No sharing: Senior moments help Wash High thump McGuffey, win outright title
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington’s Caleb Jackson drives past McGuffey’s Nate Witkowsky Friday night.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington’s Zahmere Robinson defends McGuffey’s Nate Witkowsky during Friday night’s game.
Washington’s Zahmere Robinson tries to block McGuffey’s Nate Witkowsky shot during the section championship game at Washington High on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019.
Washington’s Caleb Jackson hits the basket McGuffey’s Nick Dinka in a section championship gme at Washington High on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019.
Washington’s Zahmere Robinson fights for the rebound with McGuffey’s CJ Cole in a section championship game at Washington High on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019.
Washington’s Brandon Patterson against McGuffey’s Nate Dinka during thesection championship game at Washington High on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019.
Washington’s Ron Faust admitted a fear many coaches have on Senior Night is that emotions will hurt performance.
One of two seniors for the Washington High School boys basketball team, Isaiah “Chuckles” Walton walked across the Prexies’ gymnasium with a smile on his face.
“My dad gave me that nickname in second grade because every time I played sports I would laugh,” Walton said, of course while laughing.
The ear-to-ear smile was contagious for the entire Washington team, and McGuffey never was able to wipe it off.
Led by seniors Dan Ethridge and Walton, along with freshman Tayshawn Levy, the Prexies put together one of their most dominating and complete performances in several years to defeat McGuffey 72-33 and win the Class 3A Section 4 championship outright Friday night.
If McGuffey would have won, the two teams would have shared the title. It would have been the first section title for the Highlanders since 2002.
By Luke Campbell
Staff writer
lcampbell@observer-reporter.com
Washington’s Tayshawn Levy and Isaiah Walton talk about their victory over McGuffey.
“That’s probably the best we’ve played offensively,” Faust said. “We aren’t going to score that many points every night. Tonight, (our players) did a great job. They were very fundamental in what they did. They worked hard. They looked like they were having fun.”
It was the Prexies’ largest margin of victory over an opponent with a winning record since a 50-point throttling of Charleroi Jan. 6, 2017.
Dominating from start to finish, Washington (11-1, 13-7), which has won six consecutive games, had four players score in double figures. As a team, it shot 33-for-52 from the field.
“It is hard to win basketball games when you can’t make shots, can’t rebound and can’t play defense,” McGuffey coach Mike Fatigante said. “You can’t win basketball games when the other team shoots 60 percent. We were flat out terrible tonight.”
Much of the Prexies’ success came on simple, uncontested looks in the paint. Ethridge, the other senior recognized before the game, dominated in the post with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Walton scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds, had four assists and three blocked shots.
Having its five-game winning streak snapped, McGuffey (9-3, 14-7) watched its deficit expand as Levy, a Wash High freshman, sliced into the lane for most of his game-high 18 points. Twelve of his points were in the second half.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington’s Dan Ethridge takes a shot over McGuffey’s CJ Cole during Friday night’s game.
“This is probably the best game I’ve ever played, especially at the varsity level,” Levy said. “I did my thing today.”
The lopsided game was essentially decided before halftime as Washington went on a 12-point run in the opening four-and-a-half minutes of the game to take a 12-2 lead.
The closest the Highlanders would come was when Dylan Summers made a layup following a timeout in the middle of the first quarter, trimming the deficit to eight points.
C.J. Cole was the only player to score in double-digits for McGuffey with 11 points.
“The biggest game of the season and not only did we underperform but our effort level was awful,” Fatigante said. “What you saw tonight is not who we are. Early on, we couldn’t make shots. They made shots. They got every rebound. We didn’t. I’m extremely disappointed in our level of effort.”
It was only the third time this season Washington eclipsed 70 points. During its winning streak, the Prexies haven’t allowed an opponent to score more than 40 points, a trend Faust hopes will continue into the program’s WPIAL-leading 63rd playoff appearance.
“We have more people working, more people knowing where they are on the floor, more people diving on loose balls and more people understanding their roles,” Faust said. “We are playing as a team. It’s starting to click. Good things are starting to happen as a result. If we get on a roll, this is the time of year where it would be great to do that.”