Serra Catholic’s boys basketball team set lofty goals this season, and it met most of them. But Serra’s quest for a state title ended Friday night at North Hills High School in a 56-50 loss to District 10 champion Kennedy Catholic in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class A tournament. Serra finished its season at 24-4, but two of those losses were in the WPIAL semifinals (to Leechburg) and last night — three games from the state title game. Coach Bob Rozanski said it was almost as if the two losses overshadowed the 24 victories. “We played one bad half of basketball against Leechburg, and it kind of kind of just clouded the whole season,” Rozanski said. “We look back and look at ourselves like we failed to some degree, and we didn’t. “These kids played hard and consistent. They had a 16-game win streak. I never had a team that played so consistently well and dominated. “I thought we deserved a better fate than what we got this year. The other thing is when you set your sights high — we want to be WPIAL champs, state champs — naturally, you are going to be disappointed. If you are just happy to be here, you know, yeah, you are upset and life goes on. “But these kids really believed that they could get those two championships, and when they didn’t, they’re actually disappointed.” Serra and Kennedy Catholic played a closely contested game, and Serra trailed only, 36-35, entering the fourth quarter. But Kennedy Catholic (22-5) scored 20 points in the final eight minutes compared to Serra’s 15. Marc Rozanski led Serra with 17 points and finished with 1,394 career points — nine behind school record holder Brad Matta. Jonathan Staso scored 13, and Pat Grubbs added 12. Kyle Randall scored 18 and Blair Rozenblad 15 for Kennedy Catholic. The winner of the Clairton/Dubois Central Catholic game today will meet Kennedy Catholic in the state semifinals Tuesday.

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