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Fox Chapel defense shuts down Central Catholic in boys Section 3-6A showdown

By: George Guido
Tuesday, January 18, 2022 | 10:01 PM

Fox Chapel takes pride in its defense.

But not the players nor the most ardent fans could have expected an effort like Tuesday’s.

The No. 2 Foxes held No. 3 Central Catholic to just 16 points over three quarters, including a scoreless stretch of 8 minutes, 14 seconds en route to a 54-37 victory in a Section 3-6A showdown.

The Foxes never trailed and outscored the Vikings, 13-2, during one first-half stretch.

Eli Yofan had 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and a big steal to lead Fox Chapel, and J.P. Dockey had 13 points, four steals and was 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.

But it was the defense that carried the night before a near-capacity crowd at Fox Chapel.

“We spend almost all of our practice time on defense,” said senior forward Russell Fenton. “That’s what we pride ourselves on. We always rather have a game like this where we hold a team to 37 points instead of scoring 80 or 90 points. The defense? That ultimately wins games for us. We stuck to our gameplan and our scouting tonight.”

Added Foxes coach Zach Skrinjar: “This wasn’t the prettiest game on either end, but we did enough. We keyed on some specific guys and saw some things on film that we could take advantage of. Our guys did a great job following the gameplan and the key points we wanted to get through to them.”

Yofan, Valley News Dispatch Boys Basketball Player of the Year and overall athlete of the 2020-21 school year, scored the first five points of the game, and the Foxes were on their way.

The senior guard had five of his team’s nine points in the third quarter, but Yofan talked more about the defense that held Central to two points in the quarter.

“It was definitely our defense,” Yofan said. “Our goal every game is to keep a team under 50, but when Central comes to your own gym, you want to keep them under 40.”

Fenton and fellow senior Colin Kwiatkowski kept Vikings 6-foot-7 center Debaba Tshiebwe in check, limiting the junior to four points, all in the fourth period.

“We struck out tonight,” said Central Catholic coach Brian Urso. “We had no rhythm, couldn’t find a rhythm, couldn’t make a lot of shots. Give credit to their defense.”

The Vikings, however, were still within striking distance, trailing 20-14 at the half. But Yofan’s drive on Dante DePante to start the third quarter resulted in a three-point play. Soon after, a put-back by Kwiatkowski and an off-balance shot by Yofan after both teams experienced a dry spell put the Foxes in front 27-14 with 1:51 left in the third.

Kwiatkowski had 10 rebounds, and Fenton collected eight.

The defense even exceeded Skinjar’s expectations, combined with Central’s poor shooting.

“Holding them to 16?” the veteran coach asked rhetorically. “We’d have lost a lot of bets. But it’s basketball. It’s happened to us before.”

DePante led Central Catholic with nine points before fouling out with 3:57 to go. Peyton Wehner scored eight, and Tshiebwe pulled down eight rebounds, three in one sequence.

The Foxes have another challenge coming up Friday, taking on Upper St. Clair in a nonsection home game at 7:30 p.m.

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