The Knoch boys basketball team has put together five straight victories by matching the profile of their opponent. The Knights were tasked with trying to beat a big, physical team in Latrobe on Friday night at the Plum tournament.
Knoch survived a third-quarter lapse to earn a 54-46 win.
“It was about defensive rebounding and matching the physicality,” said forward Vinnie DeFelice, who scored 13 points. “They are big, strong kids. They seemed to have some football kids, so we had to match their physicality, rebound and play defense.”
Latrobe, which trailed by six at halftime, cut the deficit to 33-32 midway through the third quarter on a layup by Sawyer Butina.
The Knights (6-2) responded with a 7-0 run to end the quarter.
“I think defensively, we were able to create some turnovers and we got a few baskets in transition,” Knoch coach Joe Lafko said. “I think it shows resiliency from our group that we weathered a storm there. We bent a little bit, but didn’t break.”
The Wildcats (3-6) wouldn’t get that close again.
Latrobe coach Brad Wetzel said they had too many issues with ball-handling.
“We were going to have to make the most of our possessions,” Wetzel said. “I thought in the second half, we were a little more sure with the ball and had better ball control. I thought the first half, we threw it away and had unnecessary self-inflicted wounds. If you do that against that team, you are going to be down 10 before you know it.”
Knoch was able to build a seven-point lead in the first quarter thanks to the shooting of Teegan Finucan. He scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the first quarter.
“We seemed a little bit more passive than I’m used to,” Wetzel said. “A lot of times there were only one or two orange shirts in the key, and that’s not our game.”
Ian DeCerb led the Wildcats with 15 points, all coming in the first half. Andy Tatsch (12 points) and Mike Monios (11) also scored in double figures for Latrobe.
The Wildcats cut the lead to 40-36 early in the fourth quarter on a jumper by Tatsch. However, Finucan responded with a 3-pointer to give Knoch more breathing room.
The Knights leaned on their defense in the fourth quarter to create more scoring opportunities to close out the game. Lafko believes that has been a big part of Knoch’s early success.
“We take pride in our defense when everyone buys in, and that’s not only defending the ball, but it’s being in the passing lanes,” Lafko said. “It’s also rebounding. I thought we did that well at times, and I think we had some lapses, but we’ll chalk that up to Christmas break.”