Leechburg rides point guard Marcus Cleveland to win vs. Riverview

By: Josh Rizzo
Friday, January 13, 2023 | 10:02 PM

Making a play call came quickly to Damian Davies on Friday.

The Leechburg boys basketball coach could call out “Georgetown, layup” repeatedly when Blue Devils point guard Marcus Cleveland had the ball.

Starting in the second quarter, Cleveland delivered nearly on demand. He finished with 35 points as Leechburg held on late to grab a 78-74 Section 3-2A road win over Riverview.

“We emphasized this one,” Cleveland said. “We’ve been preparing for this one all week. We made sure we came down this week for business.”

Getting a win on the road was important for Leechburg, which improved to 6-8 overall and 2-3 in the section after it had lost three straight games.

Davies believes some of Leechburg’s early struggles were part of a learning process.

“The big difference is we can out-physical people with our intensity in Single A,” Davies said. “In Double A there are a lot of bigger bodies, and it’s hard to wear on people. We have to play more precisely.”

The Blue Devils led 61-49 midway through the fourth quarter when Riverview rallied. The Raiders’ key stretch was an 8-0 run spurred by two 3-pointers from Amberson Bauer.

Riverview added two free throws from Alex Schulteis to tie the score with less than 3 minutes remaining. Leechburg responded quickly with a layup from Owen McDermott, who finished with 16 points.

The Blue Devils then forced a turnover that drew an intentional foul when Luke Migely grabbed Tyler Foley to prevent a breakaway. Leechburg stretched the lead to 68-63 after that.

“There are a lot of up-and-downs, a lot of challenges,” Davies said. “We had to have the next-play attitude. … We did a great job of getting the ball to Marcus and Tyler. They are hard to stop in the open court if they are trying to press you.”

Riverview coach Paul McGivney thought the game might have been a reverse of an earlier section loss to Serra Catholic. The Raiders had a 14-point lead against the Eagles before losing it in the fourth quarter.

Riverview (9-4, 2-3) started strong. The Raiders limited Leechburg to 3-of-11 shooting from the field in the first quarter and surged to a 17-10 lead.

However, the Blue Devils went ahead for good by opening the second quarter with a 9-2 run that made the score 21-19 after a layup by Ashton Redmond.

The Blue Devils outscored Riverview, 26-8, in the second quarter. Cleveland had 15 points in the second quarter.

“That’s just a part of my game,” Cleveland said. “That play is so good for my game. It sets up a one-on-one and allows me to do what I do.”

Foley finished with 16 points.

“They did a good job early on of slowing us down,” McGivney said. “We knew what they were going to do. We didn’t execute. We had a lot of turnovers we shouldn’t have had.”

Bauer scored a team-high 22 points for the Raiders. Nate Sprajar (18 points) and Jack Betler (12) also finished in double figures for Riverview.

The Raiders have lost two straight after having a five-game winning streak snapped.

“I think we’ll be able to tell a lot about our guys, how you bounce back,” McGivney said. “ It’s great when you win and all that good stuff. Now, we got knocked off the horse and we have to stick together and come tomorrow. We have to wipe the slate clean.”

Tags: Leechburg, Riverview