Turning up the heat: Defense, Crosby help propel Yough past South Park, 53-30
HERMINIE – Yough had an extended stay in the boys basketball playoffs a year ago and it called on that experience Monday night in its WPIAL Class AAA first round game against South Park.
The Cougars grabbed the early advantage and held a six-point lead two minutes into the second quarter when the Eagles’ used a six-point burst to pull even.
As the South Park contingent on hand at Yough High School roared its approval, Yough refused to be rattled and turned up the heat on defense.
The 10th-seeded Eagles would only tally 14 more points the rest of the game as the Cougars, sparked by a 25-point effort from Terek Crosby, cruised to a 53-30 victory to send their large, loud throng of fans home happy.
Austin Matthews followed Crosby with 14 points as seventh-seeded Yough (19-4) advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals where it will play No. 2 Mohawk at a site and time to be determined.
“All you have to do is keep your composure,” Crosby said of how his team reacted to the Eagles’ second-quarter push. “Basketball is a game of runs, everybody is going to make one, especially good teams. You’ve got to stay calm and collected.”
Crosby and the Cougars went 2-3 in five postseason games a year ago, with three of those decided by three or fewer points. Yough won its first round game and its second consolation game – 70-67 at Mohawk – in the WPIAL to reach the PIAA tournament.
“In a playoff situation it’s a little more pressure than in the regular season,” Yough coach Jim Nesser said. “Our guys have been there last year and I think that helped.
“You can’t teach experience, especially playoff experience. That’s a whole different ball game than section pressure or anything else.”
Ryan Westerman opened the game with a 3-pointer – his only points of the night – and Yough also got a three-point play from Crosby in jumping out to an 8-2 lead and held an 11-8 edge after the first quarter.
A basket off a rebound by Matthews and a 3-pointer by Zander Aird put the Cougars up 16-10 but the Eagles responded with two baskets from Luke Scarff sandwiched around a bucket by Cooper Hockendoner to tie it with 3:25 left in the second quarter.
Yough closed the half with a 12-point explosion that included a tip-in by Matthews and 3-pointers by Aird and Crosby for a 28-16 lead at intermission.
Crosby and Charlie Quinn swished 3-pointers at the start of the third quarter to bump Yough’s lead up to 18 points. South Park got a basket from Kenyon Brown and a trey from Hockendoner to pull within 13 but the Cougars closed the frame with a 13-2 run capped by Crosby’s dunk that brought down the house.
“I’ve been dunking since like eighth grade,” Crosby said with a smile. “It made the gym go wild.”
Up 47-23, Nesser had his team go into a delay offense for most of the fourth quarter which the Cougars executed well.
“We don’t do too much of it but we’ve been working on that a little bit,” said Nesser, who feels his team, which tied Washington for the Section 4 championship, is well prepared for any close playoff battles that may arise. “All year long this team has been really comfortable in the fourth quarter, never out of whack. They just seem together. It’s a special group of kids.”
Aird contributed six points and Quinn added five for Yough.
Scarff was the only South Park player to reach double digits with 14 points. Brown followed with seven.
Nesser lauded his team’s defensive effort.
“The key for us all year has been defense,” Nesser said. “Our defense triggers everything we do. I think that initiated our run there before halftime. The defense creates offense, gives you more opportunities, and I thought we did a really good job of doing that tonight.”
Nesser was also pleased but not surprised at Crosby and Matthews leading the way, as they have all season for the Cougars.
“Both of them played really good. They’re seniors, four-year starters, and, I’ll be honest with you, I expected them to play that way,” Nesser said. “I thought our third senior, Zander Aird, was outstanding today. He was great defensively. All three seniors have plenty of experience and all three played like that tonight.”
Crosby voiced his pleasure at competing alongside the 6-foot-5 Matthews
“He’s more than I could ever ask for as a big to play with,” Crosby said. “He’s such a contributor especially with his rebounds and second-chance points.”
South Park, which had no seniors in its starting lineup, finished third in Section 2 and ended its season at 13-9.
The youthful Eagles have several area connections on their coaching staff. Head coach Chad Pappasergi is a Charleroi graduate who served as an assistant at Ringgold under the legendary Phil Pergola, and at California under his father, Bruno Pappasergi, both of whom are now members of his current coaching staff.
Nesser turned his attention to Mohawk (16-7), the Section 1 champion.
“Mohawk’s really good, but last year we beat them at their place,” Nesser pointed out. “It’s going to be a challenge for us. They’ve had a really good team all year. We’ll see what my guys and my big three does against their guys.
“We’re looking forward to it.”