Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Golden in Boys Class A Title

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 26, 2016 | 10:01 PM

The Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans used a strong defense and excellent free throw shooting to claim their third WPIAL boys basketball championship with a 50-36 victory over the Sewickley Academy Panthers. The Trojans were 14 of 18 in the fourth quarter from the line and held the Panthers to 4 of 15 shooting in that final frame to pull away for the win.

Junior Kenny Fukon scored 9 of his 13 points in the second half. Junior Zach Offi came off the bench to hit three trifectas on the way to 12 points. It’s the first title for CWNC since dropping to Class A. 

Sewickley Academy opened the second on a 7-0 run to lead 16-11, but Off took the lead back for good on his second three of the quarter. Neither team could find the bottom of the basket in the third as the Trojans took a 29-26 advantage to the fourth.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic opened up the lead on a Tristan Newcamp basket followed by a freshman Isaiah Wilson’s steal and lay up. Senior Austin Sieminski’s bucket with 4:30 remaining put the Trojans up by 10. Fukon took over the game down the stretch, hitting 5 of 6 from the foul line to extend the advantage to 14 points.

The Trojans used what they call a “T” defense, a floating zone that frustrated the Panthers, especially in the second half. The Panthers were just 7 of 24 from the field after the break and 1 of 12 from behind the arc. Coach Dave Long said in the post game interview that the goal was to hold Sewickley Academy to 40 points. The Trojans came into the title tilt, allowing just 48 points per game, third best in Class A.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic is now 18-8 overall and advances to the PIAA tournament to meet the 4th place team from District 9. The Trojans shot 53 percent from the field on 15 of 28, making three 3-pointers, all by Offi. CWNC was 17 of 23 from the line, the only negative foe the Trojans was 17 turnovers. Fukon dished out 6 assists and had 5 rebounds for a well-rounded game. Senior Erick Taylor scored 8 points and cleaned the glass to the tune of 10 rebounds.

Sewickley Academy saw their 10 game winning streak come to an end. The Panthers fals to 23-4 overall and will take on the second place team from District 5 next Friday. The Panthers averaged 68 points per game this season and were held to their lowest point total of the year by 14 points. Sewickley Academy was 14 of 47 from the field and 2 of 16 from behind the arc. Junior Chris Groetsch led the way with 13 points. Another junior Justin Pryor grabbed 8 rebounds, the Panthers were out rebounded 27-26 and committed 14 turnovers.

Score by Quarters:
Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans 11 – 12- 6 – 21 = 50
Sewickley Academy Panthers  9 – 7 – 10 – 10 = 36

Tags: Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, North Catholic