Dec 27, 2016 4 min read

McMURRAY – For coach Gary Goga’s Peters Township High School boys basketball team, sustaining defensive pressure and spreading the floor will be the two keys to a successful season.

Peters Township used an early barrage of three-point shooting and stifling full-court pressure defense to pound that point home as the Indians defeated South Fayette 62-52 Tuesday night in the first round of the Peters Township Holiday Basketball Tournament. The Indians upped their record to 7-2 while the Lions fell to 3-1.

The hosts raced to a 10-2 lead early in the first quarter behind the three-point shooting of Dax Ploskina, who made his first three attempts from behind the arc. He finished with 17 points.

However, the Lions responded with a 12-3 spurt to close out the opening frame.

The two squads played a mostly back-and-forth affair in the first half with neither able to extend a lead beyond three points.

Ploskina’s 14 first-half points were the main catalyst for the Indians to carry a 31-28 lead into the break.

But it was later in the third quarter when Peters Township showed its strength on both sides of the court.

The Indians held a 40-38 with two minutes left in the quarter. South Fayette had the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead when Matt Thomas drove to the basket. His shot was rejected by Conor Pederson.

Michael Cortese took it the length of the court, made the layup and was fouled. His free throw extended the Indians’ lead to 43-38 and they were never threatened again.

“We had to go small in the second half, basically wanting to spread them out and take advantage of our skill to get to the hole and get open looks,” Goga said. “I thought we did a real good job of that in the second half.”

The block and three-point play triggered a 13-0 run and essentially ended South Fayette’s chances of beginning the season with four straight wins.

Michael Cortese led the Indians with 19 points while Thomas paced all scorers with 21.

Lions coach Dave Mislan said his team is still in the process of finding themselves in this early part of the season.

“We just didn’t have any offensive flow tonight,” Mislan added. “But we’re still trying to find the right rotations off the bench and onto the floor. We have to do a better job of playing through some adversity like we faced tonight.”

The tournament – which has predetermined matchups instead of the championship and consolation formats – tipped off with Upper St Clair outlasting Washington in a tight contest.

Matt Popeck scored a game high 28 points while teammate Jacob Swart added 13. Kyle Meinert led a balanced Panthers attack with 19 points while Darius Radfur and Pitt football recruit Gabe Houy each chipped in with 11.

Popeck established himself as the best player on the floor early as he torched the Panthers for 14 first-quarter points. However, his teammates could only muster four as the Prexies trailed 19-18 heading into the second quarter.

Fueled by Houy’s scoring inside and Quentin Nelson (six blocks) defending the paint, the Panthers went on a 9-1 run in the second quarter as they took a 37-28 lead into the break.

The Prexies got as close as 41-38 midway through the third quarter with a Popeck steal and layup. But a Meinert three extended Upper St. Clair’s lead to 46-39 late in the period.

Isaiah Robinson came off the bench and gave the Prexies a spark with solid defense (three steals) an two clutch foul shots to cut the Panthers’ lead to 51-46 early in the fourth. A short Popeck jumper cut the deficit to three, but Meinert again thwarted the rally with a lay up, pushing the Upper St. Clair lead to 53-48 midway through the fourth.

Prexies coach Ron Faust said he was proud of the effort his team showed.

“We played real hard for 32 minutes,” he added. “We’ve never had to worry about effort. The effort has always been there. The things we need to deal with is details. We need to make some layups, make better passes and execute.”

The tournament concludes with Upper St. Clair facing South Fayette tonight at 6 and Peters Township hosts Washington in the nightcap at 7:30.