Fox Chapel boys buckle down late in season

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 11:01 AM

Fox Chapel boys basketball coach Zach Skrinjar felt it was necessary to have a meeting with players and coaches following a loss to Pine-Richland on Jan. 20 at home.

The Foxes lost 56-44 and had a stretch of four consecutive games against Section 1-6A opponents ahead of them against opponents they had already lost to.

If Fox Chapel was going to make the playoffs, the Foxes (11-9, 6-7) were going to have to play better than they did against the Rams.

“Our effort was not there,” Skrinjar said. “The urgency wasn’t there. We didn’t quit, but we didn’t have the fight that I had seen from us this season. It was a unique situation because the next three teams we were playing had all beat us. Those were critical games because we needed the tiebreakers.”

Fox Chapel won three of those four contests — beating Woodland Hills, North Allegheny and North Hills — to give itself some leeway going into the final Friday of the season. The Foxes were in position to make the playoffs with a win against Butler.

For Fox Chapel, which was tied for fourth place entering the final game, collecting wins against the teams that previously beat them provided invaluable tiebreakers to possibly move into the playoffs even with a loss. Results from the Foxes’ game against the Golden Tornado were too late for this edition.

Skrinjar said he saw what he was looking for during the four-game stretch. The Foxes’ only loss came to section champion New Castle.

“We talked about urgency,” Skrinjar said. “You take self-inventory, and we had a team meeting with the guys who played more, us and the coaches. We were matter-of-fact with them with what we had to do to extend their season. It can be an uncomfortable situation. But I felt if I didn’t do it then, I would have regretted it.”

During the win over North Hills, Joe McGivney scored a career-high 22 points to spark Fox Chapel during a 60-48 win. John Rehak also scored 13 points.

Skrinjar always thought the playoff race in the section would be decided by a thin margin. The Foxes have lived on the edge for much of the season.

Fox Chapel set the tone for what would follow when it picked up a narrow 65-64 win over Shaler to open the season.

“I think at the beginning we knew it was going to be competitive,” Skrinjar said. “It’s been fun. It’s been a challenge. It’s been more interesting preparing for games than it has been the last couple years.”

Tags: Fox Chapel