Second-half surge lifts Peters Twp. over Penn-Trafford
Ben Yeates (20) weaves up and around Chris Abreu (34) to score a basket for Peters Township during playoff action against Penn-Trafford.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Thomas Melonja goes in for a layup as Penn-Trafford’s Kevin Stinelli watches during a WPIAL Class 6A first-round playoff game Tuesday.
PITTSBURGH – After a pair of gut-twisting, four-point losses to Mt. Lebanon and Canon-McMillan near the end of section play, the Peters Township boys basketball team focused on finishing.
The Indians did so in a big way Tuesday night.
Clinging to a three-point lead at halftime, ninth-seeded Peters Township controlled the entire second half to defeat No. 8 Penn-Trafford, 74-56, in a WPIAL Class 6A first-round playoff game at Mt. Lebanon High School.
It was the first playoff victory for the Indians, who advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals against top-seeded Pine-Richland, since 2012. The site and time of that game have yet to be determined.
“Throughout the entire season you are constantly working to clean things up and improve,” said Peters Township coach Gary Goga. “We knew it was going to be a work in progress and kept having to figure things out. There were games where we didn’t get in done in the end. Right now, none of that matters. They closed today.”
By Luke Campbell
Staff writer
lcampbell@observer-reporter.com
Peters Township (16-7) went on a 14-2 run in the opening four-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter. The Indians outscored Penn-Trafford 22-11 in the eight minutes after halftime and never looked back.
“They made shots,” said Penn-Trafford coach Jim Rocco. “They have five or six guys that are really good at making shots. What we saw in other games was when you scramble a little bit (with pressure defense) they didn’t make shots.”
The Indians’ shots down the stretch came from nearly everyone who stepped on the floor. Sam Petrarca scored 11 of his game-high 16 points in the second half. Dax Ploskina, who also had 11 second-half points, scored 15. They led a group of five scorers that finished with double-digit point totals for the Indians. Colin Cote added 14, while Thomas Melonja and Sean Werner each had 12.
“When we have those big quarters in the third and fourth it helps us push ahead, which was all we needed,” Ploskina said. “At halftime, we said this was it. We had to grind to the end because we weren’t losing this game.”
The wide margin at the end didn’t exhibit a back-and-forth first half, which looked to be anybody’s game entering the break. Penn-Trafford (14-9) scored seven of the last nine points in the first quarter to take a one-point lead, 16-15.
The Warriors, who also were eliminated by Peters Township in the WPIAL football playoffs, found an inside-outside punch with Chris Abreu and Kevin Stinelli. Abreu scored a team-high 15 points, while Stinelli added 13.
Petrarca gave Peters Township a three-point lead, 28-25, at the half on a layup with five seconds left in second quarter.
“This felt great,” Goga said. “I’m happy for the kids. This has been a fantastic, great and fun year. I’m so happy the boys got to experience a win in the playoffs. They work so hard and are fun to coach. Our seniors stepped up today. It was a great team win and very good to see.”