WEXFORD — With a fall of his floppy black hair swept to one side, Isaac DeGregorio saw an opening.

And he took it.

Hounded all night by a physical and quick Aliquippa defense, the North Catholic junior guard still found a way to do damage, hitting three 3-pointers during a critical stretch in the third quarter to help the North Catholic boys basketball team to a 61-49 win over the Quips in the WPIAL 3A semifinals Monday night at North Allegheny High School.

DeGregorio scored a game-high 23 points — 11 coming in the third quarter as the Trojans turned a slim two-point lead into an 11-point advantage at the end of the frame.

“He had a stretch where he hit like three in a row and I think the third one was a step-back, which was an impressive shot,” said North Catholic coach Dave DeGregorio. “They did a nice job faceguarding Isaac and keeping it out of his hands and I think he got frustrated a little.”

But Aliquippa (16-8) switched to a zone, in part to protect Marlin Devonshire, who was in foul trouble.

Isaac DeGregorio picked that zone apart with his sharp shooting, quickness off the dribble and passing ability.

Isaac, who is listed at 5-foot-11 — but even he admits that is a stretch — said he had a feeling the Quips would try to bang him around.

“They're a really intense team. They're all over everybody,” Isaac said. “They're a good defensive team and I knew it was going to be physical all game.”

He was also adept at finding the open man. Jackson Paschall added 14 points for the Trojans.

“My basketball IQ is probably the most important part of my game,” Isaac said. “I drive, I see three people coming, and I see the open guy immediately. So getting my teammates involved probably won us this game, to be honest.”

After building a 10-3 lead, North Catholic (21-4) watched Aliquippa go on a 10-0 run.

The Quips led 17-13 after the first quarter, but being down after the first eight minutes isn't foreign to the Trojans. They were down after one against Deer Lakes in the quarterfinals.

“We know how to stay calm and we know what to do,” Isaac said.

North Catholic led by as many as nine late in the first half, but another Aliquippa push cut the lead to 28-26 at the break.

The last Quips' lead came at 32-31 a little more than a minute into the second half. After that, Isaac DeGregorio went on a 3-pointer binge and the Trojans took charge.

The closest Aliquippa got again was 49-44 with five minutes remaining.

North Catholic made a number of hustle plays to keep Aliquippa at bay.

“We have to (do that),” Coach DeGregorio said. “There's no other choice. I wish we could have taken two or three charges we didn't take, but we got on the floor for loose balls and things like that.”

It's the first season for the DeGregorios at North Catholic. Dave DeGregorio spent the last two seasons as an assistant at Hampton and 12 years before that as the head boys basketball coach at North Allegheny.

Now they are heading to the WPIAL 3A championship game against Lincoln Park at 9 p.m. Thursday at Petersen Event Center.

When asked if he thought when he took the job that the Trojans could make it to the title game, Dave DeGregorio had a simple answer with no hesitation.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “They were committed from day one. I knew we had a chance.”

So did Isaac DeGregorio.

“Since day one we knew we wanted a WPIAL championship,” he said. “Now that we got there, we just have to get it done.”

NORTH CATHOLIC 61

Nick Koscinski 2-3 0-0 6, Ryan Feczko 3-8 0-1 6, Jackson Paschall 6-7 2-7 14, Zach Rocco 3-5 0-1 7, Issac DeGregorio 8-17 4-7 23, Isaiah Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Hans Rottmann 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 24-45 6-16 61.

ALIQUIPPA 49

Marlin Devonshire 6-11 1-3 13, William Gipson 4-16 3-7 11, Eli Kosanovich 3-7 0-0 7, Larry Walker 2-9 1-2 5, Zuriah Fisher 3-9 1-2 7, Dewayne Revis 2-4 0-0 4, Michael Dawkins 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 21-59 6-14 49.

North Catholic 13 15 21 12 — 61

Aliquippa17 9 12 11 — 49

3-point goals: Nick Koscinski 2, Issac DeGregorio 3, Hans Rottmann; Eli Kosanovich.

Thursday: North Catholic vs. Lincoln Park, WPIAL Class 3A title game at Petersen Event Center, 9 p.m.