Loss to Peters Twp. a learning experience for Wash High
Washington’s Colin Cote tries to block Peters Township’s Cam Start pass during Peters Township Holiday Tournament ay Peters Township Hgh School on Thursday, December 28, 2017.
Washington’s Isaiah Walton makes a basket as Peters Township’s Dax Ploskina tries to block the shot during Peters Township Holiday Tournament ay Peters Township Hgh School on Thursday, December 28, 2017.
Peters Township’s Sean Werner, left, and Luke Fountaine try to block the shot of Washington’s Tristen Wood during a Peters Township Holiday Tournament game Thursday night.
Washington’s Isaiah Walton makes a layup as Peters Township’s Dax Ploskina tries for a block during the Peters Township Holiday Tournament Thursday.
McMURRAY – One of the youngest Washington High School boys basketball teams in recent memory have shrugged off their lack of experience and are off to a strong start.
The young Prexies got a great deal of seasoning Thursday night as they fell 56-50 to Peters Township in the nightcap of the Indians’ Holiday Basketball Tournament.
Washington fell to 4-2 overall while Peters Township evened its season ledger at 4-4.
Playing in a tournament with larger schools, such as Peters Twp., Upper St. Clair and South Fayette, should test Washington and prepare it for the future if his squad chooses to, coach Ron Faust said.
“Well, it’s a learning experience, if we learn from it,” the coach noted. “It’s not a learning experience if we say ‘Oh well, they’re a bigger school and they should beat us.’ The better teams are playing in tournaments such as this, like the Monessens, the Aliquippas, we’d like to be mentioned with them, too.”
Washington played the deeper and taller Indians even up for most of the night only to sag a bit in the second half.
A Dax Ploskina three-pointer from the wing gave the Indians a 48-44 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Ploskina increased the lead to six with a put-back on the Indians’ next possession.
Colin Cote’s second three-pointer of the evening pushed the Indians’ lead to 10 late in the fourth and eventually turned out the lights on the Prexies.
Cote finished with 15 points and Vinny Cortese chipped in with 10 to pace the hosts.
“Colin had some real nice plays tonight, Dax (Ploskina) had some nice plays. I was happy with the guys,” Peters Township coach Gary Goga said. “It’s been an up and down year for us, but they’re battling.”
Goga added he was also pleased with his team’s defensive performance.
“We did a nice job stretching out our zone,” he added. “I typically don’t like playing too much zone, but it worked tonight.”
Washington turned up the defensive heat in the third quarter. A Jordan Swart layin off a steal gave the Prexies a 41-40 lead late in the quarter. Tristen Wood extended the lead to three with a tough running shot in the lane to close the scoring in the quarter.
The Indians forged a 30-28 halftime lead thanks to their pressure defense and rebounding. Cortese paced the hosts with 10 first-half points while Luke Fountaine chipped in with back to back three-pointers to tie the score at 15 at the end of the first quarter. Fountaine’s second triple of the quarter came at the buzzer.
Washington was led by Isaiah Walton’s 12 first-half points, eight of which came in the opening quarter.
Walton led the Prexies with 15 points for the game, although only three came in the second half, a fact that was not lost on Faust.
“I’m not sure why we got away from it and that is what we were talking about before,” Faust added. “The reason we are in a tournament like this is to prepare for the playoffs and find out what our strengths are.”
Zahmere Robinson added 12 points for the Prexies and Dan Ethridge chipped in with 10.
The Prexies play Upper St. Clair this evening at 6:30 while Peters Twp. plays host to South Fayette in the nightcap.
Upper St. Clair 68 South Fayette 43:
Pressure defense and timely three-point shooting were the catalysts for the Panthers as they overcame a sluggish start and eventually pulled away from the Lions in the tournament opener.
South Fayette (4-3) took a 26-23 lead into the locker room at the half but it could not sustain anything as Upper St. Clair (5-3) tightened up the screws on defense.
“First half was played more at our pace,” Lions coach Dave Mislan said. “They (Upper St. Clair) play a lot of guys and they like to press. We took great care of the ball in the first half and held them to one shot. It obviously got away from us in the second.”
The Panthers came out of the locker room and outscored South Fayette 18-6 in the third quarter. A 27-11 scoring run put the game away in the fourth.
USC coach Danny Holzer said his squad stuck with the press, wore down the Lions and went for the kill with their three-point game in the second half.
“That is our plan, get some turnovers, force some bad shots and take advantage on the other end,” Holzer added.
David Pantelis and Kyle Meinert paced the Panthers with 14 points each. Brett Moore added 12 points off the bench. Braden Hoy led the Lions with 14 points.