Slow 2nd quarter costs Knoch in 46-35 playoff loss
JEFFERSON TWP — The story all year for Knoch has been its shooting. When it’s been on, the Knights have been unstoppable. That was something West Mifflin was acutely aware of walking into their WPIAL Class 4A premlinary round playoff matchup.
Host Knoch was defeated by a 46-35 decision, and likely left wishing they’d done better offensively in the second frame.
Early on, both boys basketball teams were trading shots. It looked as if it was going to be one of those nights where both teams couldn’t miss a shot. That narrative changed quickly. The first quarter ended with a 13-9 score, but Teagan Finucan was responsible for seven of Knoch’s nine points.
The second quarter was just as slow as the end of the first quarter for both teams. Through the first six and a half minutes of the first quarter the teams combined for just five points. The Titans were able to get a basket just before the break to give themselves a 19-10 lead. But for Knoch, it was the furthest thing from they expected the second quarter to look like.
“I thought we never got into a rhythm, the first half we were kind of excited and we didn’t calm down,” Knoch head coach Alan Bauman said. “In a playoff game you can’t score just one point in a quarter.”
On the other side, West Mifflin head coach Scott Stephenson felt their defensive plan in the period went even better than had hoped.
“I felt we were making shots we usually make, but our defense was okay and kept us in the game,” Stephenson said. “They only scored one point in the second quarter, and I can’t be mad at holding a team to 10 points in the first half.”
When they came back out, West Mifflin was able to grab a 10-point lead, but just as soon as they did, every shot Knoch took started to drop. A 9-0 run pulled the game to 24-21 midway through the third, but that was the closest the Knights would get.
West Mifflin’s Jordan Lucas-Johnson played a big part in shutting down the paint. It was quite apparent that Knoch was going to have to make field goals if they wanted to get back into the game.
“I thought we missed a lot of makeable shots tonight that we’ve made all year,” Bauman said. “It just wasn’t our night, our effort was outstanding and so was our toughness, but at some point you’ve got to make shots.”
The final period of play was back and forth, but lucky for the Titans, they walked into it with an eight-point lead. Because of that, their 16-13 edge in the fourth lifted them to a win.
“They’re upset right now, as they should be, but they battled all night and we need to celebrate the type of year that we had and the fact that we got back to the playoffs,” Bauman said.
WEST MIFFLIN 46
Jordan Lucas-Johnson 5 5-10 13, Shai Newby 2 2-9 10, Aaron Smith 3 3-4 9, Brandon Battles 1 1-1 5, Jose Perez 1 1-3 3, Todd Harrison 1 1-3 3, Braeden Walker 1 1-1 2, Daven Reynolds 1 1-2 2. Totals: 15 15-33 46.
KNOCH 35
Teagan Finucan 3 3-7 8, Derek Lang 2 2-4 7, Jackson Bauman 1 1-3 7, James Snyder 2 2-5 6, Kaden Spencer 1 1-6 4, Zairan Finucan 1 1-4 3, Zane Pacek 0 0-3 0. Totals: 10 10-32 35.
3-point field goals: Knoch 4 (T. Finucan, Z. Finucan, Bauman, Lang) West Mifflin 5 (Smith 3, Newby, Lucas-Johnson).
