The last time Ligonier Valley made the PIAA boys basketball playoffs, assistant coach Michael Marinchak was a star player for the Rams.
It was 2019-20, and Marinchak was a goggle-eyed sharpshooter who led Ligonier Valley to a 23-4 season the year before the school rejoined the WPIAL.
The Rams lost to Carlynton, 85-81, in a first-round track meet.
“I remember it being the best time of the year,” Marinchak said. “It was a lot of fun. Those games were always close, and that’s what you want to play in. Plus, with a community like Ligonier you know they will travel well.”
To current times, the Rams (14-12) are back in the state tournament after recharging with a big win in the WPIAL consolation bracket. They will open the 3A tournament at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle (23-4).
“We are looking to improve on consistency,” Ligonier Valley second-year coach Dante Porter said. “We have a great group of guys, who are playing their best ball right now. But, we need to be able to put 32 minutes together. Everyone you play in the state playoffs is good, so you can’t afford to sleepwalk through any period of time. The teams are too good. They will make you pay.”
The Rams already have played four times in the postseason. They knocked off sixth-seeded Keystone Oaks, 47-44, in the WPIAL first round, then lost to South Park, 56-39.
A consolation first-round loss to Seton LaSalle followed (72-45), before the stakes went up again in the seventh-place game against Southmoreland.
Michael Vargulish-Graver scored 24 points, and Greyson Daugherty added 10 as the Rams beat a team it lost to twice in section play.
With their hands suddenly stamped for the PIAA postseason, a sense of revival came over the Rams.
“Southmoreland is a good, well-coached team,” Porter said. “They knocked us off twice earlier this year, so being able to return the favor to get into the state playoffs was a great motivator.”
Ligonier Valley’s schedule is a mash-up of tight wins and double-digit losses. In a lot of ways, feast or famine.
The Rams have played in three overtime games — they are 2-1 — and have eight games decided by four points or fewer.
In some ways, the Rams are more seasoned than other teams, even this deep into the season.
They know what it’s like to lose by 39 and win by two.
“We have become a much more resilient team,” Porter said. “We became a much tougher team as the season progressed. Both physically and mentally, there haven’t been many scenarios our team has seen during this season. Knocked down 12 times, gotten up 13.”
Marinchak said having extra time to prepare for the state opener is a bonus.
“Focusing on, really, one team is what I remember changes the most,” Marinchak said of the PIAA postseason. “You get seven to 10 days to practice and prepare for one team, something that you never really get during the season. Those days off also help get everyone rested and ready.”
The senior guard tandem of Vargulish-Graver and Michael Wisniewski also wants to live to see another game.
“Mike and Mike” combine to score about 35 points a game, over 20% of the team’s 59.6 average.