On Thursday, February 29, the Warrior Basketball Team traveled to Mount Aloysius College to take on the Colts of Northern Cambria.
West Branch won the opening tipoff to kick off the game and scored the first points of the game. Soon after, West Branch’s leading scorer Owen Koleno went down with a lower leg injury. However, West Branch limited the damage, only trailing 9-6 when he would return. The Warriors worked the score back even at 14-14 to conclude the first quarter.
Northern Cambria struck first in the second, but a quick Koleno layup cut the lead to just 1. Some back-and-forth scoring from both teams was halted by Isaac Tiracorda after a layup gave the Warriors the lead. The Warriors would then go on a 7-0 run, closing out the half, 27-19.
West Branch came out of the half blazing, going on a 9-0 run led by Tiracorda, going up 36-19. Then after five Colt points, two Evans free throws put the Warriors up by 16. On the next possession, a Zach McGonigal three extended the Warrior lead yet again. The Colts did not score again in the quarter. The Warriors went into the fourth up 44-22.
West Branch kept the gas pedal on the floor in the fourth. They scored twelve points in the quarter, closing the game out 58-38, and securing the District Six Title.
When asked about how it feels to finally secure the championship for West Branch, Tiracorda responded, “It feels so good because I got to witness all four previous district championship losses leading up to it. Then, we got to accomplish something that not even the best players in West Branch’s history could do.”
Joel Evans commented on the mentality going into the game, “We were all nervous before the game, but as we ran out we heard All of the Lights by Kanye West. Once that song played, we looked at coach and we knew we would win. It is coach (Clark)’s favorite song and it has been playing nonstop leading up to the game. After the win, we got in the locker room and I said ‘We won that because of All of the Lights.”
The Warriors (24-3) are back in action in the PIAA state tournament on Saturday, March 9, to take on the Eagles of Serra Catholic (17-10).
