MOON TWP — The five Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic starters didn’t come off the court.

Why when they mesh together so well?

The quintet of Zach Offi, John Fukon, Isaiah Wilson, Vincent DiNicola and Kenny Fukon for the Trojans’ boys basketball team helped North Catholic get off to a fast start and then held off a hard-charging Washington team in the second half Monday night for a 49-44 win in the WPIAL 3A semifinals at Moon High School.

The victory sends the Trojans (20-5) to the WPIAL title game at 9 p.m. Thursday against No. 1 seed Lincoln Park.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the throng of North Catholic fans chanted, “We’re going to the Pete” as in the Petersen Event Center, the site of the championship game.

“It’s tremendous,” said North Catholic coach Dave Long. “I’m just hoping we represent against that No. 1 seed. We’ll give ‘em heck. It should be an exciting game.”

North Catholic tried to take the excitement out of the semifinal game early.

The Trojans jumped out to a 10-2 lead on Wash High and were up 23-12 at the half.

The Little Prexies (20-5), however, chipped away at that lead in the second half thanks to the 3-point shooting of Matt Popeck, who scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the final two quarters.

His two free throws with 2:51 remaining gave Wash High its first lead of the game at 42-41.

It was fleeting.

Vincent DiNicola answered 30 seconds later with a 3-pointer from the corner and North Catholic never trailed again.

DiNicola scored nine points.

John Fukon and Isaiah Wilson each scored 13 to lead the Trojans. Zach Offi and Kenny Fukon each had seven to round out the entirety of the North Catholic scoring.

Wilson, a sophomore point guard, scored 11 of his points in a big fourth quarter.

“He does a tremendous job,” Long said. “Sometimes us coaches mess him up a little bit. He was a little bit frustrated, probably with me, because he got two travels and I was on him a little bit.

“But he’s responded each and every game,” Long added. “He gives me that little side-eyed look and then goes out and plays much better.”

Wilson and Kenny Fukon get a lot of the praise, but Long gave Offi, John Fukon and DiNicola some praise.

“Those three are like silent killers,” Long said. “They’re like a heart attack and a stroke.

“On any given night,” Long added, “those silent killers will take care of you.”

C.W. NORTH CATHOLIC 49

Zach Offi 2-7 1-2 7, John Fukon 5-8 1-2 13, Isaiah Wilson 4-6 4-4 13, Vincent DiNicola 3-4 1-1 9, Kenny Fukon 2-4 3-5 7. Totals: 16-29 10-14 49.

WASHINGTON 44

Jordan Swart 0-4 0-0 0, Isaiah Schoonmaker 1-2 1-2 3, Tariq Wilson 2-4 0-0 4, Isaiah Perry 0-0 1-2 1, Jacob Swartz 3-7 2-2 8, Matt Popeck 4-12 6-7 18, Ronnie Path 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-33 12-17 44.

CWNC 13 10 7 20 — 49

Washington4 8 14 18 — 44

3-point goals: CWNC 7 (Offi 2, J. Fukon 2, Wilson, DiNicola 2); Washington 4 (Popeck 4)

Thursday: CWNC vs. Lincoln Park in WPIAL 3A championship game, 9 p.m. at the Petersen Event Center