New Castle Red Hurricanes 12-13

360 view of Taggart Stadium
from school district web site

360 view of the Fieldhouse
from school district web site

PIAA AAAA Semi-finals
Hurricanes lose heart breaker to Lower Marion 67-63
@ Williamsport Area High School
Post-Gazette game story | Malik Hooker Dunk
AAAA brackets

PIAA AAAA playoffs
Canes cruise by Erie Cathedral Prep 80-70 @ Edinboro University
Erie Times game story | Tribune-Review game story | Post-Gazette game story | New Castle News story

    The Red Hurricanes stormed into Edinboro University firing away. The Canes took four 'threes' in their first seven shots making only one, Brandon Dominick's 'three' at 4:36 to close Prep's lead to 7-5. Prep, whose largest lead was five, 22-17 with 28 seconds to play in the period, led most of the first quarter. Shawn Anderson closed the gap to two, 22-20, as the quarter ended when he made a three-point play on a layup and made free throw.
    Two of the Hurricanes' strong suits were evident in the second quarter as the defense caused four turnovers in Prep's first six possessions of the period and the Canes hit six of six from behind the arc. In all the Canes outscored Erie 28-12 in the second as Malik Hooker hit a 'three', Anthony Richards hit two, and Dominick hit three 'threes' including one that spun around the rim and fell though as time was ending in the half. The Canes' lead was 48-22 at the half.
    The teams played nearly even in the third quarter with the Hurricanes still leading by 14, 59-45, with 2:58 left. Prep hit a "three " and a two to get within nine but an Anderson bucket with .05 put the lead at 11, 61-50 after three periods..
    Erie closed to within eight points on a 'three' to start the fourth but the Canes worked it back to 13, 68-55, after a 'three' by Antonio Ruldolph, at 2:51. A 'three' by Prep made it 68-58 but two free throws by Rudolph put the lead back at 12, at 1:53. Two free throws by Erie and a 'three' wrapped around a Hooker free throw put the lead at eight at 1:32. With the lead again at eight, Richards went to the line at 1:16, to shoot two free throws. He made one and missed the second, but some how he shot down the lane and came away with the rebound. Hooker was quickly fouled by the Ramblers and made both free throws, putting the lead back at 11. A steal by the Hurricanes and two free throws by Dominick put the lead at 13 with 52 seconds to play. New Castle made 12 of 16 free throws down the stretch to ensure the victory.
    Malik Hooker led New Castle with 23 points while Shawn Anderson had 20. Anthony Richards netted 15 on four 'three's and Brandon Dominick had 14 with four 'threes.

PIAA AAAA playoffs
Red Hurricanes rally, then rout North Allegheny 57-46
Post-Gazette story

     North Allegheny opened the game in a zone defense, just like they did in the second meeting of the season, after trying to play the Canes straight up during the 40 point mauling in their first meeting. The Canes opened firing from three and the Tigers put more emphasis on shooting the three this time. The Canes were only 1 of 6 in the first period and 3 of 6 in the second from behind the arc. North Allegheny hit 4 of 7 in the first session and 2 of 5 in the second. As a result New Castle trailed 13-8 after one and 23-19 at halftime. Neither team was on target as the second quarter wound down, which saw both teams go scoreless the last 3:52 of the half.
     The Red Hurricanes came out with more energy the second half, a new committment to get the ball inside to Anderson and a better shooting eye. The Canes hit 4 of 6 threes while Anderson had two buckets and made two trips to the free throw line. When the shots started falling the defense picked up and just like the last two games the Tigers were no match for the Hurricanes. North Allegheny had six turnovers in the third quarter and tried only three 'threes'. New Castle lead 41-30 after three periods.
     New Castle maintained the gap through the fourth period before hitting spurt at 4:58 to go up by 17 with 3:27 left to play. The Tigers made the final score closer at the end but the beat down was complete.
     Shawn Anderson led the Hurricanes with 17 points and 7 rebounds while Brandon Dominick had 14 with four 'threes'. Anthony Richards had 11 with three 'threes'.

