With Authority
CRANBERRY TWP — A disruptive defense is a source of pride for North Catholic's boys basketball team.
Mount Pleasant was the focus of this unrelenting style of play Thursday night.
The Trojans forced the Vikings into 29 turnovers — 12 in the third quarter alone — as North advanced from the WPIAL Class 4A first round with a 73-47 victory on its home court.
The Trojans (16-4) play at Quaker Valley, a 64-35 winner against Derry, in a quarterfinal Monday.
Mount Pleasant's offense struggled to get the ball across mid-court in stretches, failing to do so on four straight possessions in the third quarter. The pressure also began to affect Vikings' shooters. Three of their first four shots of the second period didn't hit the backboard or rim.
“You're not always going to make shots, but defense should always be there,” said North coach Dave DeGregorio. “Our defense was there from beginning to end tonight, man-to-man and double-teams, we did it all.”
Mount Pleasant needed a quick start and it got one in the form of a 7-0 run to begin the game. But the Vikings soon became uncomfortable and finished the period with eight turnovers.
By that point, North had moved in front, 15-11, due largely to senior center Andrew Ammerman's 10 points.
“We faced teams that play a similar style (on defense), like Belle Vernon and McKeesport and we struggled against them,” said Mount Pleasant coach TJ Kravits. “When teams go up-tempo on us, it throws us off.”
The Vikings did manage to stay in the game for a while. Jacob Bungard's 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first half cut North's lead to 31-21, but the turnovers in the third period dashed their hopes as North opened the second half with a 21-5 run.
“Defense has kept us in games all season,” said Ammerman. “We were out there flying around tonight and they just couldn't keep up.”
Ammerman scored 30 points and added eight rebounds and three steals.
“He's been tough for us,” DeGregorio said. “He's been very good all year and he was very good tonight. He brings a level of energy to the floor.”
The Trojans received balanced scoring. Connor Maddalon scored 16, Matt Gregor tallied 13 and Isaiah Jackson 10.
Nathan Kubasky paced Mount Pleasant (9-9) with 15 points, followed by Jonas King's 14 and Bungard's 10.
North was playing its first game since Feb. 23.
“Rust was not a concern,” said DeGregorio. “We have a lot of depth, which makes our practices very competitive. That's something a lot of teams don't have.”
MOUNT PLEASANT 47Jacob Bungard 4 0-0 10, Jonas King 5 4-7 14, Nathan Kubasky 6 0-0 15, Tyler Salvatore 1 0-1 3, Lucas Toohey 1 0-0 2, Dante Giallonardo 1 0-0 2, Bryce Jaworski 0 1-2 1, Nick Yurechko 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 5-10 47.
NORTH CATHOLIC 73Isaiah Jackson 4 0-3 10, Matt Gregor 5 1-1 13, Connor Maddalon 5 5-6 16, Liam Straub 1 0-0 3, Max Rottmann 0 1-2 1, Andrew Ammerman 13 4-4 30, Andrew Maddalon 0 0-2 0, Ben Tomer 0 0-2 0, Owen DeGregorio 0 0-0 0, Kyle Tipinski 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 11-20 73.Mount Pleasant 11 10 10 16 — 47North Catholic15 16 21 21 — 733-point goals: Mount Pleasant 6 (Kubasky 3, Bungard 2, Salvatore); North Catholic 6 (Jackson 2, Gregor 2, C. Maddalon, Straub).Monday: North Catholic at Quaker Valley
