Phil Jurkovec makes quick impact as Pine-Richland boys drop No. 1 Butler

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, December 23, 2017 | 3:50 PM

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Phil Jurkovec admits he’s not in midseason form, but neither is his team.

Two weeks removed from winning a state football title, the Pine-Richland senior considered waiting until next month before joining the basketball team. That would have meant sitting out key section matchups with North Allegheny and Butler.

“Some of my family wanted me to (wait), but I just convinced them,” Jurkovec said, “because even though I’m not at 100 percent, I can still help.”

In his second game back, Jurkovec scored 15 second-half points Friday night including a key jumper with less than 4 minutes left, and his late-game defense was crucial as Pine-Richland defeated Butler, 80-64, in a rematch of last season’s WPIAL championship.

Jurkovec blocked Butler’s star sophomore twice in the fourth quarter.

The early-season Section 1 matchup, which was much closer than the 16-point finish, drew a standing-room crowd to Butler’s gym. Butler (6-1, 2-1) was ranked first in WPIAL Class 6A and Pine-Richland (5-1, 2-0) was fourth.

Rams junior Dan Petcash led with 25 points and two other teammates also scored in double figures, but Jurkovec proved his value down the stretch as sophomore Ethan Morton pulled Butler to within five. Jurkovec finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and spent the final minutes locked defensively on Morton, who scored 39.

“It’s feeling a lot better,” Jurkovec said of his basketball readiness, “but I’m not at the shape I will be. That’s why I’m excited.”

In a way, that’s how Pine-Richland coach Jeff Ackermann feels about his team overall. The Rams are defending WPIAL champions but they’re still trying to find themselves after heavy graduation and a long football season.

“We’re not really together yet,” Ackermann said. “We have some guys on this team who only have four or five practices and that’s it. This team has only played two games together all year. … We’re just going to be a work in progress.”

Pine-Richland senior Sebastian Kosanovich had 14 points and 13 rebounds, junior Greg Shulkosky scored 14 points and Petcash added 11 rebounds.

“This game showed a lot about our chemistry,” said Petcash, who scored 17 before halftime. “We did well and we can get a lot better from here on out.”

The Rams raced to a 13-3 lead and led 24-11 after the first quarter. Butler narrowed the gap often, and trailed by only seven at halftime, but never took the lead.

“We had that thing at four or five a couple times within the last four or five minutes, and I’m proud of our guys for that,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “That’s something we can build on. I knew going into this game we had a lot to work on. A very experienced team that’s won a lot of games exposed us in a couple areas that we’re going to work on tomorrow.”

Key Friday was Pine-Richland’s rebounding. The Rams had nine offensive rebounds, which limited Butler’s transition offense. But when Butler’s offense could run, Morton was hard to contain.

The 6-foot-5 guard scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, including 10 consecutive in one stretch. It included four layups in a 75-second span. Pine-Richland had led by 15 points after three, but Morton quickly cut it to seven with 6 minutes left.

Ackermann used Petcash, Colin Luellen and Kenny White against Morton, but switched to Jurkovec at the end.

“We tried to give him different looks and keep big bodies on him all night long,” Ackermann said. “Just keep him in front of us and contest him. … We guarded him about as well as you can guard him. He almost fouled out half my team.”

With 3:40 left, Pine-Richland’s lead was just 67-62 after a layup by Butler’s Luke Michalek, who scored 12 points. But Jurkovec answered with a jumper and Kosanavich converted a put-back to quiet Butler’s rally.

“It’s hard to get in transition when they’re making shots and you can’t get rebounds,” Clement said.

Pine-Richland defeated Butler four times last season, a streak that continued Friday. The two meet again Jan. 26.

“Like I told the guys, this is one game in a 22-game regular season where you’re hoping to get in the playoff run,” Clement said. “You can take it for what it’s worth. It’s terrible. I won’t sleep tonight. I never slept when I pitched and I lost. I never sleep when I lose in this. That’s just me. But if you really put it in perspective, it’s one game in a big season.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Butler, Pine-Richland