New Castle vs Hampton for WPIAL AAAA Championship
@ Duquesne's Palumbo Center Saturday 3/2 9:00pm
Palumbo Center is to be cleared before 7:00pm girls AAAA Championship game
Canes can make history with win

Tribune-Review preview story | New Castle News preview story | Post-Gazette preview story

Canes swat away Seneca Valley 71-46
    The Red Hurricanes never trailed in tonight's third victory of the season over the Raiders. Seneca Valley ran their multiple zone looks at the Canes but with the Hurricanes draining eight 'threes' and Shawn Anderson weaving among the trees for multiple layups the game was never really in doubt after the first period. Even a three and a half minute dry spell by the Canes at the end of the second quarter only allowed the Raiders to get back within nine until Anthony Richards hit two free throws to put the lead back in double digits at the half, 36-25.
     The third quarter saw the Canes extend the lead by seven 51-32. Richards hit a 'three' to open the period and another at the four minute mark. Antonio Rudolph added one of his two 'threes' close out the Hurricanes scoring in the period.
     New Castle held the tired Raiders scoreless the first three minutes of the fourth quarter going on a 13-2 run before Seneca scored again at 3:17.
     Shawn Anderson led the Hurricanes with 27 points including two 'threes'. Anthony Richards netted 13 with three 'threes' and Antonio Rudolph added 12, hitting two 'threes'.

Red Hurricanes rout Gateway - 87-55
New Castle News Gateway preview story
Next up for the Canes - Seneca Valley (44-34 winners over Upper St. Clair)
Wednesday 7pm @ Ambridge
All four Section 3 teams reach final four - Hampton over McKeesport 71-63 | NA over Fox Chapel 79-61

     Shawn Anderson left the game with his third foul with 4:38 left to play in the second period and the Canes had just overcome a 27-26 deficit on baskets by Drew Allen, Anderson and Antonio Rudolph to lead 33-27 over the two time defending WPIAL AAAA champions Gateway. With Anderson on the bench the Hurricanes proceeded to out score the Gators 13-6 the rest of the half going up 46-33 at intermission.
     Gateway took the game to New Castle as the game began and were leading 14-8 at 3:48 of the first. A 'three' by Anderson ingnited a 13-4 run by the Canes who led 21-18 after one, following a Drew Allen 'three' as the period closed.
     The Gators jumped back on top 25-21 on two quick buckets to open second period and led 27-26 at 5:56. Then Hurricanes ramped up the intensity and seven of Gateway's next 10 possessions ended in turnovers. New Castle ended the half on a 20-6 run and led 46-33 at the half.
     Things didn't get any better for the tiring Gators in the third quarter as the Hurricanes out scored them 20-7 in the period to hold a 66-40 lead after three periods.
     Anderson scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and Brandon Dominck hit two 'threes' to put the Canes ahead by 33, 77-44 at 5:13. The teams played even the rest of the way as the bench cleared for the Canes.
     Shawn Anderson led the Red Hurricanes with 26 points on nine field goals and going 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Brandon Dominck added 15 points on five 'threes' and Malik Hooker scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Anthony Richards had three 'threes' for nine points, Drew Allen also added nine and Antonio Rudolph contributed eight. The Canes were 11 of 25 from behind the arc and 12 of 18 from the free throw line.

Ticket presale for Seneca Valley game was 962
Ticket presale for Gateway game was 756
Ticket presale for the Latrobe game was 578

Hurricanes advance, lashing Latrobe 85-64 New Castle News game story
Tribune-Review Latrobe preview story
New Castle News Latrobe preview story
Next up for the Canes - Gateway (56-45 winners over Kiski Area)

    Latrobe played an inspired game against the #1 seeded Red Hurricanes. The Wildcats played the Canes even in the first quarter and even topped New Castle in the third quarter but losing the second and fourth by a combined 22 spelled doom for Latrobe.
    The Wildcats played a 2-3 zone with very active guards. The Canes worked both inside to Shawn Anderson and putting up 'threes'. Anderson responded by leading the Hurricanes with 22 points. The three point shooting was not up to the challenge for most of the game going just 2 of 10 in the first quarter and 0 of 7 in the third, shooting just 8 of 32 for the game.
    The game was tied at 17 after one period as Latrobe closed a 17-8 gap hitting a 'three' as the quarter ended. The Hurricanes hit 5 of 12 'threes' in the second with Anthony Richards making three of them. At the half New Castle's lead was 13, 45-32. Latrobe scored the first five points of the third quarter and closed to within eight, 45-37 at 5:41.
    Spurred by four points each from Malik Hooker and Drew Allen the Canes finished third period up by 12, 58-46, but missed all seven of their 'three' point attempts in the quarter.
    Hooker came alive in the fourth quarter with two huge dunks among his 13 points in the period. Hooker had sat out most of the second quarter after picking up his third foul at the 7:17 mark of the second and played with four fouls most of the second half, after receiving his fourth foul at 5:15 of the third quarter. New Castle's lead was as much as 25 in the fourth quarter before substitutes entered the game for the Hurricanes.
    Shawn Anderson grabbed 12 rebounds to go with his 22 points. Malik Hooker finished with 21 points while Brandon Dominick had 13 and Drew Allen also had 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds (6 offensive). Anthony Richards had 12 points on four 'threes'.

