JEFFERSON TWP - It was a Senior Night to remember for Ryan Hollihan.

Hollihan scored a game-high 23 points, which helped the Knoch boys basketball team win at least a share of the Section 1-AAA title by defeating Valley 71-39 on Tuesday.

But the 6-foot-7 senior forward drained four of the Knights' 10 3-pointers along the way.

"He can shoot it," said Knoch coach Les Shoop. "(Andrew) Barker didn't come out and (Hollihan) was open."

Barker, the Vikings' center, and Hollihan each got into foul trouble early. Both registered two fouls with just over three minutes remaining in the first period.

Hollihan had two treys at that point in helping the Knights to open a 16-5 advantage after one quarter. Knoch scored the frame's final 10 points to surge ahead.

"They were leaving me open and they were falling tonight," said Hollihan.

The Knights (17-4, 10-1) led 21-10 with 5:27 left in the first half before a 9-0 spurt - highlighted by a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Bill Elliott - gave Knoch a 30-10 advantage.

Valley (9-11, 5-6) finished the first half with just 15 points. The team was without the services of guard Ian Benson, who injured his ankle in practice Monday and didn't play.

"That was the whole reason we couldn't set the tempo," said Valley coach Vernon Benson. "Without him, we were helter-skelter.

"You get out of sync. That's why we were putting different players in. We were trying to find some continuity," Benson added.

"It hurt them, not having Ian in there," Shoop noted.

The Knights opened the third quarter with 3-pointers by Jordan Shoop and Hollihan for a 39-15 lead. They took their biggest lead, 38 points with 3:08 remaining (71-33).

"We really moved the ball, reversed the ball and hit the open man," said Shoop. "It's an unselfish team."

A win against Mars Friday - or a loss by Hampton in its final section game - will give the Knights the section title outright.

"It's so hard to win that," said Shoop. "You go into all these gyms and you wonder 'Where are all these titles?'

"This is our third since 1989. It's hard, but it's nice to be section champs," Shoop added.

"This feels pretty good," said Hollihan. "This is a big win for us. We'll be up on that banner. Any time we come back it'll be there forever. That's special as a senior."

Notes:

Jordan Shoop added 13 points and Ryan Ziacik had 11 for the Knights while Dan Zsolcsak led the Vikings with 10 points and Toney Clemons nine. … The Vikings secured fourth place in the section and also qualified for the WPIAL playoffs. … Knoch connected on 10 of 16 3-point attempts.

VALLEY 39

Nate Robinson 2 0-0 4, Toney Clemons 4 1-1 9, Andrew Barker 2 1-1 5, Jon Stuck 2 0-1 4, Tyler Santucci 0 2-2 2, Dan Zsolcsak 4 2-2 10, Eric Yeamans 1 0-0 2, Jorel Burrell 0 1-2 1, Gary Jones 0 1-2 1, Laci Ponsart 1 0-0 2, Anthony Howell 0 0-2 0. Totals: 16 7-11 39.

KNOCH 71

Scott Muska 0 0-0 0, Jordan Shoop 4 3-4 13, Ryan Ziacik 3 2-2 11, Eric Czech 2 3-6 7, Ryan Hollihan 9 1-2 23, Bill Elliott 2 2-2 7, Tim Hickey 2 1-3 5, Curtis Compton 0 0-0 0, Joel Berger 0 1-3 1, Dave Rickard 0 0-0 0, Rob Briggs 2 0-0 4, Alex Whisler 0 0-0 0, Paul Hancheck 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 13-22 71.

3-point goals:

Hollihan 4, Ziacik 3, Shoop 2, Elliott

JV:

Knoch, 49-48 (2 OT)

Friday:

Knoch at Mars

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