Teegan Finucan breaks Knoch boys basketball’s all-time scoring record vs North Catholic in WPIAL semifinal
Teegan Finucan remembers his futile attempts to top his older brother, Zarian, on the basketball court.
“He beat me over and over again, and I took a lot of butt-whoopins,” Teegan, a senior guard for Knoch boys basketball, said recently. “I was never going to be happy until I finally beat him, and that took a long time.
“My dad, Michael, and Zarian taught me everything I know about basketball, starting with learning to dribble.”
Teegan has proven to be a dedicated student of the game, and in one respect, is now the best player Knoch has ever produced.
With his 15-point effort in Saturday’s WPIAL Class 4A semifinal playoff against North Catholic, Finucan did just enough to surpass the 1,475 career points scored by 1998 graduate Aaron Faulx to become Knoch’s all-time leading scorer.
Finucan, who moved from Butler into Knoch’s district in the third grade, entered the game with 1,461 points.
“The basket definitely wasn’t flashy,” Finucan said of the routine layup that gave him the record with 2:40 to go. “The support I’ve had the whole way through the community, my teammates, it’s been amazing.”
A four-year starter, he scored 16 points per game as a freshman.
“I set the (school’s) freshman scoring record that year, actually doubled it, and I thought then that I’d have the chance to break the all-time total,” Finucan said. “But I understand the record more now, understand what it means and what it took to get it.”
That’s not to say it’s been his focus this season.
“I was thinking about it before the season, but once the games started, I tried to put it out of my mind,” Finucan said. “People would come up to me after a game and remind me that I was getting closer, but I told them I didn’t want to talk about it. My focus is winning a WPIAL championship.
“Physically and mentally, this is definitely the best year I’ve ever had.”
Knoch (21-4) advanced to the WPIAL Class 4A title game with a 70-46 win. Finucan paces the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game and adds three rebounds and 2.1 assists, but he is a leader in more ways than one, according to Knoch coach Joe Lafko.
“I haven’t heard him talk about the record all season,” he said. “Teegan is a true team-first player. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to help us win.”
Finucan hopes to play in college and has received interest from a number of Division III schools in the region, including Allegheny, Grove City and Waynesburg. As he has grown as a player, his love of basketball has been transformed.
“I used to play simply because I enjoyed the game,” he said. “Now I play for the people around me. My coaches and teammates, I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”
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