Pitt coach Jamie Dixon was in the capacity crowd. In the first row of bleachers behind Aliquippa's bench was none other than Louisville coach Rick Pitino. Aliquippa coach Marvin Emerson actually turned to Pitino a few times and asked him if he had any pointers.
John Heller, Post-GazetteAliquippa's Patrick Pettis, guarded by Beaver Falls' Lance Jeter, looks to the clock before attempting a last-second shot in the third quarter last night.
Pitt football players Tyler Palko and Darelle Revis were in the house, as well as former Pitt basketball players Brandin Knight and Curtis Aiken. Current Schenley High stars DeJuan Blair and D.J. Kennedy made the trip from the city.
All this for a Beaver Falls-Aliquippa basketball game.
This Beaver Country rivalry has turned into a premiere event, a showcase for Western Pa. basketball. Coaches and fans come to see top talent, top teams, a classic rivalry -- and seemingly always a close game.
For the third consecutive meeting between these two, the outcome was two points or less. Aliquippa won this close encounter, edging visiting Beaver Falls, 73-71, in a showdown of WPIAL Class AA powers.
For the sixth time in nine meetings over the past five seasons, the game was decided by four or less.
"But these games make coaches retire early," Emerson said with a laugh.
Although Aliquippa led much of the fourth quarter, Emerson never felt safe. Not when Beaver Falls star senior Lance Jeter gets to take the last shot. He beat Aliquippa with a 30-foot triple-overtime bank shot in the WPIAL title game last year. Then he beat the Quips with two free throws with five seconds left in the PIAA semifinals.
When Jeter grabbed a missed free throw last night, took a dribble and launched a prayer from beyond midcourt just before the final buzzer, Emerson couldn't help but gasp.
"Heck, he made one from the other foul line to send it into overtime here two years ago," Emerson said. "It's never over with him."
But this one didn't come close -- and the Quips knocked off the Post-Gazette's No. 1 WPIAL Class AA team. Aliquippa (11-2), ranked No. 3 in Class AA, also took over sole possession of first place in Section 6 with a 6-0 record. Beaver Falls is 13-2 overall and 5-1 in the section.
"This definitely was a nice atmosphere, but I told my wife and our kids that it's hard for me to get overly excited about a Jan. 10th game," Beaver Falls coach Doug Biega said. "I don't want to say this game is meaningless because it definitely isn't. But it is what it is. It's Jan. 10th and no championships are won or lost on Jan. 10."
Pitino was on hand to see Pope, a gifted 6-foot-9 junior who had 18 points, 12 in the first half. Pope also had eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Jonathan Baldwin, a 6-6 sophomore, opened eyes, scoring 22 points and throwing down a few hard dunks. Aliquippa also got a big lift from guard Antonio Reddic, who scored 21. Reddic played the first two quarters of the junior varsity game, too.
Aliquippa came back from a 37-29 halftime deficit as Beaver Falls shot 60 percent (15 of 25) from the field in the first two quarters. Aliquippa started in a 2-3 zone defense, but Beaver Falls ripped it apart.
"In the first half, we were running around like it was the state track meet," Emerson said. "I told our guys to just slow down. We did in the second half and played more under control."
Beaver Falls coach Doug Biega said, "We just stopped scoring."
Jeter had 24 points, fellow senior guard Jack Anderson had 20 and freshman Todd Thomas chipped in with 10. Beaver Falls took a 58-57 lead with 4:29 left, but went almost two minutes without scoring and Aliquippa opened up a 63-58 advantage.
Beaver Falls was hurt by poor free-throw shooting (10 of 20). With Aliquippa leading, 73-70, Jeter was fouled with 4.2 seconds left. He made the first, but missed the second and Aliquippa rebounded.
"He didn't miss it on purpose," Biega said.
First Published: January 11, 2006, 5:00 a.m.