Class 4A No. 1 North Catholic fends off Knoch upset bid

By: George Guido
Friday, February 5, 2021 | 9:43 PM

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For three quarters, the Knoch Knights looked to upset No. 1 North Catholic on the road.

But the defending WPIAL champion Trojans scored the first 15 points of the fourth period and pulled away to a 67-55 victory in Section 1-4A play.

After trailing by as many as seven points in the third period, Knoch worked its way back to within 47-45 as the quarter ended. But a flurry of Knights turnovers turned into a variety of short- and long-range baskets, allowing North Catholic to take control of the game. Keegan Fraser’s basket with 3 minutes, 53 seconds left in the game ended the North Catholic surge, but the issue was pretty much decided.

Connor Maddalon led the Trojans (10-3, 6-0) with 24 points, while Andrew Ammerman and Matt Gregor contributed 15 points each. All 15 of Gregor’s came in the second half.

Knoch slipped to 4-6, 3-3.

North Catholic also started the game on a 7-0 run, forcing turnovers the first five times Knoch had the ball before getting a shot off.

“We talk as coaches, looking at when that happens,” said Trojans coach Dave DeGregorio of his team’s early quarter surges. “We’re going through really good stretches, and then we go through really bad stretches. The second half of the first quarter, we couldn’t score. Nobody was doing anything different. We were getting good looks. Sometimes we just don’t score.”

Ryan Lang, one of the WPIAL’s leading scorers, had another stellar game for the Knights with 28 points — 17 in the first half.

Knoch opened up a 24-17 advantage with 3:22 left in the first half, but the Trojans ended the second quarter with a 12-2 run to take a 29-26 lead at the intermission.

“We were four minutes short tonight,” Knoch coach Alan Bauman said. “They ended the first half on a 12-2 run after we got control, and they went on another run to start the fourth quarter. To beat a team of this caliber, you can’t be outscored 27-2 in four minutes.”

The Knights tied the game 35-35 on a 3-pointer by J.J. Szebalskie with 4:48 to go in the third period. But a basket by Gregor and a pair of baskets by Maddalon off turnovers put North Catholic ahead for good, 41-35.

According to DeGregorio, he said nothing special to his team in the huddle after the third period.

“I’m not that motivational,” the veteran coach said. “It was just the kids. I do think there was a bit of fatigue with Knoch. There were a couple of turnovers there during that two-minute stretch and took the game over at that point.”

A potential Knoch basket by Tyler Buterbaugh was waved off for an offensive foul that seemed to further fuel the Trojans.

Amerman’s slam dunk with 1:44 to go put the punctuation on the night for North, 62-49. He also led the Trojans with 10 rebounds.

Bauman is now hoping Lang and the remainder of the team can continue to improve and get set for the open WPIAL playoffs.

“He’s phenomenal,” Bauman said of Lang. “He’s getting better all the time and learning the point guard spot. We’re working through stuff, but every night he’s getting better.”

Lang and Buterbaugh led the Knights with six rebounds each.

School officials at North Catholic allowed several dozen fans from each school into the gym, making for a livelier atmosphere than a number of venues this season.

Tags: Knoch, North Catholic