Gators bow out of WPIAL Playoffs
ALVERTON – Same site, same opponent in the same round. Unfortunately for the Geibel Catholic Gators, it produced the same result.
St. Joseph opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run and held the Gators scoreless from 1:47 of the second quarter until 2:30 remained in the third in a 63-47 WPIAL Class A quarterfinal Spartans’ win over Geibel Catholic.
“It came down to our halftime message,” Geibel Catholic coach Ken Misiak said. “We told them that the third quarter was going to be the key to the ball game. We came out and did nothing and St. Joe’s got the momentum they needed.”
“It was a bit strange how the second half unfolded,” St. Joseph coach Kelly Robinson said. “It seemed like both teams were playing tentatively and nobody did anything for a while.”
Indeed, neither team scored until John Kuruc’s basket with 5:25 remaining extended the Spartans’ lead to 30-24. From there, however, Joe Rezak nailed a three-pointer, Chris Conroy hit a free throw, a basket and another free throw to make it 37-24 before Kellen Holmes scored a three-point play for the Gators with 2:30 on the clock to cut the lead to 37-27.
“I think what helped us in that early stretch was that we had the lead,” Robinson said. “If we were behind, I think we may have started pressing, trying to do too much. I think that’s what happened to Geibel. They were behind and, after missing a few shots, they started pressing.”
The Spartans closed the quarter with a 7-2 run and led, 44-29, after three quarters. They opened the fourth with a 7-3 run to make it 51-32. Any hopes of a Geibel Catholic comeback, faint though they were, ended when senior guard Rob Ramsey turned an ankle with 4:20 remaining.
Ramsey did not return. He finished with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. His scoring total gives him an even 1,400 career points. His basketball career at Geibel Catholic (18-5) is complete, unless St. Joseph (20-5) wins the WPIAL Class A title. If that happens, the Gators would qualify for the PIAA playoffs.
Misiak said the team would take some time off until the Spartans play their WPIAL semifinal against Serra Catholic (probably Tuesday at a site and time to be determined) before holding a practice.
Ironically, the Spartans knocked Geibel Catholic out of the WPIAL playoffs a year ago also in the WPIAL quarterfinals and also at Southmoreland High School, site of Saturday’s rematch.
“Neither team is the same as last year,” Robinson said. “Both teams lost some players and I think last year’s game was a bit of a fluke. We shot extremely well that day, but as you saw this game was very different.”
This time, it was St. Joseph’s big guys who made the biggest impact. Senior Chris Conroy led his team with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while senior Josh Robinson added 18 points.
“Their big guy was much more agile than ours,” Misiak said of Conroy.
“Chris was very determined tonight,” Robinson said. “He went to the basket hard all night and their big guy was in foul trouble.”
Kellen Holmes led the Gators with 17 points, despite a freakish pre-game injury that almost kept him from starting. Holmes was accidentally elbowed in the mouth by a fan as the gators took the floor for pre-game warm-ups. He suffered a cut and missed warm-ups while trainers tended to the injury and found a mouthpiece for him to wear.
“I don’t think he ever really got into his game,” Misiak said.
Geibel Catholic scored the game’s first six points and led, 14-10, after a quarter had been played. The Gators last lead came on Mario Fragello’s three-pointer that made it 22-19. St. Joseph scored nine straight to take a 28-22 lead.
“They are good enough,” Misiak said when asked about St. Joseph’s chance of winning the WPIAl title. But he also wanted to reflect on the season that his team may have finished on Saturday.
“You win 18 games, it’s a good year,” Misiak said. “We’ll have three starters back next season in Kellen, Mario and Mitch Erdely, so we’ll be OK. We lose Rob, though, and we’ll miss him. He’s been a super player for three years for us.”