McGuffey rallies to defeat South Fayette
The McGuffey basketball team celebrates after defeating South Fayette, 45-43, Friday night at South Fayette High School.
South Fayette’s Anthony Frost and McGuffey’s Trent Belleville get tangled up as Frost tries to shoot in the second half Friday night.
McGuffey’s Colin Chapman works his way past the South Fayette defense for a shot at the basket during the first half Friday night in a Section 3-AAAA.
McGuffey coach Michael Fatigante watches as a player makes a free throw during the first half of the Highlanders’ game against South Fayette.
South Fayette coach Dave Mislan instructs his team from the sidelines during the game against McGuffey.
McDONALD – From start to finish Friday night, McGuffey High School boys basketball head coach Michael Fatigante wouldn’t classify anything the Highlanders did as pretty.
However, following a timeout called with only a few seconds remaining in the game and the score tied, Fatigante wasn’t looking for pretty.
He only wanted results.
After a Highlanders inbounds play with 10 seconds left, Colin Chapman took a backdoor pass while cutting to the hoop as his defender fell to the floor, leaving the 6-2 senior with a game-winning layup to complete McGuffey’s fourth-quarter comeback and give the Highlanders a 45-43 victory South Fayette in a Section 3-AAAA game.
“It was not at all what was drawn up,” Fatigante said with a smile. “We had a play planned to hold for the last shot. It turned into a scramble situation and our guys made a play at the end when it needed to be made. Things didn’t go our way for most of the night. We had turnovers. We had mistake after mistake after mistake. One thing that’s great about our guys is that they are very resilient. They fought tonight.”
McGuffey’s win created a three-way tie for first place in the section between the Highlanders (5-1, 12-2), South Fayette (5-1, 6-4) and Belle Vernon (5-1, 8-3).
McGuffey had to fight to stay with South Fayette, which continued to try and push into their quick pace at the end of the first quarter.
“It was a frustrating game,” said South Fayette head coach Dave Mislan. “They made us play at their speed and we knew that coming in. It’s hard to change it. We tried putting pressure on, but part of what makes that successful is that it needs to come with scoring. We didn’t do that very well.”
After a first quarter – resembling the leisurely style of play the Highlanders want on offense, with only 12 combined points scored – South Fayette turned to a half-court press to give it a 16-13 lead after a spinning three-point play by Camron Garland.
However, McGuffey cut the Lions’ lead to only one point, 21-20, at halftime after Champan converted on a three-point play of his own by driving the basket with 1:37 left and connecting on another layup with nine seconds remaining in the second quarter.
“Ever since the summer, we made it a goal to stick together and have good chemistry,” Chapman explained. “We want to make sure we do everything possible to just win. The good thing about our team is nobody cares who is scoring the points. It’s really a team effort.”
That Highlanders’ chemistry was tested as South Fayette pulled away again following a Connor Mislan baseline three-pointer with one second remaining in the third quarter.
After going back and forth early in the fourth quarter, Chapman brought each member of the McGuffey roster to its feet with a straightaway three-pointer with 4:06 remaining to cut South Fayette’s lead to one.
On the next possession for the Highlanders, Chapman forcefully took the ball to the rim and gave McGuffey a lead it had been looking for since early in the first quarter.
Chapman finished with a game-high 20 points and teammate Trent Belleville recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
South Fayette was led by 15 points from Garland, the lone Lion to score in double figures.
“We are good because we play good defense,” Fatigante said emphatically. “We have to be the hardest-working team on the court. That was a big win for us but at the end of the day it is just one win. Hopefully, it keeps pushing us in the right direction.”