WPIAL
Hopewell 7th and 8th Grade Boys Basketball Take on West Allegheny

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP- For the second time in a week, the Hopewell boy’s junior high basketball team went up against West Allegheny.
On Tuesday, West A came away with the sweep and unfortunately, that was the case again on Friday afternoon.
In the 7th grade contest, the Viking players battled hard despite being shorthanded. As far as the 8th grade team, they competed very hard against an extremely physically big West A team. Credit to the Hopewell front court that gave big time effort in trying to battle down in the paint. The final score might not have been what they had hoped but the compete level was certainly present for both the 7th and 8th grade teams.
In the 8th grade game, West Allegheny came away with a 56-31 victory. Looking at Hopewell’s scoring, Roman Crisci led the way with 11 points, Zack Sampson with 5, Josh Gill with 4, Ryan Gaguzis with 4, Allen Boggs with 3, Andrew Arzberger with 2 and Braxton Pinto with 2.
Congratulations to Allen Boggs on his 3-pointer at the end of the game, which made a lot of fans and his teammates happy as they left the school.
7TH GRADE RECAP:
1st Half Summary-
*Kaleb Gonzalez, who was Hopewell’s best player today, received a pass and powered in for 2 points, Hopewell 2-0.
*With 1:42 left in the quarter, Vin Smetana, who got the start, connected on a 3-pointer from the corner, West Allegheny 7-6.
End of 1st Quarter: West Allegheny 11 Hopewell 6
*Although they struggled at time handling the West A press, on this sequence they didn’t as Nico Amadio beat the press and found Kaein Dowling, West Allegheny 16-8.
*Two more points down low for Gonzalez, West Allegheny 21-10.
*Kaleb goes on a mini run here as this time, he receives a pass from Amadio and converts, West Allegheny 21-12.
*Next possession, two more in the paint for Gonzalez, West Allegheny 21-14.
Halftime: West Allegheny 24 Hopewell 14
2nd Half Summary-
*Connor Reed with a nice cross court pass to Smetana, who drives inside for the layup, West Allegheny 26-19
*Reed, who’s been a nice weapon this season from the outside, hits a 3-pointer.
*Gonzalez scores his team-high 10th point on another basket down low, West Allegheny 28-21.
From that point, West Allegheny went on a 11-1 run to end the game.
FINAL SCORE: West Allegheny 39 Hopewell 22
*Hopewell has the weekend off before returning to action next Tuesday when they host Montour.
