Highlands defense stymies Franklin Regional in PIAA Class 5A 1st round

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 9, 2018 | 9:54 PM

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In the fourth installment of one of Class 5A boys basketball’s freshest and grittiest rivalries, defense rang true.

No surprise there.

But it wasn’t the team you might think that did the heavy defending.

Highlands took on the role of the enforcer Friday night against Franklin Regional, making the WPIAL runner-up Panthers work for points in a 52-31 win in a PIAA first-round game at Fox Chapel.

The balance of power between the two grinders shifted back to Natrona Heights. Highlands dealt the Panthers a Round 4 knockout.

“Our guys wanted this game,” Highlands coach Tyler Stoczynski said. “They came out with the intensity. The difference between this game and last game was that we sustained that intensity defensively throughout the entire game. That was the biggest difference.”

The Panthers had been plagued by late-game scoring woes in the playoffs. They had only one fourth-quarter field goal in three playoff games — the last of which was a 54-44 loss to Mars in the WPIAL final. They had six field goals in the final frame this time, but the game was long decided by then.

Highlands connected on seven 3-pointers and built a 33-13 lead midway through the third on a 3 by sophomore Luke Cochran, who scored 12 points.

“Highlands is good,” Scorpion said. “But when you’re shooting open 3’s, a lot of people can make open 3’s. Last time we played them, we contested 3’s. Tonight, they were getting open 3’s and making them.”

Sophomore 6-foot-7 swingman Johnny Crise helped stretch the advantage with a pair of rim-shaking dunks as the Rams took a 39-18 lead into the fourth.

“Johnny helped get the crowd into it,” Stoczynski said. “He made plays that got us going.”

The lead reached 26 in the fourth as senior Ryan Signorella hit a pair of 3-pointers.

Senior 6-6 forward Shawn Erceg led Highlands with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“We get to practice Sunday and Monday, and we’re back at it Tuesday,” Erceg said. “And they have to turn in their jerseys. That’s the difference now. We get to continue playing, and that’s all we wanted to do.”

Stoczynski said the key was his players buying into team defense.

“We have guys who want to learn,” Stoczynski said. “That’s a credit to those guys. They want to get better. And that’s why this group is successful.”

Stoczynski also singled out a pair of seniors whom he said made sure the Golden Rams stayed focused on the state playoffs.

“Romello Freeman and Christian Tanilli,” he said. “They were out there at practice telling everyone to pick it up. They showed leadership.”

Junior Nick Leopold led Franklin Regional with nine points while seniors Hunter Stonecheck and Nate Leopold had six apiece.

The Leopold brothers shared a tearful embrace as they left the floor for the last time as teammates.

“I love these seniors,” Scorpion said. “They set the standard for this program. I asked them two favors: one, come back next year and support us; and two, if you see any of these underclassmen not playing with the effort that you guys played with … you need to let us know. I thanked every one of our seniors for what they did for this program.”

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Highlands