Trojans ride tenacious ‘D’ to semifinals
SOUTH PARK – Mike Hrivnak’s breakaway dunk to open the second quarter gave California a 10-point lead over Avella in its Class A WPIAL quarterfinal Friday night. The slam wasn’t the 6-foot-7 forward’s most creative piece of work, but it did bring the Trojans’ fans to their feet and put a smile on coach Phil Pergola’s face.
It should be noted, however, that the smile was there long before Hrivnak stuffed the ball through the hoop with his right hand. Pergola was grinning after all, not because of the ends, but because of the means by which Hrivnak began the play in the first place.
A steal at the other end of the court made the dunk possible, and this, by golly, was why Pergola looked like a Cheshire cat.
As it has done so many times this season, and especially recently, California showed why it sports the best defense in Class A, as it forced 27 Avella turnovers on its way to a 60-41victory before a packed house at South Park High School.
California won for the 19th consecutive time, and the reward for its victory Friday night was two-fold: a spot in the WPIAL semifinals against Clairton, which also won Friday night, and a berth in the PIAA playoffs, which begin in early March.
“We had T-shirts made up at the beginning of the year that said, ‘We’re on a Mission,'” Pergola said. “We wanted to win a section title, make the WPIAL playoffs and earn a spot in the state playoffs.”
Mission accomplished.
So, what now, a new T-shirt maybe?
“We’ll see if we keep winning,” said a grinning Pergola.
California (23-2) never trailed in this one, jumping out to a quick 8-1 lead, before ending the first quarter with a 9-2 run to go ahead, 19-11.
The Trojans increased their lead to 14 points by halftime, thanks in large part to their staunch defense, which forced seven second-quarter turnovers.
Avella point-guard and leading scorer Shea Georgetti was especially stifled by the tenacious defense, finishing with just 13 points, seven below his average.
In the end, Georgetti wound up with nearly as many turnovers as points.
“He beat Duquesne (in the first round),” Pergola said. “The difference is, against Duquesne, they watched him with one person. We watched him with three sometimes tonight.”
John McVicker led four Trojans in double digits with 15 points, with Travis VanOlst adding 14 and Chris McVicker and Ben Carson chipping in 10 each.
Hrivnak finished with just six points, but pulled down six rebounds, had four steals and blocked three shots.
California’s Donte Valentino recorded five steals to go along with four points.
The Trojans allow opponents just 43.8 points per game, tops in Class A, and second only to Washington in the WPIAL. But California is still very much alive in this postseason, while the Little Prexies were knocked off by North Catholic in the first round of Class AA action.
Over its last seven games, California has held the opposition to an average of 36.9 points per contest.
“It doesn’t matter who you play, defense is what takes control of games,” Pergola said.
In a slow-paced third quarter, Avella (14-12) managed to shave one point of its deficit, but still trailed by 13 with eight minutes to go.
The margin separating the two teams remained at 13 midway through the final quarter, but a 7-0 California run pushed the Trojans’ lead to 20, and all but sealed the victory.
“We thought we were prepared,” said Avella coach Joe Johnson. “We knew they were going to pressure us and we knew they were going to try to take the ball out of Shea’s hands. They just played better defensively than we played offensively
“I’m a believer. They really get it after it on defense. They’re deep and athletic. California and Clairton should be one heck of a ball game.”
Nate Clem added eight points for Avella, with Cole Heckman and Lee Thieroff chipping in six points each.
The semifinals are slated for Tuesday, with sites and times still to be determined by the WPIAL.