ROSS TWP — Les Shoop slumped into his chair on the Knoch bench.

His Knights were down by 12 points midway through the second quarter. His Knights were shooting badly and playing badly against South Park.

This was not the way Shoop wanted 37 years of coaching basketball to end.

Lucky for him his players felt the same.

The Knoch boys launched a prodigious run in the final 12 minutes of the WPIAL Class AAA first-round playoff game against the Eagles, turning that 12-point deficit into a rousing 66-55 win at North Hills High School Monday night.

"They have pride," Shoop said. "They didn't want to go out this way, and I don't think they wanted to see me go out this way, like they weren't even coached. I think I do a little bit better job than that. Thank goodness they have some pride."

Knoch (16-7) defied the odds in its win against South Park.

It shot 35 percent from the floor and a mere 8-of-33 in the first half — and still won.

It also overcame a double-digit deficit with little depth and a history of not rallying from such scores this season.

"We're not normally a good come-from-behind team," Shoop said.

The Knights certainly were Monday night.

Despite Knoch's first-half troubles, the Knights still held a 19-10 lead before South Park rallied to take a 23-22 lead at the break.

The Eagles (11-14) padded their advantage in the third quarter, thanks to Jeremy Blythe and Brandon Bradley.

Blythe scored nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting in the third period and Bradley scored seven points in the frame as South Park led by seven heading into the fourth quarter.

But that's when the Eagles imploded.

And that's when Scott Muska asserted himself.

The senior guard, showing moves to the basket instead of spotting up for 3-pointers, scored 13 points in the fourth period. He also was 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the game, turning many of his slashing moves to the hoop into foul shooting opportunities.

"(Driving to the basket) is something I just started doing the last three weeks," Muska said.

It worked well enough that he finished with a game-high 25 points.

Jordan Shoop added 20 points for the Knights and he was 10-of-13 from the line.

Knoch made 23 of its 29 free throw shots in the contest; South Park was just 3-of-10.

"Coach always says that in the playoffs, defense and free throw shooting wins games," Muska said.

It certainly won this one.

South Park coach Tony Cherico gave Knoch all the credit.

"I don't think we blew it," Cherico said. "I think Knoch just won it."

Knoch scored the final 12 points of the game. South Park's last lead was 55-54 with two minutes remaining in the contest following a long 3-pointer by Bradley.

South Park picked up two intentional foul calls late and showed its playoff inexperience.

"Knoch has been in the playoffs before. They've been to the WPIAL championship game," Cherico said. "We haven't been in the playoffs and their experience showed."

Les Shoop is just pleased to get another game to coach. With one more win, he will have 300 at Knoch. He now has 511 in his coaching career, which also included a stint at Punxsutawney.

That 300th win may have to come against an old nemesis.

The Knights will face the winner of the Hampton-Mount Pleasant game, which will be played at 8 p.m. today at Highlands High School.

Knoch's next playoff game most likely will be Friday, but that won't be known for sure until the WPIAL announces sites and times for its second round Wednesday.

"(If we would have lost), you might have saw a headline, 'Former coach jumps off Liberty Bridge,'" Les Shoop said. "It would have been a nightmare."

KNOCH 66

Scott Muska 6-18 9-10 25, Jordan Shoop 4-16 10-13 20, Bill Elliott 2-8 0-0 4, Rob Briggs 3-12 2-3 8, Alex Whisler 3-8 2-3 9, D'Ante Natili 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-52 23-29 66

SOUTH PARK 55

Tyler Fircak 0-0 0-0 0, Doug Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Connor Dixon 6-11 2-4 14, Steve Siciliano 0-0 0-0 0, Corey Walker 1-4 0-0 2, Eric Jeffries 3-3 0-1 6, Julian Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Lupp 0-2 0-0 0, Randy Recker 0-0 0-0 0, Jeremy Blythe 5-13 0-2 11, Brandon Bradley 9-22 1-3 22. Totals: 24-55 3-10 55

3-point goals:

Muska 4, Shoop 2, Whisler, Bradley 3, Blythe