NEW KENSINGTON - Don't be Uniontown.

That was the message Knoch boys basketball coach Les Shoop sent to his team during its 11-day layoff.

Don't be Uniontown, the team that had the long layoff a year ago before falling to a team that had just slid into the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs and won a game a few days before.

Last year, that team was Knoch.

But the Knights held off a pesky Keystone Oaks squad that was trying desperately to be the 2004 version of Knoch for a 66-57 playoff win.

"I preached on that," Shoop said, describing his way of motivating his troops while they waited for their playoffs to begin. "That first one is so important to get under your belt."

But it wasn't easy.

No matter what they did, the Knights couldn't pull away from Keystone Oaks until the very end.

Oddly enough, Knoch finally pulled away with point guard Jordan Shoop on the bench.

The Knoch junior picked up a technical foul with 2:32 remaining in the fourth quarter and with his team clinging to a 55-52 lead.

To make matters worse, the technical was his fifth foul. His perch on the bench for the final two minutes was uncomfortable at best.

"You got to put the game in the hands of the kids," Coach Shoop said. "He was talking to me. It would be different if he was yelling and screaming."

With Jordan Shoop, who has played every meaningful minute for the Knights this season, on the bench, the rest of the Knights simply went on a 12-5 run to close out the game and to close out Keystone Oaks' season.

"That makes it hurt more," said Keystone Oaks coach Mike Preuffer. "We got so close. Shoop gets his fifth foul with two minutes left and we're down by three with the ball. He never leaves the floor and I think we got excited about that."

Instead of taking advantage of it, Keystone Oaks wilted.

"We gave up two uncontested layups," Preuffer said. "We didn't defend."

With Shoop on the bench, Tim Hickey took over the ball-handling chores and broke the Keystone Oaks pressure.

"You have to give a lot of credit to Tim Hickey," Coach Shoop said. "He was put in a very difficult situation. I feel so good for him, too."

The coach was pleased to see how well his team responded to playing without its floor leader.

Scott Muska had a lot to do with that.

Muska scored a season-high 19 points and had 11 rebounds for the Knights.

"I'm so happy for him," Shoop said. "It shows all his effort and all of his hard work paid off. He couldn't have played better."

Preuffer's plan was obvious: he didn't want Ryan Ziacik to shoot from the outside. It worked, as Ziacik, who has been a 3-pointer machine this season, had just one and finished with three points.

Ryan Hollihan also enjoyed a big game for the Knights, piling up 23 points and 11 boards of his own.

Jeff Lyle scored 32 points for Keystone Oaks in the loss.

Knoch will play Yough at a place, time and date to be determined.

KEYSTONE OAKS 57

Steve Francisch 1-4 1-4 3, Ross Gensler 1-5 0-2 2, Jeff Lyle 9-22 12-14 32, Luke McCann 1-3 0-0 2, Matt Morris 1-4 0-0 2, Garrett Morton 0-4 0-0 0, Grant Gross 1-2 1-2 4, Colin Leber 0-0 0-0 0, Erik Noone 4-8 0-0 12. Totals: 18-52 14-22 57

KNOCH 66

Jordan Shoop 3-7 2-5 8, Ryan Hollihan 8-14 7-8 23, Ryan Ziacik 1-6 0-0 3, Scott Muska 8-12 3-6 19, Eric Czech 6-15 0-0 12, Billy Elliott 0-3 0-0 0, Tim Hickey 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 26-57 13-21 66

3-point goals:

Lyle 2, Gross, Noone 4, Ziacik