North Catholic turns in masterful performance in Class 4A semifinal win over Beaver

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 9:29 PM

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In a nearly 30-point win, North Catholic’s Jason Fredericks heard his coach keep urging him and his teammates to master the moment.

It’s a phrase North Catholic coach Jim Rocco uses to sum up his team’s basketball philosophy. Nobody ever masters the game, Rocco admits, but he says their drive to do so is what carried the second-seeded Trojans to a 71-42 victory over No. 3 Beaver in a WPIAL Class 4A semifinal Saturday at North Allegheny.

The clock ran steady for the final 4 minutes, 44 seconds under the mercy rule.

“We talk all the time about just ‘master the moment’ in the game,” Rocco said. “Just focus on the game, and master whether it’s a back cut, whether it’s a ball screen, whether it’s a stunt in a gap.”

North Catholic made seven of its first 13 shots, ran out to a 21-7 lead and led by 20 points in the second quarter.

Fredericks scored 30 points and junior Jude Rottmann added 25 for the Trojans, who advance to the WPIAL finals for the second time in three years. North Catholic (19-5) faces No. 1 Belle Vernon (20-4) at 9 p.m. Thursday at Petersen Events Center.

“At the beginning of the game, he told us to finish the mission,” said Fredericks, a junior. “Get to the Pete is the mission. We did it with North Catholic basketball.”

That’s often by being efficient, a metric Rocco values.

The Trojans shot 52% from the field, making 24 of 46 attempts. A solid percentage of their points was scored in the paint, but they also made six 3-pointers and shot 35% from beyond the arc.

Rottmann went 4 for 5 from 3-point range in the third quarter alone, helping to push North Catholic’s lead to 56-32 entering the fourth.

“We pride ourselves on just being good basketball players,” Rocco said. “If you watch one of our practices in December or November and compare it to when we coached 10 or 15 years ago, it’s completely different. We play all the time.

“I can’t remember the last time we’ve run a 3-on-2 or 2-on-1 drill,” he said. “We haven’t run a layup drill all year. It’s more about mastering the game and mastering situations. These guys are really good at understanding basketball.”

He said the mission is to “immerse” the players in “chaos” and let them learn to control the randomness. They’re reading and reacting to their opponent.

“Practices are always, go, go, go, go,” Fredericks said. “But all you’ve got to do is take a deep breath. Once you figure it out, you’ve got it.”

Beaver (19-5) already had clinched a spot in the PIAA playoffs by reaching the semifinals. But before starting the state tournament, the Bobcats must rematch section foe Avonworth in a third-place game.

The date, time and site will be announced.

Senior Brady Mayo led Beaver with 21 points while facing steady double teams from North Catholic’s defense. Senior Nick Krzeczowski scored 12.

“We knew they were good,” Beaver coach Jason Bumblis said of North Catholic. “They move the ball. They run their offense well. I thought we forced some tough shots, but they made them. I don’t know what percentage they shot in the first half, but it was high.”

Beaver missed eight of its first 11 shots, fell behind early and never recovered. The team already doesn’t have a deep bench and had a couple of players playing through an illness.

The Bobcats also struggled from 3-point range, making only 5 of 17 from beyond the arc.

“It was a bad combination,” Bumblis said. “They were really hot, and we couldn’t get anything going offensively. They doubled our best guy, and we didn’t make them pay.”

North Catholic returns to the WPIAL finals for the second time in Rocco’s four seasons as coach. The Trojans were WPIAL Class 3A runners-up in 2022.

Rocco previously led Penn Hills to two WPIAL titles and a state championship and said this current team reminds him of those squads.

“They’re old-school, earn-it guys,” Rocco said. “They’re not entitled guys. That helps with who we are as coaches.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Beaver, North Catholic