The Knoch boys basketball team has an idea of what will be ahead in the PIAA Class 4A boys basketball playoffs. With the Knights’ roster being so physically imposing, they expect everyone to try and rough them up a little bit.
“I think that’s a lot of teams’ game plans against us because they can’t really guard us,” said 6-foot-5 junior forward Liam Avon, who scored 12 points in the Knights’ WPIAL Class 4A championship win over Quaker Valley on Thursday. “It’s to be overly physical. Sometimes we can let that bother us, but I think we’ve grown a ton in that area.”
Knoch, which won a district title for the first time, wants to lean on its toughness to keep adapting to knock down a few more barriers along the way. The Knights are back in the state playoffs for the second straight season and will play District 10 fifth-place finisher Girard at home Friday night.
The Huskies punched their ticket to the PIAA tournament by beating Harbor Creek in overtime last weekend. Knoch is 3-10 all-time in the state playoffs. The last time the Knights won in the state playoffs was against Central (Martinsburg) in 1997.
The Knights demonstrated they can play solid defense and be disciplined in the WPIAL title game. Knoch didn’t make any substitutions for the entire game. Avon and Roman DeFelice each had three fouls, but the Knights didn’t have anyone close to fouling out.
Teegan Finucan, Derek Lang and Vince DeFelice also played all 32 minutes for the Knights.
“They’ve played the bulk of the time during the varsity season and they are a tight crew,” Knoch coach Joe Lafko said. “I noticed that from the get go that they were very driven. We talked from the earliest time I walked into the open gym that this night was going to happen and we believed it.”
Lang, a 6-7 forward, scored 10 points and had four rebounds in the championship game against Quaker Valley. He’s a player that Lafko has been trying to convince to work more from down low.
“I’ve pretty much been a wing all this year,” said Lang, whose grandfather played on the first-ever Knoch team in 1957. “Coach Lafko has been trying to push me down into the post. I feel like this game in particular really showed.”
Knoch (22-4) would like to keep the ride going. There are several potential interesting rematches in the bracket.
Obama Academy beat the Knights earlier this season and beat District 9 champion Clearfield to get into the state bracket. Cathedral Prep won District 10 and has a high-powered offense.
The Ramblers eliminated Knoch from the state playoffs last season.
But neither of those matchups would come until the semifinals. For now Knoch wants to enjoy the ride.
The Knights had a parade through the elementary school classrooms before the WPIAL championship game. During games, Knoch’s student section has been chanting “Thank you, Lafko” at the veteran coach who came out of retirement to lead the program.
“It started on Day 1,” Lafko said. “The first game one of the kids mentioned it and said, ‘Did you hear them?’ I didn’t hear it. I’ve been blessed with this opportunity to coach a talented team and blessed to be in a community that values its basketball and appreciates that. It’s a special feeling.”