Kiski Area grinds out section win over Penn-Trafford

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024 | 11:12 PM

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Nail files and sandpaper serve a similar purpose to what Kiski Area’s 3-2 zone can do to teams. And, how the Cavaliers win sometimes.

But their latest game took it to another level. Or, maybe down one.

“Grind it out,” Cavaliers’ coach Corey Smith said. “That’s what you have to do sometimes.”

While it won’t get much credit for good looks in the suddenly tightening Section 3-5A standings, Kiski Area values an ugly win just as much as a pretty one, including the 39-36 result it produced against Penn-Trafford.

The Cavaliers (10-5, 2-3) slowed another team down and made the Warriors (8-7, 2-3) toil in a half-court offense on Wednesday night in Harrison City.

Maybe the junior varsity game was a precursor: Kiski Area won, 39-37, in overtime.

Underwhelming to a fan of back-and-forth basketball, it was a delight for the Cavaliers, who have won two in a row after a four-game skid.

Fast breaks were nonexistent in the make-up game from Tuesday’s freeze-out. Transition was rare. But the Cavaliers did just enough on both ends to finish the job.

“We want to hold teams under 50 (points) and keep our turnovers under 15,” Smith said. “I think we had around 12 turnovers tonight. I am proud of my guys for taking care of the ball in key situations.”

Penn-Trafford scored 83 points Friday in a 27-point win Friday at Latrobe, a tough place to play — and win.

The offense went silent, especially after halftime.

Kiski Area held Penn-Trafford to zero field goals in a nondescript third quarter that saw the Cavaliers score six points to the Warriors’ two.

Of course, Kiski Area only managed five field goals of its own in the second half.

“Tip your hat to Kiski. They zoned us and they did it well,” Penn-Trafford coach Doug Kelly said. “When they missed shots, they took over the offensive glass.

“Our goals was to get into transition early and get up before they set into their zone. We were stagnant.”

Penn-Trafford led 13-11 after the first quarter as senior guard Tyler Freas scored nine of his game-high 18 points, including two 3-pointers.

But a 9-0 run — 13-4 overall — inside the final four minutes of the second quarter allowed Kiski Area to pull ahead 27-18 before halftime.

Senior guard Isaiah Gonzalez scored all six of his team’s points in the third, including a lay-in just before the buzzer, as the lead inflated to 10 at 33-23.

The Warriors found their touch from behind the arc in the fourth, as junior Evan Gross made two 3s and Freas hit one to close the gap to 35-34 with 3 minutes, 50 seconds remaining.

But junior Colin Keller fired in one of his three 3s from the wing to stop an 11-2 run and put the Cavaliers up 38-34.

“Colin Keller works his butt off,” Smith said.

Isaiah Gonzalez and Keller tied a team high with 11 points each.

Freas made two free throws with 31.7 left, and sophomore Amaree Gonzalez hit 1 of 2 foul shots for Kiski Area with 14.4 to go to make it 39-36.

After a pair of timeouts, Penn-Trafford inbounded under its hoop, but junior Tyler Anthony’s 3 from the elbow missed and the Warriors saw another tight finish fall out of favor.

The Warriors have been in five games decided by three points or less (they are 3-2 in those games).

“Penn-Trafford is team of guards, an outside team,” Smith said. “Our game plan was to get good close-outs and make them beat us off the dribble.”

Gross, who has helped fill the void left by a wrist injury to senior Jason Sabol, had 12 points on four 3-pointers.

Penn-Trafford made seven 3s, so 21 of their 36 points came from deep.

“There are all kinds of things our kids can learn from games like this,” Kelly said. “We scratched and clawed, but we turned it over way more times than we wanted to.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Kiski Area, Penn-Trafford