Distasteful finish?
ROSS TWP — If this was Les Shoop's final game as coach of the Knoch boys basketball team, he went out with a bang.
With his face flushed with anger and sweat dripping from his brow, Shoop voiced his displeasure about how the final seconds played out Friday night.
Hampton's Mike Bittner grabbed a rebound off a missed 3-point attempt by teammate Brian Dandrea and hit a fadeaway jump shot at the buzzer to hand Knoch a 48-46 loss in the second round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.
The Knoch coach, a 37-year veteran of high school basketball wars, was dismayed that a foul wasn't called when his center, Rob Briggs, fell to the floor late in the fourth quarter.
He was even more red-faced about a non-call on what he thought was an over-the-back situation before the game-winning score.
"I'm not much for sour grapes, but Rob Briggs got his legs taken out from under him and it should have been two shots," Shoop said. "They were over the back on that last shot. We should have been shooting a two-shot foul down there with no time on the clock.
"So, they did not let the kids decide it. They decided the game."
Shoop, who has 511 wins in his career, was shooting for his 300th victory at Knoch. He still might still the chance if Hampton beats Blackhawk Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
"I'll root for Hampton to win," Shoop said.
If the Talbots don't?
"It will be a terrible way to go out," Shoop said. "A terrible way to go out.
"I'm glad I'm done," Shoop added. "I don't have to go through this next year."
Everything was going peachy for Knoch through the first three-and-a-half quarters.
Knoch was shooting well in the first quarter. Hampton didn't shoot well all game.
The Knights (17-9) built an eight-point lead after the first quarter and nursed it for most of the game. They led by as many as 10 midway through the third quarter before Hampton (24-2) made a run.
The Talbots led briefly on a rebound and putback by Bob Bartley, who had 18 boards to go with his 11 points.
Hampton shot just 6-of-33 in the first half and a mere 31 percent in the contest.
"In the tournament … some games you have to just survive," said Hampton coach Bill Cardone. "We did that tonight."
Knoch stifled Hampton's potent offense by switching around its defense most of the game.
The Knights used a variety of zones and took advantage of the Talbots' penchant for missing layups.Zach Ingoldsby also scored 11 points for Hampton. Bittner added 10 more."I thought them switching defenses in the first half gave us problems," Cardone said. "That's an example of a good team that is well prepared."Knoch's Scott Muska gave Hampton problems similar to those he's been giving every opponent this season.He led Knoch with 13 points, but the Knights were haunted by poor free throw shooting, making just 3 of 12 from the line.That helped offset perhaps the best defensive effort of the year from the Knights."We played hard enough to win the game," Shoop said.But will they get back into the state tournament?That's up to Hampton. But if it were up to the Talbots' coach, it wouldn't be."We hope that we can drag Knoch back in with a win," Cardone said. "That's the system we have here in the WPIAL. I'm an advocate for the playback system. Truthfully, I think if you take the four teams that lost tonight, put them in a gym and play them off, you'd pack the gym."<B>KNOCH 46</B>Jordan Shoop 4-8 1-3 9, Scott Muska 5-10 0-0 13, Bill Elliott 1-3 0-0 2, Rob Briggs 4-12 2-3 10, Alex Whisler 3-5 0-6 6, D'Ante Natili 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 18-39 3-12 46<B>HAMPTON 48</B>Asa Braxton 1-8 0-0 3, Joe Cangilla 3-12 0-0 6, Brian Dandrea 2-11 1-2 7, Bob Bartley 5-14 1-1 11, Mike Bittner 4-6 2-3 10, Zach Ingoldsby 4-10 3-5 11. Totals: 19-61 7-11 48<B>3-point goals:</B> Muska 3, Braxton, Dandrea
