North Catholic boys basketball knots up WPIAL Section 1-4A lead with Knoch after getting revenge
JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch boys basketball knew wrestling the WPIAL Section 1-4A crown away from defending champ North Catholic would not be easy.
The Knights had defeated North on its own floor last month, and Tuesday night, the Trojans returned the favor.
Behind 26 points from senior guard Jason Fredericks and a defense that forced key turnovers late, the Trojans edged host Knoch 61-55.
Had the Knights (16-4, 10-1) won, they would have wrapped up the section crown for themselves. But North (16-4, 10-1) has pulled even with one section game remaining.
“In that first game, we just didn’t make shots,” Trojans coach Jim Rocco said. “Tonight we did, and I’m happy for our guys.”
Both teams have a shot to win the section outright or share it with each other. It will be determined by the results of Thursday’s games as Knoch travels to Freeport and North Catholic hosts Deer Lakes.
Fredericks left his imprint all over Tuesday’s rematch.
He drained a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to cut Knoch’s lead to 16-12, then beat the second-quarter buzzer with a bucket that handed the Trojans a 27-25 lead at halftime.
Fredericks tallied 14 points in the second half, including a trey that pushed North’s lead to 56-49 with 3:20 left in the game.
“One thing people overlook with Jason is his ball-handling skills,” Rocco said. “A lot of players have their hand on top when dribbling, but Jason has the ability to, we call it putting it in his pocket. He keeps it on the side, close to his body. That gives him an extra second to make decisions. That extra bit of time is important.”
Fredericks made five treys in the game.
“We lost some guys for them who hit some big shots,” Knoch coach Joe Lafko said. “You give (Fredericks) just a little space, who’s gonna knock ‘em down.”
The Knights stayed within striking distance, trailing 58-53 with two minutes left, but committed turnovers on back-to-back possessions.
Teegan Finucan led Knoch with 21 points, leading all scorers at halftime with 13.
North struggled from 3-point range early, missing its first six attempts. For the game, the Trojans made 8 of 31 attempts from beyond the arc.
“Three is more than two,” Rocco said. “It’s more points. At any level of basketball, you have to be able to shoot from the outside.”
In two-point attempts, the Trojans made 11 of 14.
Jude Rottmann scored 10 points for North.
Vinnie DeFelice added 12 for Knoch.
“I told our guys that the goals we’ve had all year — be recognized as a section champion, play for a WPIAL title and beyond — it’s all still out there for us,” Lafko said. “The key is how they respond when they show up to practice (Wednesday).”
According to DeFelice, that will not be an issue.
“We need to move on,” he said. “Get to Freeport and take care of business.”
NORTH CATHOLIC 61
Jude Rottmann 4 2-2 10, Tom Arth 4 0-2 8, Brady Trout 3 0-0 7, Jason Fredericks 9 3-4 26, Brandon Pickett 1 4-4 7, Jake Olkowski 1 0-0 3, Tom Rottmann 0 0-0 0, Liam Regan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 9-12 61.
KNOCH 55
Roman DeFelice 3 3-3 9, Vinnie DeFelice 5 2-4 12, Teegan Finucan 8 2-3 21, Derek Lang 1 2-2 4, Liam Avon 3 3-5 9, Jackson McCool 0 0-1 0. Totals: 20 12-18 55.
North Catholic 12 15 17 17 — 61
Knoch 16 9 16 14 — 55
3-point goals: North Catholic 8 (Fredericks 5, Trout, Pickett, Olkowski); Knoch 3 (Finucan 3).
Thursday: Deer Lakes at North Catholic; Knoch at Freeport
