Trojans’ PIAA run ends
MOON TOWNSHIP – California’s dream season – which saw the Trojans set a school record for victories and win their first-ever state playoff game – ended in nightmarish fashion Friday night. A rematch with WPIAL Class A champion Union quickly turned into a mismatch, as the Scotties dominated the PIAA quarterfinal, 65-34, before a packed house at Robert Morris University’s Sewall Center.
“Tonight … we hit a brick wall,” said California senior point-guard Shane Tonkavitch.
California finishes its season 21-7, winning 11 of its final 13 games. The Trojans lost just twice in the past two months, but both setbacks came against Union. The Scotties entered the WPIAL playoffs as the No. 12 Class A seed, but have won seven straight postseason games, and now face Kennedy Christian in the Western Final.
Kennedy Christian has won four of the past five PIAA Class A titles.
The first meeting between California and Union 19 days ago featured eight ties and eight lead changes. It took nearly all of 32 minutes for that game’s outcome to be decided.
The rematch took about six.
Leading 3-2, Union (19-10) hit 10 consecutive free throws and Craig Hannon nailed his second of four three-pointers during a 17-1 run which lasted four minutes. The Indians led 22-8 and 33-16 after the first two breaks, then put the game away with a 16-9 third-quarter advantage.
“After the first Union game, this (rematch) was all we wanted,” said California senior forward Rick Cope. “I really thought it would turn out the opposite. As much as we talked about this game, they just came out and did what they wanted to do.
“It seemed like they didn’t do anything wrong.”
Very little in fact. Union outrebounded California, had fewer turnovers and connected on 27 of 33 free throws.
The Trojans, meanwhile, never cracked double digits in a single quarter, and Tonkavitch and Cope – both 1,000-point scorers during their careers – were held to a combined five points.
Cope picked up his second foul just two minutes into the game, then was whistled for No. 3 with 3:57 remaining in the first half.
“It was a disappointing game for our seniors, to end their careers like this,” said California second-year coach Steve Luko. “It’s hard to believe. We came out flat and didn’t execute at all. We’ve preached to the kids that one of these days, it was going to catch up to them. You can’t play like this against a good team like Union. They were more aggressive, more up for the game.
“It seemed like they wanted it more. If we would have played like we know how to play and still lost, we could have at least known we lost to a better team. But it’s tough to lose when you don’t play anywhere close to your best game.”
Hannon led all scorers with 15 points, followed by Jeff Nero’s 11 and Bob Bondi’s 10. Michael Mukaabya chipped in eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Junior center Dan DeMoss led California with nine points, while senior guard Ryan Robinson added seven points. Senior forward Thom Russell scored four points, led California with eight rebounds and also registered three steals.
“The game was disappointing, but it doesn’t take away from our season,” Luko said. “You have to look back throughout our whole season and judge us on that. We won our section, made it to the WPIAL semifinals and we were the first team at California to win a state playoff game.
“I’m sure the kids will remember this game for a long time, but I hope they also remember how much they were able to accomplish.”