Fast start helps Knoch win, 62-46
BUFFALO TWP — Midway through the first quarter, the Knoch boys basketball team led 16-1 over Kiski Area.
In the first four minutes, the Knights had taken advantage of six travelling calls, eight turnovers and 0-for-6 shooting by the Cavaliers.
As it turns out, Knoch needed every bit of that fast start in a 62-46 win over Kiski at the Freeport Christmas Tournament Friday night.
“We couldn't put them away,” said Knoch coach Ron McNabb.
It looked as if Knoch (6-1) would have little trouble putting distance between itself and Kiski, leading 28-10 late in the first half.
But the Cavaliers (4-5) closed on a 7-3 run to cut the lead to 14.
The second half was a contest of attrition.
Knoch's lead fluctuated between 19 and 13 points in a wild second half that saw two technical fouls called, one on each team, for taunting and physical play.
“I thought we lost our composure in the second half,” McNabb said. “I thought we lost our composure, but the other side of that is they're good. They have real good quickness and they have that guy in the middle.”
That guy in the middle for Kiski is Jason Barnes, a tall, lanky player who is all elbows and knees.
Barnes, like the rest of the Cavaliers, had a rough start. He missed his first eight shots, but finished with a team-leading 14.
He was also effective on defense, blocking several shots.
Knoch, though, had four players score in double digits and all five starters hit at least one 3-pointer.
Scott Fraser led the way with 18 points. Jake Scheidt added 14, Ryan Lang 12 and Brady McKee 11.
Fraser was the linchpin, coming up with big buckets to keep Kiski at arm's length.
“It's effortless for him,” McNabb said of Fraser. “Sometimes it doesn't look like he's playing hard, but believe me, he is. He's competing. Man, he's a competitor.”
McKee also hit some big shots for the Knights.
It was his defense in the post, though, that drew the attention of McNabb.
“I thought Brady did a great, great job against (Barnes),” McNabb said.
Knoch will play Mercyhurst Prep Saturday to on the final day of the Freeport Tournament.
McNabb is looking at the win Friday over Kiski as an early lesson for his team.
“We were able to pull it out. Two years ago we lose that game. No doubt,” McNabb said. “They keep getting better and better. We have to do a better job on off-the-ball defense and we have to do a better job with our composure — we got caught up in that action a little bit.”
Mercyhurst Prep 77, Freeport 71
Freeport had plenty of chances.The Yellowjackets only led once, briefly by two in the second quarter, but found themselves trailing Mercyhurst Prep by a possession eight times in the fourth quarter.Each time, Freeport was unable to pull even or retake the lead.“We could never get over that final hurdle,” said Freeport coach Wayne Greiser. “We could never get it tied. That could have completely changed the momentum.”Instead, the Lakers hit clutch shot after clutch shot at the other end.Matt Bengel hit most of them.Bengel finished with 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting. He scored 11 in the fourth quarter.“We had a couple of shots go in and out,” Greiser said. “They had a couple of shots go in and out and back in again.”Matt Aulicino led Freeport with 23 points despite playing with the flu.“He threw up at halftime,” Greiser said. “He's out there playing sick and playing well. He battled and gave us minutes.”Freeport will play Kiski Area Saturday to close out its tournament.Despite the loss and a 1-5 overall record, Greiser said he and his team aren't despondent.“I was very happy with the way we played. We battled to the end. We played to the final buzzer,” Greiser said. “We knew we were going to challenge our guys with the schedule we created. We scheduled pretty difficult exhibition games to get us ready for the section. We're 0-1 in the section and we could have won that road game, which would have been huge.“The 10 section games are what we're worried about.”KNOCH 62Scott Fraser 7-13 3-8 18, Jared Schrecengost 3-5 0-0 7, Jake Scheidt 6-7 0-0 14, Ryan Lang3-9 5-6 12, Brady McKee 3-9 4-6 11, Tyler Buterbaugh 0-0 0-0, Zack McMillen 0-0 0-1 0. Totals: 22-43 12-21 62.KISKI AREA 46Jason Baker 4-14 6-8 14, Kenny Blake 3-4 2-3 9, Lebryn Smith 2-5 3-3 8, Kyrell Hutcherson 2-7 4-6 8, Max Heinle 0-1 0-0 0, Jamer Pearson 2-4 0-0 4, Dylan Hutcherson 1-3 0-0 3, Billy Perroz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-38 15-20 46.Knoch 18 13 17 14 — 62Kiski Area3 14 14 15 — 463-point goals: Knoch 6 (Fraser, Schrecengost, Scheidt 2, Lang, McKee); Kiski Area 3 (Blake, Smith, D. Hutcherson)Saturday: Knoch vs. Mercyhurst PrepMERCYHURST PREP 77Daunte Wilcott 8-17 5-8 21, Matt Bengel 13-23 1-5 31, Nate Helsley 4-8 0-2 8, David Rathburn 3-3 0-0 0, Trey Battle 2-6 1-2 6, Jeff Giannelli 1-1 0-0 2, Tristan Truitt 0-0 0-0 0, Pete Zimmerman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 31-59 7-17 77.FREEPORT 71Garret Schaffhauser 3-11 1-2 8, Christian Waronsky 3-5 4-4 11, Aiden Skrodski 3-9 0-1 9, Vinnie Clark 7-14 0-0 15, Matt Aulicino 10-23 3-3 23, Colin Gaspersic 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Speer 1-2 2-3 4, Nolan Plocki 0-0 1-2 1, Daniel Lynch 0-0 0-0 0, Bradyn Clark 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-54 11-15 71.Mercyhurst Prep 21 15 17 24 — 77Freeport19 8 21 23 — 713-point goals: Mercyhurst Prep 8 (Bengel 4, Rathburn 3, Battle); Freeport Schaffhauser, Waronsky, Skrodski 3, Clark)Saturday: Freeport vs. Kiski Area
