Back-to-back section wins spark optimism for North Hills boys in 2nd half of season

By: Josh Rowntree
Saturday, January 18, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

The North Hills boys basketball team’s overall record at the midway point may not look pretty, but plenty of opportunities lie ahead to change that. And the Indians may be on the right path to taking advantage of them.

Entering a Jan. 10 rivalry game against section foe North Allegheny, North Hills sported a 2-10 overall record and a 1-4 mark in Section 1-6A.

“We thought we had an identity going into the season,” coach Buzz Gabos said. “Through the fall, and even through the scrimmages, we thought that we could play a certain way offensively. We thought we could play faster and create some tempo. But we were running into issues with the defense. We just weren’t stopping anybody. So, we’ve had to tweak some things defensively, trying to figure out who we are and what we can do.”

Following a tight 54-52 loss at Fox Chapel on Jan. 7, those tweaks paid off in the final two games of section play before rematches began Jan. 17.

North Hills scored a massively important 52-40 win over North Allegheny and followed up with an 82-56 blowout at Woodland Hills three days later.

“Fox Chapel was encouraging defensively,” Gabos said. “We were better. We limited them to 54 points. They played without their leading scorer, Asher White, but we felt like, ‘OK, we’re turning the corner a little bit here defensively.’ Then, Friday night against North Allegheny, we give up 40 points.”

On Jan. 13, the Indians put together a complete game, a blowout of Woodland Hills by 26 points.

“I thought it was arguably our best performance of the year on both ends,” Gabos added. “We limited a team to 56 points and we still were able to score 82. There’s some improvement, which is good, because as we get into the second half we’re going to face some teams that we didn’t have a whole lot of success with the first time around.

“We need to find some wins if we want to be playing toward the end of February.”

North Hills — which lost its leading scorer from last season, Eric James Jr., to an out-of-state transfer — has seen plenty of players emerge offensively, including high-scoring guards Zach Pollaro and Nathan Schanbacher.

Pollaro, a senior, had 29 points against Woodland Hills, while Schanbacker added 23 and fellow sophomore Jackson Long went for 18.

Pollaro scored 25 — nearly half of North Hills’ points — against North Allegheny.

“In our three wins in the section, he’s played three of the best games he’s played for us over the last three years,” said Gabos of Pollaro, who racked up 37 points in a section win over Butler. “He’s being more vocal and I think trying to establish that senior leadership that we need.

“He’s been really, really good. We probably rely on him as much if not more than anybody else in the section does for just one individual player in what we need him to do.”

Schanbacher broke onto the scene as a freshman last season and has followed it up with a tremendous sophomore campaign, all while dealing with increased attention being paid towards him from opposing defenses, game after game.

“I think he found that out this year because teams started to pay so much attention to him,” said Gabos of Schanbacher, who scored 35 in an overtime loss to Shaler early in the season. “You’re not being treated the same as last year, or even earlier in the season. Teams know that if you’re putting up 20 points, they’re going to make it tough on you.

“He’s been efficient, which is good. He’s shooting at a high percentage.”

A renewed commitment to rebounding the basketball has been key for North Hills, which was getting heavily out-rebounded early in the season. Those margins have begun to level off, and the wins have started coming for the Indians.

With their improved play, potent offense and the two victories to finish the front half of section play, Gabos can feel a renewed sense of optimism within his roster.

Class 6A appears to be relatively deep after favorite Upper St. Clair. That gives even more incentive for North Hills to find a spot in the WPIAL postseason, where it may have the tools to make noise in a single-elimination setting.

“With the last two, we kind of got ourselves back into contention,” Gabos said. “Had we finished the first half 1-6 in section, we would’ve been in a position where we’d probably have to win five section games in the back half. That would’ve been very difficult.

“In 6A, there is quite a bit of parity outside of Upper St. Clair. Our hope is that we get in and then see what we can do.”

Tags: North Hills