Derry boys in playoff hunt after 9-year drought

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 26, 2018 | 3:56 PM

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It's late January and the Derry boys are playing — gulp — .500 basketball.

So is it time to bring up the “p” word yet?

No, not pressure. That comes with the territory when you're competitive in WPIAL basketball.

Playoffs is the word popping up around Derry these days. The Trojans were 6-6 overall and 4-3 in Section 1-4A, tied with Freeport (8-5, 4-3) for third place, heading into Thursday night's home game against Deer Lakes (7-7, 3-3).

The top four teams in each section make the WPIAL playoffs.

The Trojans returned all five starters from a team that finished 6-15 and in sixth place last year.

But coach Damon Rause has spot-started nine players this year and rotates 10.

All hands on deck.

“It's been a while since Derry's had this type of skilled depth to be able to gameplan with different matchups,” Rause said.

Derry has not been to the WPIAL playoffs since the 2007-08 season.

A program that has not won a section title since 1957 also has not had a winning season since 2000-01.

There was the 2011-12 season when the Trojans finished 11-11 but were fifth (3-9) in section play, five games out of a playoff spot.

The next season, Derry ended up tied for fourth with Yough, but it lost twice to the Cougars so, no playoffs again.

Injuries crushed the team two years ago to the tune of an 0-22 record. Last year, though, improvements came. And so did confidence.

Rause said excuses are no longer so easy to lean on. Injuries and inexperience don't carry much trade value any more.

“We were obviously very young last year, but that experience has made it a nice transition,” Rause said. “With all five starters back there wasn't much of a learning curve to worry about. We were able to quickly focus on team concepts and strategy much earlier this year.”

Derry started the season 4-1, then lost five straight before posting back-to-back wins over Yough and Mt. Pleasant.

Normal starters for Derry are senior Conner Watt, junior John Kerr and sophomores Tanner Nicely, Justin Huss and Aidan Bushey.

“We just have a nice balanced mix of talents,” the coach said.

Watt is the floor general and often the go-to scorer. A backcourt has improving ball-handlers and shooters in Bushey, Chuck Webb, Huss and others.

“We need to focus on the fundamentals, taking care of the basketball when we are on offense, and play tough defense,” Huss said. “We also need to just focus on ourselves and win the games we are supposed to win.”

Bushey said Derry takes a team-first approach on both ends of the floor.

“We take pride in our defense and the toughness we play with,” he said. “We feel very confident in our defense that we can play with anyone. And then our offense takes over from there.”

The 6-foot-5 Kerr, Rause said, is the program's all-time leader in blocked shots. Kerr has 41 swats this season.

“(Kerr) has really allowed our guards to take more chances defensively,” Rause said.

Defensively, it's man-to-man pressure that attempts to knock turnovers loose. Of course, Derry has allowed six more points than it has scored in 12 games (639-633).

Before Rause talks about his team's finish and a possible playoff trip, he wants the Trojans to finish off games.

“We had late fourth-quarter leads against both Valley and Freeport and couldn't get the wins,” Rause said. “We're just hoping to keep improving on our situational game experiences for the stretch run.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.