California’s inside duo does in Mikes
CALIFORNIA – The Trojans flexed their muscle inside, as Dan DeMoss and Rick Cope scored 16 points each to lead California to a 57-41 Section 2-A win over Carmichaels Friday night. With the victory, the Trojans (14-5, 8-1) clinched a WPIAL playoff berth, guaranteeing themselves no worse than a third-place section finish. California still has a shot at the section title, finishing with a home contest against Avella and road games at West Greene and Section 2-A leader Geibel Catholic.
Carmichaels (11-7, 5-4) had no answer for California’s inside game, especially after Bobby Hathaway fouled out with 4:20 left in the third quarter. The Trojans not only got 32 points out of their big men, but also outrebounded the Mikes, 34-22.
“On every possession, we wanted to get the ball inside,” said Trojans coach Steve Luko. “We had the matchup we wanted. And when Hathaway got into foul trouble, that was really bad for them. DeMoss could’ve had 30 points tonight. He missed four or six shots he could have made.”
Ryan Robinson added 12 points and Shane Tonkavitch nine for California, which won its fourth straight and for the eighth time in its past 10 games. The Trojans took the lead for good when Cope picked up a loose ball and scored to make it 13-11 with 1:04 remaining in the fourth quarter.
California built its lead to eight twice in the second quarter, and after Carmichaels’ Jono Menhart scored to bring the Mikes to within 25-19 with 10 seconds left in the half, Tonkavitch closed the second-quarter scoring with an off-balance three-pointer which pushed the lead to nine.
The Trojans then put the game away with a 13-3 run to start the second half in which Cope scored seven points and DeMoss four.
“Their size was a big problem for us,” said Carmichaels coach Don Williams. “We didn’t shoot well also. I thought if we kept them in the 50s, we had a good chance to win. Defensively, our intensity was there, but offensively, we just didn’t fare well.”
Carmichaels’ Jamie Kowalczyk led all scorers with 17 points, connecting on five shots from the field and six of seven free throws.
The Mikes fell into a third-place tie with Mapletown, and have section contests remaining at Avella, and at home against Geibel and Jefferson-Morgan.
NOTES: Colby Giles added nine points, and Menhart seven for Carmichaels … DeMoss led California with 11 rebounds, while Galis had eight. Hathaway led Carmichaels with six boards, but was held to two points … The Mikes won the junior varsity game, 51-40.