Aliquippa used a stifling defensive performance to rout Ellwood City and pick up its third straight win.
ALIQUIPPA – With a quick twitch, Will Gipson stepped in front of a pass and took off down the court. An Ellwood City defender trailed him in vain. Gipson had time to gather himself, leap, and jam the ball home with a one-handed dunk.
Gipson’s steal and slam punctuated a dominant first half by Aliquippa, as the Quips routed Ellwood City 78-28 Friday night. The win capped the first half of the Section 1-3A schedule and left the Quips with an 11-4 record, including a 4-1 mark in section play.
“I always thought we might start coming around in mid-January,” Aliquippa coach Dwight Hines said. “With these guys coming from football and getting back to basketball, it’s always a tough process. But these guys have pushed every day to get better.”
The Quips’ calling card has been its defense. Aliquippa allows just 50.1 points per game and Gipson said the goal against Ellwood City was to completely shut down a Wolverines’ squad that has now lost three straight after enjoying a five-game winning streak
“Our coach came into the game saying this was a section game, and he didn’t want them to score over 30 points,” Gipson said. “I guess him saying it was a section game brought the intensity to us and we just held them to a low score.”
Aliquippa’s press, combined with its ball pressure, was simply too much for the Wolverines. Whether it was a steal forced by the hawkish Quips’ press or a five-second call in its half-court offense, Ellwood City couldn’t generate any offense. From the 1:35 mark of the first quarter until 30 seconds remained in the second, the Wolverines didn’t make a shot from the floor and scored just two points on free throws.
“It’s a constant grind. We implement these things each and every day in practice. It should be 32 minutes of hell,” Hines said. “Defense is a want; it’s never a have to. These guys have been doing these things day-in and day-out to where they can stop somebody.”
The defense led to offense. After a slow start, Aliquippa scored 15 points in the final three minutes of the first half and dropped 27 points on Ellwood City in the second quarter.
“We just pressure the ball a lot. Our traps are good,” Gipson said. “And that’s how we execute and get our points, really.”
Each game has been a new stage in the learning process for the Quips. Non-section losses to New Castle, Central Valley and Sewickley Academy gave Hines a better indication of who could do certain things in certain situations, as did a section loss to Lincoln Park.
“Now they understand what’s going on,” Hines said. “So they’re playing more calm, which makes it a lot easier to teach.”
The goals don’t change regardless of the age of the roster or the experience level. A section championship, followed by a trip to the Petersen Events Center for a WPIAL title game and a bid to Hershey for the state finals will always be the goals at Aliquippa.
“We’re young still,” Gipson said. “And we have a lot of stuff to work on. But at the end of the day, this was good win and we’re just trying to keep pushing and keep working hard.”