Powerful North wears down Knoch
JEFFERSON TWP — Its outside shooting game was taken away — so North Catholic took its business inside.
The Trojans relentlessly drove to the hoop Saturday afternoon at Knoch, eventually wearing the Knights down for a 73-51 Section 1-4A boys basketball victory. The win was the sixth straight for North (16-1, 10-0) and clinched the section title.
“They are so hard to defend,” Knoch coach Alan Bauman said. “They read the court and cut so well.”
A Keagan Fraser bucket pulled Knoch (6-14, 2-9) even at 10 with just over a minute left in the opening quarter. North Catholic outscored the Knights 23-9 for the rest of the half. A 9-0 run in the third quarter — consisting of a Matt Gregory trey and three consecutive Max Rottmann layups — handed the Trojans a 51-30 lead and they cruised from there.
“Knoch did a great job of taking away our 3-point shooters,” North coach Jim Rocco said. “They came out and defended. But our kids can read what’s happening on the floor and adapt accordingly.
“They saw lanes to take the ball to the hoop and took advantage of that.”
Andrew Maddalon, a freshman, scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had five assists for the Trojans. Rottmann scored 21 points, had nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Matthew Ellery and Matt Gregor had three assists each, but Maddalon and Rottmann stole the show Saturday.
“It’s no coincidence that both of those guys are sons of basketball coaches,” Rocco said. “Andrew’s dad coaches AAU ball and Max’s mother (NC girls basketball coach Molly Rottmann) is a coaching legend at North Catholic.
“It’s such a plus for us to have her in the gym watching us play. These boys know she’s here. They respect her and what this school’s basketball program is all about.
“Andrew and Max aren’t big kids ... they don’t pass the eye test, but they know the game. They both grew up on basketball, have been in the gym since a young age and it shows,” Rocco added.
Ryan Lang paced Knoch with 20 points. The Knights recognized seniors Lang, Fraser, J.J. Szebalskie and Luke Herrit before the game. Herrit scored 11 points Saturday, sinking three treys.
Fraser had seven points and seven rebounds, James Snyder three steals for the Knights, who lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Lang became the 40th recipient of the Karen Shoop Award prior to the game. That award goes to a Knoch senior basketball player and is based on the player’s kindness and how good a teammate he is.
“Ryan is very deserving,” Bauman said. “He’s adapted to his role as point guard very well this year, knowing when to take the shot and when to pass off to a teammate.”
Lang is second on Knoch’s all-time scoring list with approximately 1,400 points. He will continue his academic and basketball career at Allegheny College.
NORTH CATHOLIC 73
Andrew Maddalon 11-19 2-4 25, Ian Palmer 0-1 0-0 0, Matthew Ellery 3-8 0-0 7, Matt Gregor 2-3 0-0 5, Ben Tomer 3-6 0-3 6, Max Rottmann 9-11 2-2 21, Tom Molenda 2-2 0-0 4, Liam Straub 1-1 0-0 2, Nick Larson 1-1 0-0 3.Totals: 32-52 4-9 73.
KNOCH 51
Keagan Fraser 3-8 1-3 7, Gasparo Porco 2-2 0-0 4, James Snyder 2-4 2-4 6, JJ Szelbalskie 0-8 0-0 0, Ryan Lang 10-17 0-4 20, Luke Herrit 4-10 0-0 11, Tyler Simpson 1-2 1-1 3. Totals: 22-51 4-14 51.
N.Catholic 13 20 18 22 — 73
Knoch 10 9 15 17 — 51
3-point goals: North Catholic 5 (Maddalon, Ellery, Gregor, Rottmann, Larson), Knoch 3 (Herrit 3)
Tuesday: Freeport at North Catholic
Friday: Knoch at Freeport
