Fox Chapel boys basketball emerges as dominant force in section play

By: George Guido
Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 5:00 PM

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The Fox Chapel boys basketball team continues rolling on, seeking a goal that has never been reached in school history — winning three consecutive section titles.

At the halfway mark in Section 3-6A play, the Foxes are undefeated at 5-0, one game ahead of Central Catholic after the 54-37 victory over the Vikings on Tuesday.

Fox Chapel won the section in 2020, and while the WPIAL didn’t officially recognize section winners with plaques last season because of an uneven number of games played by many teams because of the coronavirus, the Foxes had the best record by two games in the section.

The win over Central Catholic was also the 11th straight victory for Fox Chapel.

The Foxes are doing it with defense.

The team held Central Catholic, a team that had been averaging 73 points in section play, to 37 — 16 over the first three quarters.

Eli Yofan, the Valley News Dispatch Boys Basketball Player of the Year last season, attributed the big victory to defense.

“It was definitely our defense. That’s just an expectation from now on,” said Yofan. “Our goal every game is under 50. We just lock in. That’s what we’re known for.”

The Foxes’ only loss was to No. 1-ranked North Hills in the second game of the season.

“That first weekend loss to North Hills, you never want to have that,” senior forward Russell Fenton said. “We’ve really rebounded well from that point, and we’re in a groove right now. We want to keep the momentum going.”

The Foxes have had section momentum for some time now. Fox Chapel has lost just one section game in the last three seasons, a 66-63 setback at Penn-Trafford on Jan. 9, 2021.

The Foxes haven’t lost a section home game since Latrobe recorded a 79-63 victory Jan. 22, 2019.

Next up for the Foxes is another stern test, this one at home Friday against Upper St. Clair (9-3), a team ranked in the Trib HSSN Top 5 much of the season. The Panthers are coming off a buzzer-beating win over rival Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday.

Zach Skrinjar, in his 13th season as Foxes coach, has his team on track for its 10th WPIAL playoff berth in those 13 seasons.

‘It’s great,” Skrinjar said of the 12-1 start. “It means we’ve done our job, but we’ve still got bigger goals. “It’s nice to go through the first time in the section undefeated, but we know we’ll get everybody’s best effort the second time around.”

Yofan is the leading scorer at about 20 points per game. He still gets his share of rebounds and assists, however.

J. P. Dockey is another key contributor. He was 8 of 8 from the foul line against Central Catholic and had four assists and four steals to go with his 13 points.

The Foxes don’t seem to care who scores. In one fourth-quarter possession, Colin Kwiatkowski looked to have a shot from the middle of the key. Instead, he shoveled back to Dockey, who had a better shot and a basket to make it 34-17.

Fenton and Kwiatkowski have excelled in the frontcourt, particularly in the Central Catholic game, holding Vikings 6-foot-7 center Debaba Tshiebwe scoreless over three quarters.

The rematch between the schools will be Feb. 11 at Central’s Alumni Hall.

Tags: Fox Chapel