After winning the Class 5A Section 2 title, Kiski Area had to wait to cut down the nets.
But after waiting 12 years, what difference does a 30-minute bus ride make?
Kiski Area traveled to Penn Hills and won a spirited section championship game 68-61. Both teams entered 10-1 in section play. The Cavaliers, who hadn’t won a section championship since 2013, decided to wait until returning home to cut down the nets — but didn’t wait to dump water on coach Corey Smith, soaking him in the locker room.
“Oh, I'm freezing right now,” Smith said. “I'm freaking soaking wet. But listen — I wouldn't trade it for nothing else.”
Senior guard Colin Keller and junior guard Amaree Gonzalez both had 22 points for Kiski Area. The Cavaliers (14-6, 11-1) were 21 of 26 from the free throw line, including 12 for 14 in the fourth quarter as Penn Hills (11-9, 10-2) tried to chip away.
Kiski Area has now won 11 in a row. The Cavaliers started 3-6 before turning their season around.
“We just wanted it more,” Keller said. “We wanted that section championship, and that was the ultimate goal. We made it possible. It happened.”
Game flow
Both teams were tense early, feeling each other out.
“This game has turned into a rivalry now,” Penn Hills coach Chris Giles said, noting geographic distance and familiarity with both programs. “A lot of community members know each other.”
Kiski Area made its move in the second, going on a 17-3 run to take an 11-point lead. But Penn Hills junior Amon Hawthorne kept the Indians alive, scoring 11 of Penn Hills’ 15 points in the second quarter. His last shot, an off-balance three just before the buzzer, meant Penn Hills went into the break down just six.
Penn Hills’ Amon Hawthorne (@MonMoneyy5) closed the first half with this tough three before the buzzer. He had 11 of Penn Hills’ 15 pts in the second quarter, keeping the Indians in it. pic.twitter.com/HbwUVXSoJg
— Colin Beazley (@colin_beazley) February 8, 2025
The third continued a game-long pattern — whenever one side hit a three or made a big play to grab momentum, the other immediately answered. Keller hit a couple of 3s and Gonzalez had a key three-point play, but Penn Hills, with 3s each from junior guards Calix Clark and Cam Glenn, stayed in it. Clark finished with 16 points, while Glenn added 14.
Foul trouble finally caught up with Penn Hills in the fourth. Hawthorne fouled out early in the frame, costing the Indians their top scorer when he was needed most. He finished with 15 points.
“You can look at it one or two ways — we're either being overly aggressive or the whistles just aren’t going in our favor,” Giles said. “But you can't make excuses. That's a really good team.”
Penn Hills got as close as six points, but could never get closer. Kiski Area’s defense, which allows 47.6 points per game, the second-best mark in Class 5A, was strong.
Plus the Cavaliers simply made too many free throws. Smith attributed it to their practice regimen.
“I run them until they’re almost throwing up, and then we go right to the free throw line,” Smith said. “That [helps] you at the fourth quarter. When you're tired and your legs are tired, now it's second nature. They're used to it. They're used to being tired and knocking down foul shots.”
It’s a full-circle moment for Smith, who won section championships at Kiski Area as a player in 2000 and 2002. He said he didn’t remember what it was like to cut down the nets, saying “I just remember winning it.”
And for Gonzalez, it’s a strong final act to his season. The junior, who transferred from Kiski Area to Imani Christian in July before transferring back in August, was ruled ineligible for the WPIAL playoffs.
“This was my peak,” Gonzalez said. “I had to go out and get it. I had to do something for my seniors.”
Key stat
At least five were intentional, but Penn Hills out-fouled Kiski Area, 23-13.
Quotable
“It feels great to make history. My brother [Isaiah Gonzalez] was here last year. He didn’t win a section title all four years. I’m definitely gonna go home and brag about that one” — Gonzalez
What it means
This was the final game before the Class 5A brackets are released on Monday, though both Penn Hills and Kiski Area play between the bracket release and the start of the playoffs on Thursday. Both teams qualified, though neither is seen as the favorite. Montour (20-1, 12-0), Baldwin (20-1, 11-1) and Uniontown (19-3, 14-0) are expected to be the top three seeds.
Giles wasn’t worried about seeding.
“We’ll be ready to go,” Giles said. “... If you want to make it to the WPIAL championship, you gotta play good teams and you gotta win on the road.”
Kiski Area wasn’t thinking about seeding, either. As they enjoyed a police escort on the bus ride home, their thoughts were on climbing the ladder.
“[It’s] such an amazing feeling,” Keller said. “Just winning this game and then we're gonna go there and cut the nets — it's just gonna be such an awesome feeling.”
First Published: February 8, 2025, 4:46 a.m.
Updated: February 8, 2025, 4:52 a.m.
