RIDGWAY — Cambridge Springs dominated the first quarter.
District 10’s fourth-place finisher, the Blue Devils started out on a 7-2 run and finished the period up 15-4. CS dominated the paint and hit shots from outside while Ridgway couldn’t get a roll from close or far.
The second quarter wasn’t as bad for the Elkers.
The team made up some ground as four players scored, led by six from Dom Allegretto and four each from Dan Park and Erik Panebianco. But CS wasn’t to be denied, taking a seven-point lead into halftime and the general vibe being one of extreme concern for Ridgway.
And then the third quarter happened.
The Elkers were everywhere — offense, defense, it didn’t matter, they simply outworked everyone on the court that wasn’t wearing maroon and white.
Ridgway played with its hair on fire for the full eight minutes. Aaron Sorg splashed a 3-pointer to kick off the quarter. Then Ridgway forced a turnover and converted it into points. Allegretto drove down the lane, collided with seemingly half of the Blue Devils defense, went flying, somehow got the layup to go and then completed the and-one.
The Elkers kept forcing turnovers, led by Sorg who snagged three steals while Panebianco had one. With seconds winding down in the period, Allegretto found Sorg, who calmly hit a bank shot as the gym erupted knowing what the scoreboard read.
One quarter left, 34 all, eight minutes left, loser goes home.
The very first possession of the fourth was Ridgway’s and, in a moment that both epitomized Elker basketball under Tony Allegretto and was simply pragmatic, Ridgway methodically possessed the ball and drained a full minute off the clock, as the cheering in the stands ramped up.
“Everybody was dead tired,” said Tony Allegretto. “They were dead tired and… score was tied, we weren’t trying to get them out of the defense or anything. It’s tied, they (CS) don’t have to come out. Let’s shorten this game, we’re tired. I got five timeouts, plus the media timeout, that’s six timeouts, take a minute off here.”
As one minute and 50 seconds drained off the clock, the only point scored was a free throw by CS.
Then, Dom Allegretto got a steal and Ridgway turned the steal into points, taking its first lead, 36-35. The Elkers got another basket and a 38-35 lead.
Parker Schmidt responded by cleaning up a missed shot and bringing CS closer, down 38-37. A minute later, the score was 40-40 and Schmidt sank two free throws to take a 42-40 lead.
Park has led Ridgway’s inside game for most of the season, but he was double teamed and face guarded for most of the game. The Elkers needed another player with height to get on the glass and Jack Benninger stepped up, finishing with 13 points and seven in the fourth quarter alone.
With 1:10 on the clock, he drained a triple that gave Ridgway the lead back, 43-42, and nearly blew the roof off the gym. A play later, Nathan Held drove to the rack and leaped over Sorg to score a layup and give CS the lead back, 44-43.
And then, as he has done so often in both the D9 and now the PIAA playoffs, Dom found a crease, and drove, finishing through contact to give Ridgway the lead for the final time, 45-44.
With 13 seconds on the clock, it was Allegretto again who stole a pass and got sent to the free throw line, where he promptly buried both shots to ice the game, 47-44, leaving just 9.9 seconds left.
A Blue Devil 3-point attempt wouldn’t go as Ridgway, down 11 at one point, held on to win 47-44 and advance to the Round of 16 in the PIAA Class AA tournament.
“We fell behind, we had a little adversity there,” Allegretto said. “We had some plays under the basket we thought we should have gotten some things out of that we didn’t. They made 3-pointers, which we didn’t want to give them… We didn’t play great, we didn’t play smart at all times, but boy the hustle from those seven guys, when they were on the court. They just played their hearts out.”
Much has been made about Allegretto’s pending retirement. After the win over Smethport, in the D9 tournament, the coach was happy he won his last home game, as Ridgway was on the road the rest of the D9 tournament.
But on Wednesday, he got one last home match. Whether it’s his final win remains to be seen, but at the very least, he won in his final game in Ridgway, with his son.
“I told the kids, ‘Now this time, we’re pretty sure, this is our third, last home game,” quipped Allegretto. “We got to walk off winners on our home court and don’t have to worry about that… To now do this and finish this way with these seniors and especially my son, it’s just a great feeling.”
On Saturday, Ridgway will face D7 third-place finisher, Greensburg Central Catholic, in the Round of 16 at a site to be determined.
Ridgway (47)Allegretto 6 4-7 17, Benninger 6 0-0 13, Sorg 3 0-0 7, Park 3 0-0 6, Panebianco 2 0-0 4. Totals:
Cambridge Springs (44)Schmidt 8 2-3 21, Held 3 5-5 11, Counasse 2 1-2 6, Riley 1 0-0 3, Reisenauer 1 0-0 2, Mumford 0 1-2 1. Totals:
Three-point goals: Ridgway 3 (Allegretto, Sorg, Benninger), CS 5 (Schmidt 3, Counasse, Riley); Total fouls: Ridgway 10, CS 14; fouled out: None.
