Linville Hill Christian Wins PIAA Class 2A State Championship In A Thriller: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Andy Herr on March 28, 2025
Article by David Kehler. Photos by Kate Levato
Linville Hill’s Drew Tibbins En Route To The Hoop During The 2025 PIAA-2A State Championship Game
Linville Hill Christian defeated Sewickley Academy, of Pittsburgh, 55-54 to win the PIAA Class 2A state championship on Friday afternoon at the Giant Center in Hershey. It was tense contest between two teams with decidedly different styles of play, and it was close all of the way. Linville Hill prevailed in the late going with some clutch baskets and a heroic defensive stand in Sewickley’s last possession of the game.
Linville Hill plays with great offensive structure and teamwork. Through years of playing together, the Linville Hill guys easily anticipate each other’s movements. They shared the ball unselfishly and were unflappable when the opponent surged.
Sewickley Academy is big and quick, and they were deeper, as this game demonstrated. However, Sewickley was less cohesive and more prone to players going one-on-one in this contest.
A striking difference between the teams was height. Linville Hill’s tallest player is 6’ 2”. Sewickley started a 6’ 8” freshman, Mamadou Kane, and brought 6’ 8” sophomore Adam Ikamba off the bench. Kane and Ikamba are super shot blockers and rebounders, and Ikamba has terrific low post offensive moves. There were several spectacular dunks, too.
Sewickley Academy’s Adam Ikamba Defends An Inbounds Pass During The 2025 PIAA-2A State Championship Game
The game started at a fast pace, which was to Sewickley’s advantage. They looked to run and deployed effective defensive pressure throughout the game. In their first few possessions Linville Hill played more up-tempo than this observer had seen from them in prior viewings. Each team committed five turnovers in the first quarter. Linville Hill’s turnovers were almost all caused by Sewickley defensive pressure, while Sewickley’s turnovers were mostly the result of taking insufficient care of the ball. A baseline drive by Linville Hill’s Giovanni Sejuste, a 6’ 2” senior, gave his side a 7 to 5 lead, and Linville Hill kept the lead for the rest of the first frame, despite some spectacular play by Sewicklewy’s Ikamba.
Ikamba Throws One Down Against Linville Hill
Drew Steals, a 6’0 freshman, came off the Sewickley bench in the second quarter, and he was a sensation. He scored a dozen points in the second period, including hitting a couple of 3-pointers. Sewickley defenders kept the pressure on Linville Hill to excellent effect, but, on offense, the team from Pittsburgh had multiple unforced turnovers. Each team committed six miscues in the second frame. Late in the second period, Linville Hill switched from man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone, attempting to counter the two Sewickley big guys, and played zone occasionally thereafter. Linville Hill was determined on offense, and Sejuste, in particular, attacked the hoop to good effect, initiating contact with Sewickley’s two tall shot blockers. Sejuste scored eight points in the second quarter on two field goals and four free throws. Linville Hill led 28 -27 at halftime.
The game was close throughout the third quarter, but there was a major difference in Linville Hill’s play in the second half. Their offense was less rushed, and they had a dramatic reduction in turnovers, committing no miscues in the third quarter and only two in the final frame. With 4:10 left in the third quarter, Linville Hill’s Sejuste suffered an injury and played little after that. However, his teammate, 6’ 1” senior Stephen Smucker, stepped up and had a tremendous second half, battling inside against taller opponents. Smucker’s 14 second half points were key to Linville Hill’s victory. In the second half, Sewickley’s most effective offense was provided by inside play by Kane and-especially-Ikamba and by drives to the hoop by Steals.
Late in the third quarter, Linville Hill broke a 38 to 38 tie with a fallaway jumper by 5’ 11” junior Drew Tibbins. Then, Sewickley Academy launched a 10 to 0 run that extended into the fourth quarter, on a pivot-play by Ikamba, another pivot-play by Ikamba, a pivot-play by Kane, a drive by Steals, and a hoop inside by 6’ 2” senior Nolan Donnelly. That gave Sewickley a 48-40 lead.
Linville Hill courageously battled back, beginning with a three-point play on a putback by 6’ 1” senior Derian Petersheim. Sewickley countered with yet another putback by Ikamba to take a 50 to 43 lead. Determined Linville Hill responded with a clutch 3-pointer by 6’ 2” senior Jerome Stolzfus, then a putback by Smucker, and a free throw by Tibbins, cutting Sewickley’s lead to 50 to 49 with 2:04 left in the game. This was aided by several Sewickley turnovers. After another Sewickley turnover, Linville Hill recaptured the lead, at 51 to 50, on a pivot play by Smucker. After another Sewickley turnover, Smucker made two free throws with 1:04 left, and it was 53 to 50 in favor of Linville Hill. Sewickley battled back, recapturing the lead on a drive by Steals and a hoop by Kane, and it was 54 to 53 in their favor. With 14 seconds left, Smucker scored the winning basket on a drive. Sewickley then had possession, but Linville Hill had fouls to give, and they gave them. With two seconds left, Sewickley inbounded the ball under their basket, passing the ball to a player in the paint. Three Linville Hill players quickly collapsed on the ball, and Sewickley’s final shot was launched slightly off-balance and hit the heel of the basket and bounced to the floor as the buzzer sounded. It was a remarkable and resilient win for Linville Hill, and it was a fabulous state championship game.
Linville’s Giovanni Sejuste Blocks A Would-Be Sewickley Academy Shot During The 2025 PIAA-2A State Championship Game
Linville Hill was out-rebounded 33 to 17, but Sewickley committed 18 turnovers to Linville Hill’s dozen miscues. Linville Hill was 12 of 20 from the free throw line, while Sewickley was two of five from the stripe. Sewickley surprisingly launched more outside shots that expected, given their height advantage. That was one reason why they attempted just five free throws in the game. The other reason was Linville Hill’s impressive defensive discipline. Linville Hill made two 3-pointers, while Sewickley scored four times from beyond the arc. There is no clear way to measure composure, however, and it was composure down the stretch that won the state championship for Linville Hill.
Sewickley Academy 9 18 13 14-54
Linville Hill Christian 13 15 12 15-55
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