New Castle Red Hurricanes finish regular season 22-0 with an 86-50 win over Sharon New Castle News story

Canes finish Section 3 schedule undefeated 14-0, beat Hampton 54-50
New Castle trailed by as much as seven in the first half and eight in the second but came back each time to remain undefeated on the season at 21-0. Shawn Anderson with 17 points and Malik Hooker with 15 led New Castle to the down-to-wire win. The Hurricanes led by just two until Hooker grabbed a rebound from a Talbots' missed layup, was fouled and made two free throws to put the Canes up by four with 7.9 seconds left. Tribune-Review story | New Castle News story

Red Hurricanes lock up sole possession of Section 3 Championship with 74-58 win over North Allegheny
New Castle News story
Levar Ware poured in 33 points adding a half dozen blocked shots for good measure as the Canes topped North Allegheny 62-60 in overtime, and that was just the Junior Varsity game.

The main event while not quite as exciting had the same result as the Hurricanes silenced the Tigers. The last time the Canes and Tigers met, the Hurricanes put a 40 point beat down on them on the Tigers home court. In that game, North Allegheny who likes to play at a high tempo, played right into the Canes' hands trying to go blow for blow with New Castle. Tonight conceding the fast pace would be their demise North Allegheny played zone most of the night.

     The Tigers jumped out to an early lead and were ahead 14-12 with 1:47 left in the first quarter until Anthony Richards hit back to back 'threes' putting the Canes up 18-14 after one.
     Two quick scores by North Allegheny to open the second put them back on top 19-18, then Malik Hooker took over, outscoring North Alleghey 7-2 over the next three minutes. A 'three' by Brandon Dominick, four more points by Hooker and two 'threes' by Richards and New Castle's lead was 15, 38-23 at 2:24. At the half the Canes were up 42-30.
     New Castle extended the lead by only two during the third quarter as Shawn Anderson came alive scoring 10 points after only having two in the first half. After three periods New Castle led 62-48.
     The Canes missed two shots to begin the fourth quarter while North Allegheny scored four points, narrowing the gap to just 10 points. After blocking the Hurricanes next shot North Allegheny was primed to move even closer but a turnover stopped their momentum. Antonio Rudolph's two free throws at 5:34 started a Hurricanes' 11-1 run putting the game out of reach. After having several 19 point leads during the game the Canes finally got up by 20 with 2:21 to go 73-53. A 'three' with 47 seconds to play by NA made it a little closer, putting the final score at 74-58. The Canes hit six 'threes' while the Tigers made seven, five in the second half.

Malik Hooker led the Canes with 19 points while Shawn Anderson and Anthony Richards each added 16. New Castle High Schools All-Time leading three point shooter Brandon Dominick added 10.

Hurricanes break 100 - roll over North Hills 102-59
All five Hurricanes' starters hit double figures as the Canes remain undefeated at 17-0. North Hills led 2-0 until Malik Hooker took over scoring nine points of New Castle's 13-2 run. The Canes closed quarter with four 'threes', one each by Jesse Salzano, Anthony Richards, Shawn Anderson and Brandon Dominick. After one the Red Hurricanes led 26-10.
Hooker dominated again in the early in the second period scoring eight fueling a Canes' 13-0 run, stretching the lead to 39-10 at 5:06. North Hills played the Canes even the rest of the quarter and the Hurricanes were up at the half 59-31. As is the case with these Canes, defense fueled the scoring explosion as New Castle registered 12 steals in the first half.
Anderson took over the third period scoring 12 of the Hurricanes 30. Dominick's 'three' at the close of the quarter gave the Hurricanes a 42 point lead and the Canes bestowed the 'Mercy Rule' on the Indians. With the starters sitting the whole fourth quarter the only question was would the Canes hit 100. Micah Fulena hit a free throw with 2:23 left to put the Red Hurricanes at the century mark.
Malik Hooker led the Hurricanes with 23 points and a couple dunks while Shawn Anderson added 22. Brandon Dominick contributed 14 (with three 3's), Anthony Richards 11 (with three 3's) and Antonio Rudolph 10 (with a 3 and a dunk). Jesse Salzano added three 3's as New Castle made 14 of 26 three point attempts against the North Hills zone defense.

