Allderdice boys take aim at 4th straight City League crown

By: Josh Rizzo
Friday, February 16, 2024 | 12:15 PM

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Allderdice coach Devin Crummie didn’t care if only five or six players could make it. If there was an opportunity during the summer to get the Dragons some time on the court together, he was willing to enter his squad in any available tournament.

Allderdice entered this season with two returning starters and would need time to work other guys into the lineup. The Dragons have since found a way to put themselves in position to win a fourth straight City League title.

Allderdice (19-4) went 10-0 in regular season league play and won its two games against its championship game opponent, Obama Academy, by 28 and 30 points. The Dragons and Eagles will meet at 2 p.m. Sunday in a City League championship game for the third year in a row.

Allderdice pulled away in the fourth quarter of last year’s contest to collect a 66-42 win.

“A lot of the development started with our junior varsity coaches,” Crummie said. “They did a good job of holding our guys to a high standard. We were able to get our guys a lot of guys good work together in the summer too.”

Senior point guard Logan Golle is one of the two returning starters. Golle averages 22.8 points per game. Allderdice did suffer a big loss this season.

The Dragons lost senior Major Rainey to a knee injury during a 17-point win over Aliquippa in January. Allderdice’s other starters for the title game will be forward Pavle Slepcev, guard Azerick Jetter, guard Ma’Ayan Kohai and Golle.

Crummie said this team has prided itself with how it attacks opposing offenses. Allderdice has limited its opponents to 46.4 points per game this year.

“This team has committed defensively,” Crummie said. “We played a lot more zone last season. This year we have been doing more man to man. We are also an unselfish team.”

Obama Academy (10-11, 8-2) spent all season trying to challenge itself to be better. The Eagles opened the season 0-6 playing against tough competition like Aliquippa, Chartiers Valley and New Castle.

“We did it to prepare to play Allderdice,” Obama coach Naron Jackson said. “We didn’t want to look past anyone in the City. What we struggled with was playing team ball. We played too much hero ball. Our schedule helped us out by giving us bumps and bruises.

Torrien Perkins leads the Eagles by scoring 18 points per game. Naron Jackson II starts at point guard. Keivan Harris contributes 12.4 points per game, as well.

Obama was close for the first half last year before Allderdice pulled away. Jackson hopes the schedule that they’ve played will help the Eagles be ready for the third matchup with Allderdice.

“We were nervous and missed a lot of easy buckets,” Jackson said. “The score was close early, but we were still playing iffy at times. We hope because they’ve been there, playing in a college environment, that they will be prepared.”

Tags: Allderdice, Obama Academy