CRANBERRY TWP — Montour had to dial long distance Friday night. The local calls weren't getting through.

The Spartans sank four treys in the fourth quarter and connected on 10 of 12 free throws in the final eight minutes, breaking open a close game and defeating Knoch, 49-38, in a WPIAL Class AAA boys basketball playoff game at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.

“That's a 16-seed? That's a joke, It's embarrassing,” Montour coach Will Saunders said of Knoch. “They play tremendous defense. They're so good in the paint. We couldn't get anything done in there.”

Montour (13-9) managed only five 2-point field goals all night. Knoch (14-8) led 14-7 after the first quarter and 20-17 at halftime.

The Spartans hit six of their nine treys in the second half. They took their first lead when K.J. Rhodes canned a trey for a 23-20 edge with five minutes left in the third quarter.

That capped an 11-0 Montour run that wiped out a 20-12 deficit. Knoch went six and a half minutes without scoring until P.J. Gourley sank a lay-up with 4:24 left in the third.

The Knights took a 28-27 lead into the final period when Montour's offense finally got untracked.

“They hit some big shots from out there,” Knoch coach Ron McNabb said. “That and the free throw line, that's how they beat us.

“I can't ask any more out of our defensive effort than we got tonight.”

But Knoch was held below 40 points for the first time since a 54-33 loss at Plum Dec. 5.

Consecutive treys by Mike Mastroianni and Mike Butter to begin the fourth quarter gave the Spartans the lead they never lost.

Two free throws each by Jackson McKee and Mac Christy pulled the Knights within 35-34 with 3:33 to play, but three's by Butter and K.J. Rhodes extended the margin to 41-37 with 1:40 left. Montour sank eight free throws in the final 1:22 to win going away.

“Foul trouble hurt us in that fourth quarter,” McNabb admitted. “Mac had to sit with four fouls and so did Aiden (Albert). Aiden had been doing a great job on the Rhodes kid.

“Not having those two guys on the floor for much of the fourth definitely affected us.”

Mastroianni paced Montour with 18 points and four assists. Rhodes had 15 points and eight rebounds.

“We've been inconsistent with our three-point shooting all year,” Saunders said. “Some nights we'd hit 10 or 12, another night one or two.

“We wanted to work our perimeter passing tonight, see if we could get their defense to move a little. I told the guys not to be shy about firing them up there when they got an open shot.

“Thank goodness they were going in. If those shots don't fall, Knoch is grabbing the rebounds, going the other way and we're going home,” Saunders added.

Hannes led the Knights with 12 points, including all three of his team's treys. Gourley produced 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

“We didn't want to play Montour tonight and they didn't want to play us,” McNabb said. “If these are two of the lowest seeds in Triple-A, I don't know much about basketball.

“P.J. came up big tonight. And Austin Hannes was injured when we played in the playoffs last year. It was good to see him get a taste of it tonight.”

Albert was the lone senior in Knoch's lineup this season.

“The future looks bright for us,” McNabb said. “Our kids are pretty sad right now, though. We were hoping to still be playing next week.”

MONTOUR 49

Dom Sleva 0-1 0-0 0, Cam Colliers 0-4 0-0 0, Mike Mastroianni 6-9 2-2 18, K.J. Rhodes 3-10 6-7 15, Caleb Bryan 1-4 4-5 6, Nate Ratliff 0-0 0-0 0, Brayden Jones 0-2 0-2 0, Ronnie Stevenson 2-3 0-0 4, Mike Butter 2-3 0-0 6. Totals: 14-36 12-16 49.

KNOCH 38

Aiden Albert 2-3 0-2 4, Devin Campbell 0-2 0-0 0, Mac Christy 2-8 2-2 6, Josh Knochel 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson McKee 0-2 6-6 6, P.J. Gourley 3-6 4-5 10, Austin Hannes 4-15 1-2 12. Totals: 11-37 13-17 38.

Montour 7 10 10 22 — 49

Knoch14 6 8 10 — 38

3-point goals: Mastroianni 4, Rhodes 3, Butter 2; Hannes 3