Hurricanes tame Talbots 75-54
Hampton played even with the big dog for three quarters. At the end of one period the Talbots led the Canes 15-10. A hoop to start the second put the lead at seven at 7:34. The Hurricanes began to scratch their way back into it during the second and the Canes led 28-26 at the half. Hampton growled to begin the third quarter and either held the lead or were tied with the Canes until 4:10 of the second when Malik Hooker scored to put New Castle up 40-38. The third period ended with the Canes in front 46-44 and the Talbots tongues hanging. The big dog roared to start the fourth quarter and the Talbots responded with a whimper. New Castle went on a 13-2 run to begin the fourth as the defense exploited the dragging dogs as Hamptons first five possessions of the period ended with four steals by the Hurricanes and a blocked shot. Tough to score if you're on a leash. New Castle exercised the only demon they've had this season and made both ends of three one-on-one free throws and the lead grew to 22 before the benches were emptied. For three quarters what looked like a challenge to the Big Dog of Section 3 ended up like 13 others this season so far, just a tree in the woods.

The reason game was close early was mostly due the Canes' poor shooting. After leading 5-0 New Castle missed their next five shots and got no second chances. Hampton's 2-3 zone and the missed shots allowed the Talbots a 10-0 run sandwiched between two Anthony Richards' 'threes.' Hooker carried the load for the Canes in the second and third quarters with 10 points in the second and eight in the third with some nice assists from Shawn Andeson. In the second, Drew Allen hit two 'threes' off the bench to give the Canes a lift as New Castle had hit only two of nine three point trys up till then. Anderson with 11 led the Hurricanes in the fourth quarter.Malik Hooker led New Castle with 24 points and Shawn Anderson had 21. The Red Hurricanes were only 7 of 21 on three point attempts.

Red Hurricanes remain undefeated, avenge last years only defeat top Montour 60-44
Shawn Anderson lead Canes with 29, Malik Hooker added 18.

Mercy Mercy!! New Castle invokes Mercy rule on Tigers. Crush undefeated North Allegheny 88-43
North Allegheny scored the first two points of the game and led 4-2 at 7:04 of the first period. The Canes then went on a 24-2 run and the rout was on. The 12-0 Canes led 28-8 after one quater and 50-24 at the half. North Allegheny with their upbeat style felt they matched up good with the Red Hurricanes but the Canes tenatious defense proved to much for the Tigers as North Allegheny turned it over 26 times. Shawn Anderson scored two of his game high 23 points with eight seconds left in the third period putting New Castle ahead by 40, 73-33 and putting into effect the Mercy rule. The Hurricanes' bench was cleared early in the fourth. Anthony Richards added 14 while Drew Allen added 12 and Brandon Domenick 10.
Tribune-Review story | Post-Gazette story | New Castle News story

North Allegheny anxious to "show Canes what AAAA (basketball) is all about" Tribune-Review Story

Red Hurricanes topple Titans 84-48. 11-0 Canes face 11-0 North Allegheny on the road Friday night

Hurricanes crush South Fayette 93-49
The Canes with an unrelenting defense outscored the Lions 23-11 in the first quarter and had them doubled them up at halftime 46-23. The Hurricanes play at "100 miles-per-hour" and other teams can't play at that pace. Trying to, leads to turnover after tournover and results in extended periods of no points scored by the opposition. Tonight at the C. J. Betters Holiday Tournament South Fayette hit scoring droughts totaling more than 14 minutes (of a 32 min game) allowing the Canes to have scoring runs of 9-0, 8-0 and 15-0. After three periods New Castle led by 30, 69-39 and had invoked the "mercy rule" (for the second night in a row) by being up 40, 81-41,with 5:49 left in the game. Shawn Anderson led the way for the Canes with 18 ponts. Malik Hooker added 16 while Antonio Rudolph tossed in 12 and Brandon Dominick added 11. Jesse Salzano and Drew Allen each scored nine.

