PIAA basketball championships live blog - Sewickley Academy wins, 43-35; Villa Maria girls win

By Mike White | Friday, March 26, 2010

Live blog from state championship basketball games at Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State.

CLASS A BOYS' CHAMPIONSHIP - SEWICKLEY ACADEMY VS. READING CENTRAL CATHOLIC

3:42 p.m. - It's over Sewickley Academy gets some free throws and wins, 43-35. Reading Central Catholic missed four 3-pointers in final 1:16.

Tyler Palmer leads Sewickley with 15. Only 11 for Droney. Carrington Motley 10.

3:38 p.m. - Ohhh. Marquis Marshall 3 in and out. 2 free throws Droney and it's 40-35 SA

3:35 p.m. - Pete Schramm just fouled out for Sewickley. Donovon Jack of Reading C.C. misses both FT. After a scramble, Reading C.C. ball with 1:14 left and down 38-35.

3:34 p.m. - Marquis Marshall again. This time on a 3. But Sewickley answers with a Pete Schramm basket on pass from Droney. 38-35 SA with 1:35 left.

3:32 p.m. - Marquis Marshall for Reading C.C. 34-32. Tom Droney follows with two FT and SA ahead, 36-32 at 2:20

3:30 p.m. - I'll be going to the record book to look up lowest scoring Class A final. 3:22 left and Sewickley leads, 34-30. Reading C.C. four points this half.

3:27 p.m. - Pete Schramm two FT. Sewickley leads, 34-30.

3:26 p.m. - Timeout Reading C.C. Still 32-30 with 4:31 left. Sewickley ball.

3:23 p.m. - Sewickley calls timeout. 5:00 left and Sewickley leads, 32-30.

3:21 p.m. - Sewickley holding the ball, being patient against Reading CC. zone.

3:19 p.m. - Big deveolopment. Although Marcus Dawkins had four fouls, Reading C.C. coach Skip Esterly put him back in to start the fourth quarter. Dawkins drove to the basket on first possession and picked up a charging foul. He's out. Fifth foul!!!.

Dawkins averages 17 a game.

Sewickley's top inside player Pete Schramm just picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench.

3:18 p.m. - End of the third quarter and Sewickley leads, 32-28. Reading C.C. a whopping two points that quarter. 1 of 7 from field. Hopefully this game gets a little better in fourth. Hasn't been too good to watch so far.

3:14 p.m.  - Bad news for Reading C.C. Standout guard Marcus Dawkins has four fouls in third quarter.

3:13 p.m. - Not exactly a wonderful game to watch here.

3:10 p.m. - Tom Droney struggling for Sewickley. Media timeout and it's 30-28 Sewickley Academy.

3:08 p.m. - Another 3-pointer for Tyler Palmer. Sewickley has taken a 30-28 lead.

3:05 p.m. - Tom Droney gets blocked again on first possession of second half. That's 4 by my count.

HALFTIME STATS FROM PG STATISTICIAN HORSE MRAZIK: Reading C.C. 10 of 20 and Sewickley Academy only 8 of 23. Pete Schramm has five rebounds for Sewickley.

2:53 p.m. - HALFTIME SCORE: READING CENTRAL CATHOLIC 26, SEWICKLEY ACADEMY 23 -

Marquis Marshall of Reading Central Catholic has been impressive, especially for a sophomore. Has 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting Marcus Dawkins, the team's leading scorer at 17 ppg, has only five.

Tyler Palmer has kept Sewickley Academy close. He has made four 3-pointers against Reading C.C.'s zone and has 12 points. He has attempted seven 3-pointers. Tom Droney struggling some for Sewickley. Has only five points. Is only 2 of 9 from field.

2:50 p.m. - Donyell Marshall son going to be very good someday. Only a sophomore. He's wiry, 6-2. But really has a nice stroke from 15 feet and in. His Dad isn't wiry now. He's big. But he was slender in high school, too. RCC leads, 26-22.

2:49 p.m. - Gotta love Reading C.C. mascot. A big Cardinal. He's like the St. Joe's Hawk. he keeps his wings moving the whole game. Nice.

2:46 p.m. - Timeout and Reading C.C. leads, 2019, with 3:25 left in the half. Sewickley struggling on drives to basket and scoring inside.

2:43 p.m. - I'd say Sewickley Academy has 150 fans here, at most.

2:42 p.m. - Tom Droney blocked for the third time. Marcus Dawkins, Reading C.C.'s talented junior guard, has five points so far.

2:38 p.m. - Not a very exciting atmosphere for this game. Crowd was better for Class AA girls' game.

2:37 p.m. - End of the first quarter and Reading Central leads, 15-14. Reading CC has played a lot of 2-3 zone and Sewickley's Tyler Palmer has made the Cardinals pay. Son of the coach, Win, Tyler has three 3-pointers.

2:35 p.m. - Tom Droney's last two shots have been blocked. No matter. He's still attacking the basket.

2:32 p.m. - Intentional foul on Sewickley. Two free throws and a basket for RCC and RCC leads, 12-11.

Former NBA player Donyell Marshall in the house. Sitting right behind me. His son, Marquis, a sophomore, starts for Reading Central Catholic.

2:27 p.m. - Timeout. Sewickley Academy leads, 9-6, over Reading Central Catholic.

2:21 p.m. - Swickley game has started. 3-2 Sewickley.

If you win a state championship, you get to keep the net. But cutting the net down? Forget it. They don't allow it. They used to allow it. Like the NCAA final, every player used to climb a ladder after the championship and cut down a strand of the net for a keepsake. But for a few years now, the PIAA has a maintenance worker climb the ladder, takes the net off, and gives it to the winning team.

Like this after the Class AA girls' final.

Sewickley Academy-Reading Central Catholic game scheduled to start at 2, but will probably start about 2:15 or 2:20.

1:52 p.m. First state championship of the weekend in the book. Class AA girls' final: Villa Maria Academy 52, York Catholic 44

Second year in a row Villa Maria beats York Catholic in the final

Seconds after final buzzer Villa Maria celebrates its Class AA championship

Villa Maria's Kayla McBride scored 29 points. She is a Parade All-American who did everything for Villa Maria. She's 5-11, played point guard, brought the ball up against the press, sometimes posted like a center, grabbed double figures in rebounds (10), made nice passes. Not super quick, but is very, very good. She is headed to Notre Dame.