WPIAL basketball: North Catholic boys overcome Elizabeth Forward’s 3-point barrage to make 4A semis
CRANBERRY TWP — Elizabeth Forward showered 3-pointers on North Catholic during the front half of Wednesday’s WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal playoff game.
The No. 7 Warriors sank nine tries from behind the arc before halftime, inflating a 10-point cushion by then.
The No. 2 Trojans trailed for most of the second half, as well. They stood in an 11-point hole at the start of the fourth quarter.
But the North Catholic sidestepped an upset with a 73-64 win and set up a marquee semifinal showdown with Butler County rival Knoch on Saturday at a site and time to be determined, with which it shared the WPIAL Section 1-4A crown.
The Trojans won their most recent clash against the Knights 61-55 on the road earlier this month.
“Very excited,” said Fredericks, who finished with 26 points, of the upcoming grudge match. “I think it’s gonna be the same thing as last time, a hard, nose-to-nose battle. They’re a great team. We kinda knew we were gonna see them again, so we’re ready.”
But before ensuring the rematch, things had to be getting uneasy against the Warriors, right?
“Not at all,” North Catholic senior guard Jason Fredericks said. “We need to come out better. That’s the first thing we need to work on. But we knew we are never out of game. When we’re down two or down by 20, we’re never out of a game.”
Fredericks finally put his side ahead via a 3-pointer with 3:14 left to play. Counting that basket, he scored 14 fourth-quarter points, and the Trojans finished the matchup on a 14-3 surge.
North Catholic (18-5) was down by as many as 14 points against Elizabeth Forward. The Warriors (14-10) swished four 3-pointers in the final 1:24 of the opening quarter, and the Trojans had to wait to hit their first until Jude Rottmann nailed one from the left corner with 7:39 remaining.
Rottmann finished with a game-high 30.
“You’ve just gotta stay the course,” North Catholic coach Jim Rocco said. “We’re no different than any coaching staff. We just talk about resilience, and we’ve been a pretty resilient bunch. It goes back to our non-conference schedule and being in really difficult moments. We’re just pretty good in difficult moments. We execute really well.
“And kids come alive with that.”
Fredericks added points to the scoreboard on three straight possessions in the final frame, growing the Trojans’ lead to three, then responding when the Warriors’ Tyler Basic swished his side’s final basket of the night, which tied matters at 64 apiece.
“I was obviously cold in the first half,” Fredericks said. “I couldn’t get my shot up. ... I think it was just jitters. Obviously, the quarterfinals are big. They’re a great team, I’ve gotta give them credit. But I think I just had to pick it up in the second half.”
Rottmann added another 3-pointer of his own with 57 seconds to go before Fredericks converted a couple of trips to the free-throw line. North allowed just five points in the final eight minutes and 18 in the entire second half.
ELIZABETH FORWARD 64
Daniel Spence 7 1-1 20, Tyler Basic 6 4-4 20, Gavin Stalowski 3 0-0 9, James Gile 4 0-0 8, Jacob Peterson 1 0-0 3, James Crovak 1 0-0 2, Matthew Gatto 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 5-5 64.
NORTH CATHOLIC 73
Jude Rottmann 8 12-12 30, Jason Fredericks 9 6-8 26, Brandon Pickett 6 2-3 15, Thomas Arth 1 0-0 2, Brady Trout 0 0-0 0, Tom Rottmann 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 20-23 73.
Elizabeth Forward 23 23 13 5 — 64
North Catholic 14 22 12 25 — 73
3-point goals: Elizabeth Forward 13 (Spence 5, Basic 4, Stalowski 3, Peterson); North Catholic 5 (Rottmann 2, Fredericks 2, Pickett)
Saturday: North Catholic vs. Knoch, site and time TBD