Canes rout Quips 90-47
Malik Hooker with 21 and Shawn Anderson 20 led the Hurricanes to victory in the C. J. Betters Holiday Tournament. New Castle had 63 in the first half. The Canes play South Fayette at 8:30 Friday for the Blue Division Championship. Shaler will play Lincoln Park at 7:00 for the Grey Divsion Championship

Red Hurricanes flatten North Hills 87-56
New Castle moved to 7-0, 3-0 in section play grabbing an easy victory over North Hills. The Canes jumped out to a 15-4 lead and were ahead 23-14 after one quarter. A 12 run by New Castle at the end of the first half made it 48-25 at intermission. The Hurricanes' lead after three quarters was 33, 71-38. Malik Hooker and Shawn Anderson each scored 14 points while Anthony Richards (13) and Brandon Domenick (12) each hit four 'threes'. Anderson scored his 1000th career point tonight.

New Castle rolls over Pine-Richland 67-45
    The Canes started out slowly missing their first four shots with a turnover mixed in but only trailed 5-0 after the first 2:25. Malik Hooker finally broke the ice at 5:34 and Brandon Dominick hit a 'three' a minute later to tie the score at five. The Hurricanes scored the next six points before the Rams made a bucket as the quarter ended. After making only four of 10 field goal attempts in the quarter the Canes led 11-8 after one.
      Pine-Richland out scored the Canes 7-3 to start the second and took a 15-14 lead at 5:07. New Castle fueled by their defense and finally getting some rebounds out scored the Rams 17-4 the rest of the second quarter to lead 31-19 at the half. The highlight of the quarter was a steal by Stu Allen at half court that he grabbed and drove to the hoop for a score.
      The Canes were never threatened the rest of the way, leading 49-31 after three periods and the lead reached 24 at 3:20 of the fourth. Coach Blundo cleared the bench with more than three minutes to play.
      In a game the Hurricanes hit only four of 14 'threes' and missed numerous layups, they won by more than 20 in a game they clearly didn't play their best.
      Malik Hooker led the Canes with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Shawn Anderson added 15 points, Brandon Domenick 11 and Drew Allen 10.

Hurricanes' boys at KSA Tournament in Orlando, Fla.

Hurricanes over Anchorage Christian 85-63New Castle News story
Canes win first Florida game vs Cypress Creek (FL) HS 77-61
New Castle News story

Other local teams in KSA Tourney
Anchorage Christian 77 Lincoln Park 70
Lincoln Park 72 Cypress Creek 70
Chartiers Valley 80 vs Anchorage Christian 61
complete tournament schedule and results

Hurricanes best Butler 64-48
     Canes pick up Section 3 road win
     Butler's pressing defense took the open 'three' from Anthony Richards and David Dominick out of the Cane's offense so Malik Hooker hit two 'three's' during an 11-2 run in the first quarter as New Castle over came an early 8-2 Butler lead. A 'three' by Dominick, a dunk by Antonio Rudolph and a bucket by Stu Allen gave the Hurricanes a 20-12 lead after one quarter. New Castle ran the lead out to 14 points with six minutes gone in the second period before got Butler got back to within 10 at the half 30-20.
     The Tornado opened the second half on a 10-3 spurt and were within in three points of the Canes 33-30 at 4:51 of the third. New Castle behind Hooker and Rudolph went on a 14-3 run and pushed their lead to 14 after three quarters. The Hurricanes' fourth quarter lead grew to as much as 18 several times before the benches were emptied.
Malik Hooker led the Canes with 19 points while Antonio Rudolph had 12 and Shawn Anderson added 11 and 9 rebounds. New Castle News story

New Castle Tipoff Tourney
Canes top Beaver Falls 80-59 New Castle News story
New Castle opened the night hitting three 3's, jumping up on Beaver Falls 9-5 with thee minutes gone in the first quarter. A minute and a half later after four straight buckets the Canes led 17-5 and New Castle never looked back. Beaver Falls did get the lead down to seven at the end of one period but a 15-0 run to start the second extended the lead to 38-16. Shawn Anderson led the way with 20 points while Anthony Richards poured in 19 on 6 of 11 three pointers, and Malik Hooker added 18.

Lake Ridge Academy beat Lady Canes 52-34 New Castle News story