in that league; it’s not a surprise to us.”

Said Tutchstone, “We can’t even put Kiski in that same (section) realm. But it feels good that they have to mention us in that group now because we’re in the semifinals.”

Mike Simmons, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, paces the Cavaliers in scoring at 21.5 points a game. He poured in a game-high 37 points in an 82-73 overtime win over Gateway in the quarterfinals.

“Mike Simmons is very impressive,” Blundo said. “Scoring 37 against a good Gateway team is not easy to do. And he did it every way you can do it. He made 3s. He got to the hoop, and he made free throws.

“Simmons is a combo (point/shooting) guard. He can get to the hoop and he can finish. He has a nice mid-range game; we’ll have to guard him all 94 feet.”

Tutchstone recognized Simmons’ effort against the Gators.

“Simmons played exceptionally well on Saturday,” Tutchstone said. “He kept us in the game the first half and that was incredible. It was fun to watch and awesome to see.”

Joe Brungo, a 6-2 senior guard, chips in 16 points a game for Kiski. Brungo tossed in 18 points in the win over Gateway, 17 of which came in the second half.

“Brungo is a good shooter; he’s a good athlete,” Blundo said.

Brungo will be a preferred walk-on for the Pitt football team at either wide receiver or defensive back, according to Tutchstone.

Blundo knows his team will have to contend with more than just Simmons and Brungo.

“(Billy) Johnson is a physical player,” Blundo said. (Lincoln) Clayton is a really good shooter.

“They’re just a well-rounded team.”

Kiski is averaging 56.5 points a game and allowing 50.1.

“They’re a team that likes to run multiple sets,” Blundo said. “They do different things offensively to play to their strengths; they run a lot of different sets for you to prepare for.

“Defensively, they will play a 1-2-2 three-quarter court and a 2-3 zone. But they’re mostly a man team. At this point, though, you have to expect anything.”

Malik Hooker, a 6-1 senior guard/forward and Ohio State University football recruit, leads New Castle with a county-best 23.5 points a game. He has 1,514 career points.

“You can put his name up there with the best,” Tutchstone said. “He’s extremely athletic. His ability to take the game over at any time is something to watch.

“He’s fun to watch. You know what he’s going to do. But trying to stop it is a mystery that no one has solved.”

Anthony Richards, a 5-8 senior guard, is next at 13.6 points a game. Richards, a West Virginia Wesleyan recruit, has 1,067 career tallies.

“The way he gets everybody involved in all of the screens he sets is impressive,” Tutchstone said of Richards. “He’s the first one there to pick the person up off the floor. He’s a true leader. I can see the way he points out stuff.

“They look for him to lead that team. He does all the little things, too. If you give him a half second, he will knock it down.”

Richards has 87 3-pointers on the year, which is a program record. He broke the previous mark of 84 set by Eddie Pagley in the 1998-99 season when he buried three trifectas in Saturday’s win over Bethel Park.

Richards owns the school’s career mark for 3-pointers made with 290.

“That’s validation for all of his hard work,” Blundo said. “Anthony met each and every challenge head on with hard work.”

New Castle’s Drew Allen, a 6-0 senior guard, tallies 10.4 markers per tilt. Allen is a Robert Morris University football recruit.

Tutchstone is impressed with Drew’s twin brother Stew Allen’s work inside.

“Stew is one of the most underrated guys on that team,” Tutchstone said. “He’s a guy that people probably don’t talk about much. But he gets position and he finishes inside; he’s a great player.”

Blundo wasn’t pleased with how his team hit the boards against Bethel Park and is looking for improvement against Kiski.

“I think we have to play extremely hard and really rebound the ball,” he said. “I don’t think we rebounded it well against Bethel Park. We have to play with great intensity and focus on both ends of the floor.”

Blundo will go with his standard starting five of Hooker, Richards, Drew Allen, Stew Allen (6-3, sr.) and Jake McPhatter (5-11, sr.). Stew Allen is a Duquesne football recruit and McPhatter will continue his gridiron career at Ball State.

Tutchstone will counter with Simmons, Brungo, Ryan Sciullo (5-9, sr.), Johnson (6-3, sr.) and Clayton (6-0, so.).

The winner will advance to battle the survivor of the North Allegheny-Hampton matchup Saturday at Duquesne University’s A.J. Palumbo Center at a time to be announced.