DuBois Rallies Past St. Marys to Win Keystone Tip-Off Tourney

KNOX, Pa. (EYT) – Tournament MVP Dante Dawson was at his best when it mattered the most for DuBois Saturday night.

The 6-foot-2 senior forward recorded six of his 13 points and 6 of his 14 rebounds in the fourth quarter to help the Beavers rally past St. Marys 38-34 and win the Keystone Tip-off Tournament title Saturday night in Knox.

Dawson’s offensive rebound and putback with 2:44 to play broke a 34-all tie, and he had another key offensive board following a pair of missed free throws by teammate Bradyn Schwabenbauer with just over two minutes to play that allowed the Beavers to run more precious time of the clock before his basket with 10.8 left sealed the win.

“He definitely deserved the MVP this weekend based on just his performance on the boards,” DuBois head coach Scott Creighton said. “He had a double-double both nights. Any key rebound, offensively and defensively, he seemed to come down with it. I can’t say enough about his performance.”

After leading by five, 32-27, following a Dawson basket a minute into the fourth quarter, DuBois (2-0) ended up needing to rally to get the victory after St. Marys scored six straight points to take a 34-32 lead on a free throw by Parker Housler with 3:31 left.

But Zach Sloan, who had a solid game of his own with a game-high 14 points to go with four boards, tied the contest at 34 on two charity shots at the 3:16 mark before Dawson’s putback gave the Beavers the lead for good.

“Twice this weekend, we’ve been in some adverse situations,” Creighton said. “I’m proud of our guys for coming out of that.”

Leading by just two, DuBois’ defense clamped down on St. Marys, and when the Dutch (1-1) did get a shot off the Beavers swarmed to the rebound maybe none bigger than when John Oberlin tied up a Dutch player after a missed shot by Jeff Wehler with 14.4 seconds left and the possession arrow in DuBois’ favor.

“We had just said in the timeout before that, any loose balls, just grab ahold of them because we knew we had the possession arrow,” Creighton said. “(John) actually had just let one go earlier out of bounds that they had thrown off of him, so it was kind of poetic justice that he was the one who came up with that loose ball.”

The game was close throughout with the lead changing hands 10 times, including seven times in the first half, with six ties, including five in the first half.

St. Marys led 20-18 at halftime and built the lead to 27-22 midway through the third quarter thanks to five straight points from Wehler, who finished tied with Jordan Romain with a team-high nine points.

But Sloan hit a 3-pointer to get the Beavers back within two, and three quick points from Dawson on a free throw and then a putback off a missed free throws had DuBois leading 28-27 late in the quarter, a lead that grew to 30-27 at the end of the quarter.

“Zach stepped up clutch in that situation,” Creighton said. “He was able to show some of his experience and leadership, and he wasn’t afraid to take a big shot.”

DUBOIS 38, ST. MARYS 34

Score by Quarters

St. Marys 7 13 7 7 – 34

DuBois 8 10 12 8 – 38

ST. MARYS – 34

Nick Bauer 1 0-0 2, Parker Housler 2 3-4 7, Jordan Romain 3 0-2 9, Tony Auman 0 0-0 0, Jeff Wehler 3 2-2 9, Nathan Schneider 0 0-0 0, Matt Marconi 0 1-2 1, Brady Bauer 1 0-0 2, Bryce Lanzel 2 0-0 4. Totals 12 6-10 34.

DUBOIS – 38

Brent Mzary 0 0-0 0, Zach Sloan 3 7-10 14, Josh Solnosky 0 0-0 0, Dante Dawson 6 1-2 13, Kenny Garvey 2 0-0 4, John Oberlin 0 0-0 0, Bradyn Schwabenbauer 3 1-6 7, Nick LaBresca 0 0-1 0. Totals 14 9-19 38.

Three-pointers – St. Marys 4 (Romain 3, Wehler). DuBois 1 (Sloan).


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