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Kennedy Catholic tops Girard for PIAA 1A boys title

Kennedy Catholic players, from left, Marcin Wiszomirsky, Drew Magestro, Mohamed Konate, Clay O'Dell and Alex Hartwig celebrate after defeating Girard College in the 2017 PIAA, class 1A boys' basketball state championship game at the Giant Center, Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Hershey, Pa. (Mark Pynes/PennLive.com via AP)

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — While the PIAA may have adjusted a few things and added several classifications to its basketball championships, that didn’t stop an experienced Kennedy Catholic squad from authoring a repeat.

Flashing all sorts of balance and popping four players into double figures, Kennedy Catholic defeated Girard College of Philadelphia 73-56 in the PIAA Class 1A boys’ championship Thursday at Giant Center.

The state championship was the second in a row for Rick Mancino’s Golden Eagles (26-2) — Kennedy claimed the Class A title in 2016 — and the eighth overall for the school that sits near the Pennsylvania-Ohio boundary.

Marcin Wiszomirsky cranked out a double-double (19 points/13 rebounds), Maceo Austin collected 16 points, Drew Magestro finished with 15 points and Mohamed Konate banked 11 for the District 10 champions.

Austin, a 6-5 sophomore who is receiving NCAA Division I interest, also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out six assists. Magestro, a 6-3 senior headed for Pitt-Johnstown, also doled out a half-dozen assists for Mancino’s Eagles.

An 8-0 spurt at the close of the first fueled by a pair of Austin treys had Kennedy up 16-9 after eight minutes. A 10-4 burst to open the second quarter really opened it up.

Although Girard College was able to draw within six points several times in the third quarter, a Cavaliers group (24-9) without a single senior on its 10-man roster could not climb any closer against Mancino’s experienced club.

Daiquan Copeland poured in 26 and snared eight rebounds for Girard College (24-9), the District 1 champions. Clyde Jones’ outfit also picked up 16 points from Mikael Jones.

——

Kennedy Catholic 73,

Girard College 56

Girard College (24-9) 56

Kasim Toliver 0 0-1 0; Brandon Smith 2-5 0-0 4; Mikeal Jones 5 6-9 16; Daiquan Copeland 11 4-9 26; Craig Logan 3 0-0 7; Aquil Stewart 1 0-0 3. Totals: 22 10-19 56.

3-point goals: C.Logan, Stewart.

Did not score: Samir Logan, Joseph Habersham.

Kennedy Catholic (26-2) 73

Mohamed Konate 3 4-5 11; Maceo Austin 5 4-6 16; Drew Magestro 4 6-7 15; Channing Phillips 2 1-2 5; Marcin Wiszomirsky 9 1-1 19; Manis Norman 1 0-0 2; Clay O’Dell 2 0-0 4; Ike Herster 0 1-2 1. Totals: 26 17-25 73.

3-point goals: Milligan, G.Barnes, Houston 3.

Did not score: Alex Hartwick, Owen Cianci, Sonny Mancino, Ben Taylor, Helon Amos.

Score by quarters

Girard College’9’11’14’22 — 56

Kennedy Catholic’16’14’16’27– 73

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