Kiski Area boys basketball needs 3 overtimes to defeat Knoch

By: George Guido
Wednesday, December 29, 2021 | 10:07 PM

Knoch entered the second game of its three in the Kiski Area Holiday Classic with a 2-5 record.

But the Knights didn’t play like a 2-5 team against the 7-1 host Cavaliers.

Ultimately, Kiski Area was able to push through in the third overtime to record a 52-50 victory,

Dom DiNinno’s only basket of the game, a 3-pointer 40 seconds into the third overtime, gave the Cavaliers the lead for good.

Knoch was holding for a final shot to tie or win it outright, but an offensive foul on Ryan Lang with 4.7 seconds to go turned the ball over.

Keagan Fraser’s rebound of James Pearson’s missed foul shot gave Knoch a final chance. But Fraser was tied up along the sideline by Lebryn Smith and never got the ball close to half court.

Isaiah Gonzalez led the Cavaliers with 22 points, and Lang had 24 to lead the Knights.

Knoch opened up a 26-19 lead at the half, with Lang scoring 11 points. The Knights had a 24-14 lead with 1:33 left in the half before Kiski Area cut into the lead. Fraser’s banker through a crowd on the right side of the key as time ran out made it 26-19.

Kiski Area started the third quarter with an 8-0 run.

“I kind of got into them in the locker room,” Cavaliers coach Corey Smith said. “We started out sluggish. Usually we don’t play on a Wednesday. No school. Kids laying around all day, I told them we had to match their energy.”

Said Knights coach Alan Bauman: “I think things are coming together for us. We played some of the best teams so far, but we decided at Christmas to hit the reset button and get back to who we are. We’re starting to.”

Kiski Area had a chance to win it in regulation.

Jason Flemm stole the ball with 2.5 seconds to go while Knoch was playing for the last shot after James Pearson’s basket with 32.8 to go.

Bauman, in fact, had called two timeouts to set up a final shot that never came. The Cavaliers, going into the sequence, had only one team foul and couldn’t send Knoch to the foul line.

Gonzalez drove for the shot but was blocked by Lang.

“You have to be in these positions to execute,” Bauman said. “This is the first time this year we had been in that position with a new cast of characters. We’ll go through those growing pains and be better next time.”

There was no scoring in the first overtime.

Gonzalez opened the second extra session with a 3-pointer, but Lang answered with a basket and a pair of free throws. After Lang’s basket put Knoch in front 48-46, Gonzalez scored on a touch pass from Smith with 1:07 left. The Knights, however, couldn’t get a shot off to win it.

“I harp on defense a lot,” coach Smith said. “I just told the kids we had a lot of fouls to give and to pressure the ball and get them rattled a little bit. But hats off to coach Bauman, he has a great team.”

Kiski Area (8-1) will conclude the classic Thursday against Ligonier Valley at 7:30 p.m.

Knoch (2-6) will take on Yough at 4:30.

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