Thomas Jefferson boys reflect on special season

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, March 24, 2024 | 11:01 AM

It ranks as one of the best basketball seasons in school history.

Thomas Jefferson’s boys basketball team rolled to a 21-3 record before having the wind knocked out of its sails in the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals.

“Our kids did everything I asked,” coach Dom DeCicco said. “We came up short in WPIAL semis. But with an undefeated section title and 21 wins, I was proud of our kids.”

After winning nine in a row and 17 of 18, including two playoff games, the Jaguars dropped a gut-wrenching 77-75 decision to Moon at an electrifying, standing-room-only gym Feb. 26 at Peters Township.

The TJ hoopsters then fell to Shaler, 75-71, in the third-place consolation game, and to York Suburban, 52-48, in the PIAA first round to finish 21-6 overall.

“I thought after we lost to Moon, we changed as a team,” DeCicco said. “When you are fighting all year for one goal and you lose like we did, I think it takes something out of you. We didn’t play great against Shaler or York. But we had a chance to win both, just didn’t make plays at the end of each game.”

The Jaguars captured the Section 1-5A championship with a 10-0 record, defeating the likes of Peters Township (8-2), Bethel Park (6-4), Trinity (4-6), Ringgold (1-9) and Connellsville (1-9) twice.

TJ was one of the highest-scoring teams in the WPIAL with a 71.5 ppg offensive average, along with a 55.2 defensive average.

The Jaguars reached the 90-point plateau four times, including a frenzied regular-season ending 99-90 win Feb. 12 against Belle Vernon.

The TJ hoopsters ran past Penn-Trafford, 72-53, and Kiski Area, 73-57, in their first two WPIAL playoff games.

Other impressive victories were attained against Baldwin, 78-67; Norwin, 62-33; South Allegheny, 61-59, in The Challenge at Allderdice; and Central Catholic, 71-59, in the PBC Hall of Fame Classic at North Hills.

The Jaguars were led by 6-foot-4 senior guard/forward Evan Berger, the school’s all-time leading scorer who averaged 17.4 ppg and finished with 1,610 career points.

“What was so impressive about Evan, especially his senior year, was that he did the things we needed him to do for us to win,” DeCicco said. “He could have scored 30 a night but he knew for us to be successful, he had to get other people involved. He was our leading rebounder, and our team leader in assists and steals. You don’t replace a player like him.”

A four-year starter, Berger netted 234 points as a freshman, 442 as a sophomore, 463 as a junior and 471 this season when he connected on 169 field goals and 91 of 115 free throws.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t win the WPIAL, but we won a lot of games and the section, so that was cool,” Berger said. “My favorite moment was winning the section this year.”

The silky-smooth Berger averaged 23.1 ppg last season and broke his own school record with a 43-point performance in a 105-100 section win in three overtimes against Peters Township.

Berger passed 1989 TJ graduate Karri Miller Lockhart when he netted his 1,358th point Dec. 12 late in the game in a 72-60 section win at Bethel Park.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to break that record, so I’m happy I finally did break it,” Berger said. “It’s cool and all, but I just got to move past it and look to continue to get better.”

Berger needed 21 points going into the game to tie Miller Lockhart’s 1,357 career point total. With less than a minute remaining, Berger hit a free throw that gave him his record-breaking 1,358th point.

Berger has signed with Edinboro of the NCAA Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

He was joined in the starting lineup this year by seniors Noah Prosser, a 6-1 guard; Brody Evans, a 6-4 forward; and Sean Sullivan, a 6-0 guard; along with 6-4 sophomore guard Nick Trklja. The four senior starters also started in 2022-23.

Prosser scored at a 14.6 ppg clip, netted a team-high 49 3-pointers and shot 82.6% from the foul line.

“Although it’s disappointing that we lost (to Moon), I feel we had a great season as a team,” Prosser said. “We didn’t reach our goal of winning the WPIAL, but it was a great and memorable last season.

“One key memory I have from my career was probably the celebration in the locker room after winning and going undefeated in the section this year.”

Trklja also averaged double figures at 11.7 ppg and led the team in blocked shots. Berger, Sullivan and Evans were the top boardmen.

“I thought we had a great season going undefeated in our section but unfortunately fell short of our main goal,” Evans said. “I’m just all-around really happy with how the season went, and I think everyone really put everything they had into it.

“As for my favorite memory, it was definitely winning the section title for the first time in 10 years.”

The Jaguars’ starting five was complemented by key reserves Kane Eggerton, Noah Kaszer and Joe Mendyk.

“I’m not going to say this year’s team was my best ever,” DeCicco said. “They were a really good team, but I don’t think it’s fair to the other teams (at TJ) that have gotten to WPIAL semis and won state games.

“I was very proud of our senior class, and I’m very excited about our young kids. We have a great nucleus coming back, and they want to finish the job.”

In a unique twist, DeCicco listed all eight seniors on the team as co-captains in the preseason: Berger, Eggerton, Evans, Mendyk, Prosser and Sullivan plus guards Hayden Feth and Zac Rubinoff.

“I thought we had a lot of ups and downs in our season,” Sullivan said. “My favorite memories from my career are every time we beat Peters.”

In 19 seasons as TJ’s floor boss, DeCicco had a 263-192 career record with 16 WPIAL and five PIAA playoff appearances and has won five section titles.

The Jaguars were 23-4 in 2013-14.

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