PITTSBURGH — North Hills’ star Royce Parham added to his list of accomplishments on Friday night. Not only did he carry the Indians to a Section 4-5A title, but he solidified his Class-5A scoring title in the process.
North Hills staved off a late rally by Chartiers Valley to defeat the Colts in the season finale 76-70.
Entering the night, both teams still had goals that they were looking to accomplish. For the Indians, a win meant that they claimed the section championship. The Colts needed to win to secure the last remaining playoff spot.
Needless to say, the Indians are now section champions and the Colts’ season is over.
After falling behind early in the first quarter, the Colts battled back behind sophomore Jayden Davis and trailed by two entering the second quarter.
However, a dunk by Parham in the closing seconds of the first quarter was just what the Indians needed to spark their offense.
In the second quarter, Parham and senior Jayden Thomas scored 8 points each as the Indians built a comfortable lead. Again, Parham scored an energy-boosting bucket in the closing seconds of the quarter as the Indians led 39-27 entering the break.
Parham and Chartiers Valley’s Jayden Davis dueled throughout the game and entered halftime with 18 points each. Davis was doing as much as he could for the Colts as he outscored his teammates 18 to 9 in the first half.
For the first two minutes of the third quarter, neither team scored a point. After a Drew Sleva bucket opened the scoring, the Indians went on a 9-2 run that lasted over three minutes.
Down by 14 points and facing elimination, the Colts began to rally as junior Rudy Morris hit a three to end the quarter. Entering the final frame, the Indians led 53-42.
With 55 seconds left and the lead at ten, Davis drove to the basket and was fouled. Parham received a technical foul during the same play and as a result, the Colts were awarded three free throws and possession afterward. Davis made all three of his free throw attempts and then Sleva hit a three to make it a four-point game.
After, the Indians were able to knock down their free throws and close the game out.
“It feels good to [clinch it tonight.] We were getting a little nervous because of Mars but we were able to win tonight and clinch it ourselves so it feels good,” said Parham.
Davis scored a game-high 40 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter. Sleva added ten more.
Parham finished with a team-high 35 points as he made 13 of his 17 free-throw attempts. Thomas scored 14 points and Jacob Pollaro added another nine.
The 6-foot-9 Parham is a 4-star rated prospect according to Rivals.com. Parham currently holds offers from multiple Division 1 programs such as Marquette, Xavier, Pitt, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin.
“I just stay humble. I don’t like to talk about it [much] because I am just a humble person,” said Parham about his recruiting process. “I’m just locking in for the playoffs [now.]”
Parham and the Indians walked out of “The Palace” as section champions on Friday but now look forward to avenging last year’s team in the WPIAL playoffs.
“After losing last year and being sad about that, I just want to come back and win it all for us,” said Parham.
