Central Catholic’s defense smothered Allderdice in the opening round of the PIAA boys basketball tournament Saturday to earn a 48-34 victory.
Allderdice (18-9) held a 9-4 lead with three minutes to play in the first quarter, but after a timeout, Central Catholic (23-3) turned up the ball pressure, using a full-court press and dropped into tight man-to-man coverage.
Central Catholic’s Enzo Khalil and Christian Williams led a 13-0 run that extended into the second quarter as they pulled ahead 17-9. The Vikings led the rest of the way.
Khalil delivered 14 points and nine rebounds and surpassed 1,000 points for his career. Jack Stoessel added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Allderdice’s Lukas Stead ended the scoring drought with a free throw, and Keith Taylor followed up with a layup to trim it to 17-12.
Stoessel buried a 3 to send the Vikings into halftime with a 20-12 lead.
The Vikings’ defense held the Dragons to three points in the second quarter, and Allderdice was scoreless for 10 straight minutes.
Christian Williams, who had seven points and four assists, was tasked with guarding Taylor in the second half.
“At practice, we focus a lot on defense,” Williams said. “Coming into this year, we didn’t have a lot of guys back from last year, not a lot of returning starters, so we knew defense had to be our bread and butter. The offense might not always be there, but if we work on defense every day, we know we can bring that to the court every game.”
Stoessel and Khalil spearheaded the press as they combined for four steals. Stoessel covered Taylor in the first half.
“Coming into the year, we had a guy go down with an injury, so I kind of knew I was going to guard the best player every game,” Stoessel said. “I just kept that mindset the whole season. Coach pushes us every practice, and we just bring that out onto the court.”
Khalil commended Stoessel and Williams for their effort.
“Everybody steps up,” Khalil said. “It doesn’t matter who, somebody always has a big game. We kind of trade those big games, and we just trust each other. We’re all seniors except Jack, and we’re like a family.”
The Dragons came roaring back with Taylor knocking down a 3 and a layup on a set play where he cut to the basket to trim the deficit to 25-20.
But Khalil followed with a layup and then a coast-to-coast lay-in with a smooth Euro-step to take a 29-20 lead halfway through the third.
The Vikings closed out the third on a 10-2 run with a Owen Canfield jump shot, a Williams back door layup assisted by Seamus Mahon, and a Stoessel steal and score as Central Catholic led 35-22 going into the final quarter.
The Vikings then cruised to the finish.
“Other than defense, we really focus on transition,” Khalil said. “Sometimes it doesn’t come in the first or second quarter, but we know it will come in the second half because teams start to get tired from the way we guard them.”
Taylor scored 11 points, and Stead finished with nine points and nine rebounds for Allderdice. The Vikings held Taylor to two points in the first half.
“Every day in practice that’s what we focus on,” Khalil said. “I don’t know exactly what we’re holding teams to, but I know it’s under 40 points for sure. We hold each other accountable, and that’s our foundation.”
Central Catholic out rebounded Allderdice, 27-18.
Khalil’s 1,000th career point came with 39 seconds left as he swished a free throw to help ice the game.
“I knew I was going to get it today, I just didn’t know when,” he said. “I missed two free throws in a row, and knew I just had to make one more. When I got it, it felt really good. It’s a great accomplishment.”
His teammates were proud of Khalil hitting the milestone.
“That’s my brother,” Williams said. “We’ve been through a lot together, so he’s really my best friend. It means the world to me that we could help him get to 1,000 as a team. We’ve been wanting to get it for him for so long, so for it to come in a game like this, in this kind of atmosphere, it means a lot to all of us.”
Stoessel added: “I’m a junior and I’ve been with him since freshman year, so just watching him accomplish that, something he’s been talking about for a really long time, I’m super proud of him. I love him so much.”
The Vikings move to play the winner of Chambersburg (20-7) in the PIAA second round Wednesday at a time and site to be determined.
“We just want to keep this season going as long as we can,” Williams said. “We don’t want it to end, so we’re going to keep doing it our way and see how far we can go.”