No. 3 Quaker Valley boys hold off Knoch in Class 4A quarterfinal victory

By: Jerin Steele
Saturday, February 23, 2019 | 3:43 PM

With his team down 15 points with five and a half minutes remaining, Knoch coach Ron McNabb didn’t see any panic in his players’ eyes.

What he saw was determination, and the Knights did their best to put a scare into No. 3 Quaker Valley in the final moments, but the hole they dug was too big to overcome.

No. 6 Knoch got to within three points in the final minute, but Jackson Zernich hit three of four free throws down the stretch to help the Quakers secure a 49-43 victory in the WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball quarterfinals Saturday at North Hills.

After a timeout from McNabb, Knoch went on a 12-0 run that was bookended by a pair of 3-pointers by Julian Sanks, but Brady McKee and Jared Schrecengost had 3-pointers glance off the rim in the final 30 seconds with Knoch down four points and Zernich, a senior who came off the bench, converted at the line to put game out of reach.

“I thought we played really well defensively all game, but after that timeout I thought our guys were a little bit more determined,” McNabb said. “The biggest thing was that I loved their effort. There’s no quit in those guys.”

Led by Ryan Stowers’ 28 points, Quaker Valley advanced to the semifinals and will play Ambridge on Wednesday. The Quakers will try to punch their ticket to the final for the third consecutive season. They also secured a PIAA playoff berth for the ninth consecutive season.

Quaker Valley (19-3) topped Knoch (18-6), 68-53, in a nonsection game four weeks ago to the day, and they used that meeting as a guide to Saturday’s rematch.

“We approached this as a second time section game when after you beat a team and have to play them at their place, which is always difficult,” Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni said. “We play in a tough league, so we face that a lot. (Knoch) is a very good team. They’re so well coached, and they have four of five options to choose from that can score anytime they go down the court.”

Stowers, a 6-foot-5 senior, paced the Quakers in the first half, scoring 22 of the team’s 30 points, and the Quakers went into the break with a 10-point lead. He eclipsed 1,000 points for his career.

Knoch held Stowers in check for the much of the second half, but the damage he did early on helped the Quakers, who had a 13-day layoff, get into a groove.

“(Stowers) was ready to go,” Mastroianni said. “We needed him. I felt like he played like a veteran guy, and we were able to ride him to get the lead. We played with the lead the whole game, which isn’t easy to do against a team like Knoch that can shoot it behind the arc like they do.”

Knoch trailed by eight entering the fourth quarter, but the Quakers started the fourth on a 7-0 run before the Knights made their comeback attempt.

Schregengost led Knoch with 13 points and Sanks, the Knights’ lone senior, had 15 on five 3-pointers.

Knoch went from winning one section game in Class 5A last season to co-section champions with Highlands this year in Class 4A, and their season may not be over yet.

The Knights can qualify for the PIAA playoffs if Quaker Valley wins the WPIAL title. They’ll play the waiting game, practicing Monday and Wednesday and if Quaker Valley makes the final, Thursday and Friday to stay sharp in case they get into the tournament.

“I told them in the locker room that we’re their biggest fans now,” McNabb said. “I think they have a good shot to win it, and if they do it would be a big feather in our guys’ cap to get into states. I feel like they deserve it. Hopefully, they can pull it out for us, and we can continue this season.”

Tags: Knoch, Quaker Valley