By Joe Sager
New Castle News

SHALER TOWNSHIP — It was a landmark evening for New Castle even though it seemed like more of the same.

The Red Hurricane rolled to another WPIAL Section 3-AAAA win with an 88-60 triumph at Shaler last night.

While it might appear like just another blowout win, New Castle achieved two milestones. Senior guard Brandon Domenick became the program’s all-time 3-point shooter and the ’Canes wrapped up at least a share of another section title.

Domenick entered the game with 291 career treys, two behind Eddie Pagley’s standard of 293 he set in the late 1990s. Domenick swished a trio of 3-pointers to take the lead with 294. 

“It’s an unbelievable honor. Eddie Pagley had the record and I look up to him. He’s one of my role models, so it’s unreal to be ahead of him now,” Domenick said. “I think it was bothering me a little bit. Last game, I think I was trying too hard to go for it. Tonight, I just wanted to come out and play and I shot pretty well. I just wanted to get it over with. Now, I can play and have some fun.”

Pagley helped guide the ’Canes to a record three-straight WPIAL Class AAAA championships during his career.

“Considering all the great shooters who have been here over the years, breaking Eddie Pagley’s record is an honor,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said.

Unbeknownst to New Castle (12-0 section, 19-0 overall) until after the final buzzer, the win locked up at least a share of the section title since Hampton upset second-place North Allegheny, 62-51. The ’Canes, who have won 43-straight regular season games, host NA on Tuesday.

“Since they lost to Hampton, they really need that win,” Domenick said. “They’ll come out ready and we’ll come out ready, so it’ll be a battle.”

New Castle, ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL in Class AAAA by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and No. 5 in the state by the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, routed the Tigers, 88-43, on their home court on Jan. 11.

“We have to play well to beat them. That night down there, we couldn’t play any better than we did,” Blundo said. “We’re not, by any means, thinking it’s going to be a cakewalk. We will have to play well to beat them.”

The ’Canes hope to have Antonio Rudolph back for Tuesday’s game. He sat out last night’s game to rest an injured ankle.

“He tweaked his ankle in the last game. It’s more precautionary than anything, but it’s definitely injured a little bit,” Blundo said. “We need to get him back.”

Drew Allen started in Rudolph’s place and produced a career-best 18 points. He knocked down four 3-pointers, including three in the second half, which sparked New Castle to distance itself from the last-place Titans (1-11, 7-13).

“I just wanted to come in and play my role and step up big for Tone. I wanted my teammates to rely on me to get the job done,” he said. “You have guys like Shawn, Brandon, Anthony and Malik who can drive and kick it out. It was up to me to knock the shots down and I did.”

Shawn Anderson scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the first quarter to give the ’Canes a 22-11 edge. They increased it to 45-33 at halftime. Allen cashed in a pair of treys to help New Castle start the third quarter with a 15-4 run and the ’Canes cruised.

Shaler’s Geno Thorpe, a Penn State recruit, led all scorers with 23 points.

(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)