Petrarca powers Peters Township past Hempfield
Sam Petrarca
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Sam Petrarca goes to the basket with an underhanded layup Tuesday. In a 55-46 win against Hempfield, the Peters Township senior tossed in 28 points.
Sam Petrarca puts up a hoop against Marcus McCarthy. Petrarca exploded for 28 points in Peters Township's 55-46 win against Hempfield in the first round of the WPIAL Class 6A boys' basketball playoffs.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Colin Cote goes in for a layup in a WPIAL Class 6A first-round win over Hempfield. Cote and the Indians play McDowell in the opening round of the state tournament Saturday.
By Eleanor Bailey
Colin Cote soars to the basket against Hempfield defenders during Peters Township's first round WPIAL Class 6A playoff game.
By Eleanor Bailey
Logan Pfeuffer soars to the hoop after beating his defender, Blake Remaley, from Hempfield.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Tense times are experienced by the bench players as Hempfield closes within four points of the Indians Tuesday. Peters Township, however, went on to win, 55-46.
Connor Duane is fouled on his way to the hoop during Peters Township's 55-46 win against Hempfield.
PITTSBURGH – Emptying much of his bench is what Gary Goga does.
Unconventional? Maybe.
When Goga, the Peters Township High School boys basketball coach, pulled Sam Petrarca Tuesday night, the trigger finger to put him back into the game couldn’t have been faster.
“I was feeling it,” Petrarca said. “I felt good and energetic in warmups and started out playing real loose. I wasn’t thinking, just playing.”
Petrarca did whatever he wanted, however he wanted and whenever he wanted.
Scoring a game-high 28 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, Petrarca led No. 9 Peters Township over eighth-seeded Hempfield, 55-46, in a WPIAL Class 6A first-round game at Mt. Lebanon High School.
“I apologized to Sam earlier in the year for not giving him breaks,” Goga said. “He got worn down. He has to do so much for us that we have to give him a break every now and then because he’s human. He asked me one time, ‘Why does fatigue have to be a thing?’ He did a great job tonight. He’s a special player.”
The win advances Peters Township (14-9) to a quarterfinal game against top-seeded Butler (17-4) Saturday at a site and time to be determined. The Indians were in the same situation last year as a No. 9 seed. They won in the opening round but blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter to top-seeded Pine-Richland and lost on a shot at the buzzer.
“Almost all of our motivation comes from that,” Petrarca said. “I kept watching that game over and over. It only made me angry. It was a real long offseason.”
Petrarca, a senior, made sure the Indians’ season didn’t end prematurely Tuesday with a huge first half. He outscored Hempfield (12-11) by himself in the first half, 16-15, as Peters Township used a strong start to the second quarter. Petrarca ignited a eight-point run for the Indians with three consecutive layups, widening the lead to 24-11 with just over four minutes left in the second quarter.
The Spartans (12-11) went over four minutes without a point in the second and only made one shot to trail 29-15 entering the break.
“We had trouble,” Hempfield coach Bill Swan said. “We kind of knew we would. Petrarca is so good when he comes down hill and goes off the dribble. That being said, they had just 29 (points) at halftime.”
Hempfield made a strong push in the fourth quarter, narrowing its 11-point deficit to start the final frame to just five, 38-33, after a layup from Marcus McCarthy with 5:21 left.
The closest the Spartans would get was four points with 1:29 remaining in regulation.
Michael Hosni scored 13 points to lead Hempfield. McCarthy was also in double figures with 12.
Peters Township followed through with the writing across the back of its warmup shirts that read ‘Finish’ in big, bold letters. The Indians went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 1:27 to keep the lead. Petrarca made four of those free throws.
“We don’t think anybody could guard him,” Goga said. “We really don’t. Anybody they throw at him, I’ll take (Sam).”