Knoch nosed out at Armstrong
MANOR TWP, Armstrong County — It was a loss for Knoch that could be summed up by saying it just wasn’t the team’s night, but head coach Alan Bauman knows that victory was well within reach.
That’s why the 48-46 boys basketball setback at Armstrong on Saturday was so frustrating.
“Our guys are very competitive and they’re going to play hard every game. They showed it tonight,” said Bauman. “But we lost focus in the first half and it caught up with us in the second.”
Teegan Finucan, who was coming off a 30-point effort in a win over Highlands last Tuesday, picked up his third personal foul early in the second quarter and watched the remainder of the first half from the bench. He would later foul out with seven points.
Zane Pacek, Knoch’s 7-foot sophomore center, also fouled out, while the team’s outside shooting, capable of putting opponents on their heels, was good just 24% of the time (six of 25).
Despite a lot going against the Knights, they were in position to tie the game with under 10 seconds left. Zarian Finucan’s 3-point attempt was off the mark. Armstrong rebounded and pushed its lead to two possessions at 48-44 with a free throw from Zack Wiles with six seconds left.
The River Hawks (9-6) took advantage of a slow second quarter for Knoch, building a 26-15 lead before Derek Lang’s late trey cut the edge to eight points by halftime.
Senior guard Jack Valasek scored Armstrong’s first 11 points of the period and finished with a game-high 21.
“We knew he was one of their top scorers,” said Coach Bauman, “but we’ve struggled at times this year with attention to detail. Hopefully, we can learn from tonight and move forward.”
Armstrong was playing its first game since losing starting point guard Ian Olsen, who is now at IMG Academy in Florida and focusing on football.
“We were not looking forward to this game,” said Armstrong coach Brian Kovalovsky. “A team as good as they are and not having our point guard ... We won by sticking to the game-plan. We defended their dribble-drive well and drew some big fouls from their top guys.”
Teegan Finucan went to the bench with his third foul with 6:45 left in the second quarter. The Knights (11-4) scored just five points in the period, going two of 10 from the floor.
“When Teegan’s not in there, it changes the way teams can defend our other players,” said Coach Bauman. “But we need to be better. We need to have other guys who are ready to step up.”
Finucan returned to action at the start of the second half, completed a 3-point play and drained a trey that gave Knoch its first lead since the first quarter, 29-28 with 4:40 left in the period.
The Knights’ last lead came when Zarian Finucan hit a pair of free throws with 1:59 left in the third, putting Knoch up 33-32. Moments later, the River Hawks went up for good on Jaydon Oliver’s second trey of the game.
Knoch was led by 15 points from Jackson Bauman.
KNOCH 46
Derek Lang 3 0-0 8, Jackson Bauman 5 4-7 15, Teegan Finucan 2 2-3 7, Kaden Spencer 3 0-0 7, Zarian Finucan 0 2-2 2, Zane Pacek 1 0-0 2, Vincent DeFelice 1 0-0 3, Zach Szebalskie 1 0-0 2, Jackson McCool 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 8-12 46.
ARMSTRONG 48
Jacob Szep 5 0-0 11, Isaiah Riggle 0 3-4 3, Ben Bartolovic 1 0-0 2, Jack Valasek 9 1-2 21, Zack Wiles 0 4-6 4, Jaydon Oliver 2 0-0 6, Hunter Cogley 0 1-4 1. Totals: 17 9-16 48.
Knoch 13 5 15 13 — 46
Armstrong 13 13 9 13 — 48
3-point goals: Knoch 6 (Lang 2, Bauman, T.Finucan, Spencer, DeFelice); Armstrong 5 (Valasek 2, Oliver 2, Szep).
Tuesday: Kiski Area at Knoch
