North Catholic boys run away with win over Burrell

By: Michael Love
Friday, January 3, 2025 | 9:39 PM

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A big second quarter for the North Catholic boys basketball team broke open what was a close game against Burrell in a Section 1-4A matchup Friday evening at Burrell High School.

The Trojans outscored the Bucs by 19 points in the quarter and added on in the third on their way to a 66-44 victory.

“It was nice to get a good win like this, especially on a day like today where the kids didn’t have school,” North Catholic coach Jim Rocco said.

“The kids got together, went on the road, and it’s always good to get section wins on the road. They have been doing really well. As people say, now they’re trending. They are understanding how to play hard, and each guy has established what his strengths are and is playing to those strengths. We’re getting better and better.”

North Catholic won its fifth straight game and improved to 7-4 overall and 3-0 in section play.

The Trojans host Pine-Richland in the Don Graham Classic at 4 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s an event that really focuses on celebrating the tradition of North Catholic basketball that began years ago with Don Graham. It celebrates his legacy,” Rocco said.

“It should be a really good game against a solid 6A team.”

Burrell lost its third in a row and fell to 4-7 overall, 1-3 in the section.

“It was a tough matchup for us,” Bucs coach Mike Fantuzzo said. “North Catholic does a lot of really good things. It’s constant pressure. With their dribble-drive offense, they have five guys who can shoot the ball all the time.”

Burrell will attempt to get back in the win column Tuesday when it travels to section rival Freeport for a 7:30 p.m. opening tip. The Bucs then host Valley on Friday.

“Next week is a big week for us,” Fantuzzo said. “If we can go 2-0, it will set ourselves up in a good position in the first half of the section for a (WPIAL) playoff spot. But we know we have to clean some things up before that.”

A pair of free throws from Eric Lindenfelser with 41 seconds left in the third quarter sent North Catholic ahead 60-29 and put the 30-point mercy rule into effect.

Jude Rottmann led all scorers with 26 points with 12 coming on four 3-pointers.

He had 20 at the break and added six as part of the Trojans’ 23-point third quarter before being subbed out with the other starters.

Owen Maddalon also reached double-digits in scoring with 16.

Tucker Bitar, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark against Derry at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Showcase on Dec. 21, led Burrell with 13 points.

North Catholic started its dominant second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers from Rottmann and Eli Stofko.

The Trojans used a 10-0 run overall to lead 27-16 with 6:26 on the clock.

DJ Cosentino hit one of two from the free-throw line with 5:54 to go until the half, but North Catholic’s pressure in the full court that caused turnovers and rebounding on the defensive end held Burrell off the scoreboard for the next five minutes before Gavyn Orr converted a layup with 52 seconds on the clock.

“Our pressure was pretty disruptive, and it forced some difficult shots,” Rocco said.

“In any sport, I don’t care what it is, it comes down to scoring, and we scored the ball. Jude scored the ball, and so did Owen. We’re making threes and rolling like that. It energizes us defensively. We were able to establish both and were able to take control.”

The Bucs and Trojans played close in the first quarter.

North Catholic found itself ahead 7-2 early, but Burrell came back to take the lead on a pair of free throws from Cosentino, a 3-pointer from Ryan Wass and a layup from Bitar.

Rottmann delivered a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in the first to give the Trojans a 17-14 lead before Parker Pruitt sank two foul shots to pull the Bucs to within one at the end of the first.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell, North Catholic