Shade sends Vincentian Academy boys basketball packing

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, March 14, 2018 | 1:00 AM

Just when it looked like Vincentian Academy was going to steal a victory in the final minute, Vincent Fyock made sure Shade would make the two-hour bus ride back to Somerset County a winner.

Fyock was blocked attempting a layup by Zach Collins, which resulted in a Kyler Fedko layup that gave Vincentian its first lead of the game with just over a minute remaining. But Fyock, a 5-foot-10 freshman, responded by driving the lane, drawing a foul and hitting a tough layup on the next possession, swinging the momentum back to Shade for good.

Fyock made the free throw and converted two more from the line in the final seconds, helping Shade stave off a late Royals rally in a 60-56 victory in the second round of the PIAA Class A boys basketball playoffs Tuesday at Armstrong.

Vincentian had a late shot to tie by Marshall Gadzik bounce off the rim, and then Fyock converted his final two free throws.

Fyock went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line in the second half and finished with a game-high 22 points.

“He's not playing like a freshman,” said Panthers coach Wade Fyock, who is Vincent Fyock's uncle. “We wouldn't have even been here without the performance he had last week (against Cornell in the first round). He's really stepped up for us. He hit some big foul shots for us tonight. It was a gutsy, gutsy performance.”

The Panthers (23-3), the District 5 champion, advanced to the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history and will play District 6 champion Bishop Carroll on Friday at a site and time to be announced. Vincentian, the WPIAL champ, finished 19-8.

Coach Fyock said Shade had pressed in every game this season but decided not to against Vincentian because the teams play a similar fast-paced style. The wrinkle on defense helped Shade jump out to a 10-0 lead and eventually a 30-21 halftime lead.

“Hats off to them playing really well in the first half and executing their sets,” Vincentian coach Tim Tyree said. “At this time of year, you can't start slow and give people that much confidence. They did a good job packing it in, and we weren't able to get the drives that we wanted to in the first half.”

Zach McDonough started Vincentian's rally late in the third period. McDonough and Zach Collins canned back-to-back 3-pointers in the final seconds of the third to cut Shade's lead to 44-41, and then McDonough sank another 3-pointer to tie the score early in the fourth. Austin Mauger answered with a 3-pointer, which was followed back-to-back layups by Brady Fyfe that pushed the lead to 51-44. Fyfe finished with 19 points.

“Every possession counts this time of year, and you have to execute,” Tyree said. “For us, we did a bad job of stopping them. They got some second-chance opportunities. They were able to get into the paint and kick it out, and I thought that was really our downfall.”

McDonough finished with 18 points, and Fedko scored 16. Both played their final game for Vincentian.

In his first year as coach, Tyree guided Vincentian to its first WPIAL title in five years and third overall. He was thankful to his seniors for buying in to him as a younger coach this season.

“Those seniors are not only good basketball players, but they are a great group of young men,” Tyree said. “They will be successful in whatever they do in life. I'm sad to see them go, but they laid the foundation for future groups and we just hope we can build on that.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Vincentian Academy