DEER LAKES — Right place at the right time?

That may be the case for Butler graduate and first-year Deer Lakes High School varsity boys basketball coach Jon McKay.

McKay has guided the Lancers to their first section title since 1992 as Deer Lakes finished the regular season at 16-6 overall, 8-2 in Section 1-AA.

“This is only the third section title in the school’s history, so it’s not like there’s been a powerhouse here,” McKay said. “But, honestly, we could see this coming.”

Deer Lakes was 3-25 in section play over the previous two years. The past nine seasons had produced only one winning season, a 54-144 overall record and a 22-91 section mark.

A history teacher at Butler High School, McKay joined the Deer Lakes program last season as an assistant to former Butler varsity coach Joe Lewandowski. The program was in Class AAA and finished 4-18 overall, 2-12 in the section.

Lewandowski resigned after the season for family reasons and McKay took over as head coach. McKay’s varsity assistant is Conlan Walsh, a math teacher at Butler.

“Joe had family obligations and that comes first with him,” McKay said. “He would never assume credit, but everybody knows he has a lot to do with the turnaround of this program.

“Joe changed the culture and the attitude here. We also have a committed group of eight seniors who have dedicated themselves to winning. And moving down to Double-A has been a key. We’re now playing schools closer to our enrollment size.”

Deer Lakes nearly won the section title outright, but was forced to share it with Burrell after the Bucs secured a 47-46 win over the Lancers last Friday night. Tim Jaczesko gave Deer Lakes a one-point lead with seven seconds left, only to see Burrell win it on a layup with one second on the clock.

Rob Niederberger, a teacher at Butler and former assistant coach under Matt Clement with the Golden Tornado, is Burrell’s head coach.

“We coached together in junior high at Butler,” McKay said. “I know him well.”

And Lewandowski knows McKay well.

“Jon is one of the best teachers in our district and he takes those same skills into coaching,” Lewandowski said. “He knows how to communicate to kids.

“He’s done a phenomenal job at Deer Lakes and I’m not at all surprised. He’s going to be a great coach for a very long time.”

Jaczesko averages 23 points per game for the Lancers and is seventh in the WPIAL in scoring. J.J. Kowalkowski is averaging 13 points and eight rebounds per game.

No one on Deer Lakes’ roster is taller than 6-foot-0.

“We call J.J. our big man,” McKay said, laughing. “In reality, we don’t have one.

“Joe and I realized upon coming here we were going to have to build success through quickness and 3-point shooting. If you can’t shoot the three, you can’t play for this team.”

Deer Lakes has a tear-away tally sheet posted in the student section of its gym. Each time a Lancer player sinks a trey, the sheet is updated.

“The students in the stands update the tally as the game goes along,” McKay said. “They have a lot of fun with it.”

Deer Lakes has attempted 430 treys in 22 games, sinking 165 for an average of roughly eight per game.

McKay played high school basketball at Butler in the late 1990’s under George Abraham. One of his teammates, Aaron Epps, is the girls basketball coach at Hempfield, also a section champion.

“I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” McKay said. “Coach Abraham was and is an outstanding teacher of the game. Some of that was bound to rub off.”

Deer Lakes opens WPIAL Class AA Tournament play at noon Saturday against Shady Side Academy at North Hills High School.