Derry boys rally to defeat short-handed Belle Vernon

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, December 20, 2024 | 11:15 PM

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Derry 6-foot-7 sophomore Stanley Rajkovich said he and his teammates knew third-ranked Belle Vernon was coming to town with a shorthanded lineup.

The Trojans also knew they would be at full strength and, regardless of who they were playing, wanted to maintain a recent rush of momentum to keep their winning streak intact.

Call it an upset if you’d like. Derry is calling it its fourth straight win.

Rajkovich scored 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots, and senior John Wasnick had six of his 19 points in overtime as Derry clipped the Leopards, 67-61, on Friday night in Section 3-4A boys basketball.

“This is an important win to us,” said Rajkovich, who scored 16 in the second quarter. “We had to come out with the same mentality as if those guys were playing.”

Derry (6-2, 3-0) suddenly sits atop the section heading into the holiday break.

“I can’t say enough about our guys,” Derry coach Tom Esposito said. “That’s two games in a row we gutted it up. We played with a sense of urgency. We played our style of basketball in the second half.”

Belle Vernon (5-3, 2-1), which had won five in a row, played without three starters for the second straight game because of disciplinary reasons, said athletic director Matt Humbert.

Senior Zion Moore, junior Curty Wade and senior Tommy Davis were not in the scorebook and did not make the trip to Derry.

“We has some inexperience on the floor tonight,” Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino said. “You still are playing to win, and if you can get a win with guys out, that is a plus. We had opportunties to score and didn’t finish. All in all, I am pleased with how the people we had played. It was a learning experience.”

Derry took a 35-33 lead early in the third on a 3-pointer by junior Brayden Robinson, but the lead changed hands three times before Jenko scored inside to give the Leopards a 46-43 edge going to the fourth.

Rajkovich was held scoreless in the third as Belle Vernon denied him the ball.

Junior Izak Lenhart connected on a 3 to tie it 48-48 with seven minutes to play, but Belle Vernon pushed the lead to four on a steal and layup by senior Trevor Kovatch, who tied teammate Jude Minniti, a junior forward, for the team lead with 12 points.

It was 54-50 when sophomore Luca Ghilani scored off a pass from junior Dane Daugherty.

Ghilani, who had 11 points before fouling out, nailed a 3 at the 2:10 mark to give the Leopards a 57-53 edge, but Derry forced overtime.

Wasnick, who made three 3s, scored off a steal, and Rajkovich tipped in his own miss to make it 57-57 with 1:02 left before the clock wound to zeros to end regulation.

“We scratched and clawed,” Esposito said.

In overtime, the Trojans outscored the visitors 10-4, with Lenhart making a key layup with 1:03 remaining. Freshman Logan Irvin assisted the basket.

Kovatch made a driving layup through traffic to cut it to 64-61, but Wasnick made 3 of 4 free throws inside the final 17.5 seconds for the final points.

“We played better defense in the second half, and we were better on the boards,” Esposito said. “Belle Vernon played under control and played well together. We just wanted to get our third straight section win, and we did that.”

Derry could have put the game away sooner but shot 11 of 25 from the free-throw line.

Wasnick made 6 of 10 free throws.

Senior Dominic Ghilani fouled out with seven points for the Leopards.

It was just as tight early.

After a 12-12 first quarter, Rajkovich helped keep Derry close.

Belle Vernon took an eight-point lead after a basket by sophomore Cameron Jenko, at 33-25.

But junior Cason Long made a layup, and Rajkovich hit a mid-range jumper to close the gap to 33-32 at halftime.

“Derry has a nice team,” Salvino said. “The big kid is a nice player.”

Both teams will play in Saturday’s Westmoreland County Coaches Association Shootout at Hempfield. Derry plays Burrell at 11:15 a.m. at Hempfield. Belle Vernon follows against Hempfield at 12:45.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area