By: William Whalen, Saturday, February 2, 2019, TRIB-LIVE
Much to the delight of most everyone in Western Pa., Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow Saturday, signifying an early spring. The Fox Chapel boys basketball team, however, started Saturday in the shadows.
The Foxes were second in the section with a one-game lead over third-place Penn-Trafford, but after 32 minutes of basketball, the shadow of the Warriors’ threat for second place disappeared.
Backed by strong defense and a clutch shooting effort by senior Ryan Kerr, the Foxes handed Penn-Trafford a 55-41 road loss in a Section 3-6A matchup.
“They were prepared, and they were locked in today, especially on the defensive end against such a senior-laden and experienced team like (Penn-Trafford),” Fox Chapel coach Zach Skrinjar said. “I thought they were really terrific. I was pleased.”
With one section game remaining for both teams, the Warriors (11-7, 5-4) are locked into a third-place section finish, and the Foxes (12-6, 7-2) are assured second place behind leader Latrobe (15-2, 8-0), which is ranked No. 1 in Class 6A.
“If you really look at it, it was really their ability to get second-chance points and our inability to stop that,” Penn-Trafford coach Jim Rocco said. “Our assistant counted 14 or 15 offensive rebounds that they had, and I think they converted on six to eight of them. That’s 12 to 16 points right there.”
Having lost 69-54 in early January, the Warriors came out with hustle and kept pace with the Foxes. Senior Jordan Sabol gave the Warriors the early lead, and junior Zach Rocco put Penn-Trafford up 5-4 after a free-throw attempt.
Kerr was a problem for the Warriors, especially early. He connected on back-to-back 3-pointers from the left elbow to grab the lead for good at 10-7. Standout freshman Eli Yofan drove the paint for a layup to give the Foxes a 12-7 lead to close out the first quarter. Kerr finished with a game-high 19 points, and Yofan chipped in with 14 and added eight rebounds for the Foxes.
“My teammates did a really good job of getting me open and giving me some good looks early in the game,” said Kerr, who hit four 3-pointers. “After I made my second (3-pointer), they switched who was guarding me, and I could hear their coach yelling, ‘Don’t let him touch it, don’t let him touch it.’ ”
Kerr started the second quarter with another long ball to extend the lead to 15-7. Penn-Trafford senior Chris Abreu hit a 3-pointer to stop the Fox Chapel run.
The Warriors’ Kevin Stinelli added a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 15-13. Abreu finished with a team-high 11 points, and Stinelli added 10.
“They’re a team that communicates very well defensively, and when you get those open looks you got to knock them down because there’s not going to be that many,” Rocco said.
Arnold Vento connected on long jumper and buried two free throws to send Fox Chapel into the half on a 8-2 run with a 30-22 lead.
The Foxes played physically to start the second half and picked up three quick fouls in the first two minutes.
Rocco scored on a layup, and Abreu drained another 3-pointer early to cut into the Fox Chapel lead at 30-27.
The Warriors hung around, but there was always a Fox Chapel player to stop the Penn-Trafford momentum.
Senior Noah Marks added layup at the 5-minute, 19-second mark of the third quarter to stop a 5-0 Warriors run. Kerr followed with a baseline layup and added another 3-pointer to widen the lead to 37-27. Vento added a put back off a steal for a 43-32 lead with 1:15 left in the third quarter.
“I knew I was going to need to have a big game because they’re a really good team,” Kerr said.
Penn-Trafford closed to 49-40 late in the fourth quarter after two Abreu free throws, but the Foxes always had an answer.
“As a coach, I’m just really proud of the growth that they made from December to this point,” Skrinjar said. “These guys are shot-makers, and they’re willing to pass to give someone a better look.”
William Whalen is a freelance writer.