Southmoreland boys basketball coach Frank Muccino told his players they needed to do three things if they wanted to defeat Washington and advance in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs: rebound, take care of the ball and play strong defense.

Making a few clutch free throws down the stretch wouldn’t hurt, either.

No. 5 Southmoreland (15-8) did exactly what its coach preached. The Scotties overcame a sluggish third quarter and rallied to defeat No.12 Washington, 63-58.

The victory puts Southmoreland against No. 13 Shady Side Academy, which upset No. 4 Bishop Canevin, on Friday at a site and time to be determined.

“We just survived,” Muccino said. “I do not know how to say it. Playoff time is tough. Every team can play.

“Washington has talented players, and they adjusted to what we were trying to do. We threw the kitchen sink at them.”

Southmoreland trailed going into the fourth quarter 43-41 and fell behind 50-45 with 4:45 left.

But the Scotties tightened up their defense and went on a 9-0 run to grab a 54-50 lead.

Senior Noah Felentzer, who finished with a game-high 27 points, hit a layup and followed with another layup and free throw to tie the score at 50-50.

Senior Ty Whoric got loose for a layup, and sophomore Brock Pritts followed in a miss for a 54-50 lead with 1:30 left.

Felentzer (4 of 6) and Brady Sherbondy (3 of 4) combined to hit 7 of 10 free throws in the final 1:16 to secure the win.

Whoric finished with 16 points, and Pritts had 12.

“I was glad Noah started to take over the game,” Muccino said. “I want him to do that.”

Felentzer added: “We made it a little closer than we wanted, but we got the win. Our defense down the stretch was the difference.

“I did what I had to do. We were the underdog, and I thought that was disrespectful.”

Southmoreland raced out to an 8-0 lead on Washington (12-11) and led by as much as 21-8 late in the first quarter.

But Washington battled back and chipped away at the Scotties’ lead.

The Prexies got 17 points from 6-foot-5 senior Tristan Reed and 14 from Isaac Mayen off the bench. Mayen hit four 3-pointers, three in the third quarter.

William Callan also hit a couple 3-pointers in the third quarter as Washington took a two-point lead into the final quarter.

Callan finished with 13 points and Vincent Johnson 12.

“I do not feel the long trip had anything to do with our slow start,” Washington coach Travis Anderson said. “This was the first playoff experience for most of the players. I felt we were a little nervous.

“You also must give Southmoreland credit for playing a great game. Both teams had their runs. They just finished with one. That was the difference.”