Trojans roll past QV
LEETSDALE — If keeping pace with North Catholic's boys basketball team sounds difficult, try erasing a double-digit deficit.
Following a near-even first quarter in Monday's WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal at Quaker Valley, the Trojans built a 16-point lead late in the second quarter and were never threatened in dispatching the fourth-seeded Quakers, 84-56.
Unlike North's first-round win over Mount Pleasant last Thursday, when center Andrew Ammerman took control early, the Trojans' latest victory was spurred by their perimeter game.
Owen DeGregorio hit seven of North's 11 treys and scored a game-high 21 points.
“Andrew is so good inside, teams have no choice but to focus on him and that opens up the kick-outs,” he said. “It felt great to get those opportunities tonight.”
North (17-4)will travel to top-seeded Belle Vernon, for a semifinal playoff on Thursday.
Quaker Valley was without starting point guard Adou Thiero, who suffered a leg injury in a first-round win over Derry.
“It's a difficult situation, especially when you're playing a team as good as North Catholic,” said Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni.
“I thought, for as small of a team as we are, we did well against (Ammerman) in the first quarter,” he added. “But we were hoping they wouldn't shoot as well from the outside as they did.”
North emerged from a back-and-forth first period with a 15-14 lead, but even during the first eight minutes, the Trojans showed an ability to find offense elsewhere.
Ammerman was held to two points in the quarter, but the Trojans drained three treys, two of them from point guard Isaiah Jackson.
“They were keeping the ball out of Andrew's hands,” said North head coach Dave DeGregorio, “but we can shoot the ball and proved it tonight.”
North dominated the first five and a half minutes of the second quarter with a 21-6 run. Included was Max Rottmann scoring seven straight points, which helped his team lead 38-27 at the break.
Quaker Valley (13-5) showed flashes of a rally. Most of the spurts were sparked by guard Jack Gardinier and forward Markus Frank, but the Quakers never managed the big run they needed.
Making matters worse for the Quakers, Ammerman began to get more chances inside and capitalized. He scored 11 of his 19 points in the third period, after which the lead was 60-47.
Rottmann scored 11 points and Jackson added 10, but the latter's effort went far beyond his scoring total.
“Isaiah, as our point guard, was tremendous tonight,” said Dave DeGregorio. “He ran the whole show.”
North Catholic was tagged with a No. 5 seed, even though three of the team's four losses came against either 6A or 5A programs.
North won the WPIAL Class 3A title last year. Most of the key players from that team graduated, but those left behind are making a name for themselves.
“We don't have a little chip on our shoulder. It's a very big chip,” Owen DeGregorio said. “We feel we're better than a No. 5, but all we can do is keep winning.”
NORTH CATHOLIC 84Owen DeGregorio 7 0-0 21, Isaiah Jackson 4 0-0 10, Matt Gregor 1 6-7 8, Kyle Tipinski 1 0-0 2, Connor Maddalon 2 4-5 8, Max Rottmann 4 2-2 11, Ben Tomer 1 0-0 2, Andrew Ammerman 7 5-5 19, Shamus Straub 1 0-0 3, Andrew Maddalon 0 0-0 0, Tommy Molenda 0 0-0 0, Max Hurray 0 0-0 0, Teagan McTighe 0 0-0 0, Matt Ellery 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 17-19 84.
QUAKER VALLEY 56James Davis 1 0-0 2, Ian Herring 4 5-6 13, Markus Frank 7 6-8 20, Jack Gardinier 6 5-5 20, Hashone Carry 0 1-2 1, Wil Dunda 0 0-0 0, Malcolm Jordan 0 0-0 0, Joey Croyle 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 17-21 56.North Catholic 15 23 22 24 — 84Quaker Valley14 13 20 9 — 563-point goals: North Catholic 11 (DeGregorio 7, Jackson 2, Rottmann, Straub); Quaker Valley 3 (Gardinier 3).Thursday: North Catholic at Belle Vernon, WPIAL 4A semifinal playoff
