Jan 16, 2015 4 min read

McDONALD – In a battle atop Section 5-AAA, it was South Fayette that remained undefeated within section play Friday night in front of their home crowd, defeating second-place South Park in the final seconds, 53-48.

“There is no doubt it was a big game,” Lions coach Rich Bonnaure said. “Going into the season, I would make South Park the favorite but I would never count my kids out. It is nice to see them build our record up. We have a pretty playoff-tested team with all the seniors.”

South Park (4-3, 10-6) was down by three with 21 seconds to go with a chance to tie, but senior Dan Wanker missed a shot in the paint that allowed South Fayette (7-0, 11-1) to seal the victory from the free-throw line.

“It took way too long,” Eagles coach Dan DeRose said of his team’s final play. “It gave the defense a chance to recover.”

All game, the Eagles found themselves trying to dig out of quicksand after falling behind 19-9 after the first eight minutes. The Lions went on a 13-0 run – one of their many runs – to push the lead up to double digits.

“We hit everything to get that lead,” Bonnaure said. “We got them out of their defense.”

“We probably exerted a lot of energy to get back in the ball game,” DeRose said. “I don’t think I took Wanker or (Justin) Gorny out the whole game. They were kind of exhausted and they gave their best efforts.”

The Eagles had seven turnovers in the first quarter, which DeRose attributed to nerves.

“I just think we were nervous,” DeRose said. “It was a big game. We had to settle down and got a little confused with what we wanted to do. South Fayette did a good job making sure we couldn’t throw the ball inside. We just didn’t make any shots from the outside.”

Once they got over that case of nerves and back on track, the Eagles – Wanker in particular – were hard to contain. The Eagles responded with a 12-0 run after the Lions’ spurt, highlighted by eight straight points by Wanker.

“I made the mistake of pulling Dan away from the basket,” DeRose said. “I had to go to my horse, and I did, and it got us back in the ball game.”

The Eagles took their first lead since 2-0 when senior Josh Wietholder drained a three to put South Park up 29-28 in the third quarter.

Again, the Lions had an answer, ending the quarter on a 7-0 run. Senior Jack Relihan ended the quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Relihan was key for the Lions, coming up with the big shot every time they needed one and finished with a team-high 20 points.

“That is the nice thing about this team. We have some nice weapons. Jack has been really consistent,” Bonnaure said. “He is a good basketball player. I’d put my money on him if it comes down to it.”

For South Park, Wanker – who came entered averaging 16.9 points per game – finished with a game-high 27 points.

“The problem with this team is it’s not used to winning,” DeRose said. “I have to get them to understand they are a good team and they can be a tough out in the playoffs.”

The Lions haven’t played in many close games like this one, but they are aware games like these can only help come playoff time.

“(The Eagles) weren’t going easy,” Bonnaure said. “They want a piece of that section and they weren’t going to go easy with nine seniors and a good coach. We told the kids that when you get in the playoffs there aren’t many blowouts. You need to play possession-by-possession.”