Canon-McMillan can’t slow Pine-Richland
Canon-McMillan boys basketball coach coach Rick Bell talks with Jason Fowlkes during last year's WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal game against Pine-Richland. The Big Macs take on No. 10 seed Seneca Valley at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at West Allegheny High School.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Canon-MacþÄôs Jason Fowlkes lofts a shot over Pine RichlandþÄôs defense in the February 25 WPIAL playoff game at North Allegheny.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Britton Beachy looks for room to press past Pine RichlandþÄôs Phil Jurkovec. Beachy scored a team-leading 22 points in Canon McMillanþÄôs 87-74 loss in the WPIAL layoff game on February 25 at North Allegheny.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Carson Miller drives to the hoop for two of the 21 points he scored for Canon-McMillan in the February 25 WPIAL playoff game against Pine Richland. The Big Macs fell to Pine Richland 87-74.
WEXFORD – Putting on their jumpsuits and warming up for its first game in 15 days, Pine-Richland still looked the part of a No. 1 seed that had lost just once this season.
As Canon-McMillan head boys basketball coach Rick Bell rotated his glances between each team throughout the pregame, he saw what many have seen in the Rams – a team that is ranked in the top five in the state.
Pine-Richland overcame 12 three-pointers by the Big Macs and defeated Canon-McMillan, 87-74 in the WPIAL Class 6-A quarterfinals Saturday at North Allegheny High School.
As he walked off the court as the final buzzer sounded, Bell made sure to individually stop each of his players to shake their hands as the Big Macs faithful, many standing on the court, cheered a team that earlier this week had recorded the school’s first boys basketball playoff win since 2008 when it beat North Allegheny.
“The one thing we have talked about in these last two games is if you watch Pine-Richland, and the other night North Allegheny, and then you watch us warm up, if someone didn’t know you would say, “Are you kidding me?” Bell said. “I’ve told them to intimidate teams with what we are able to. We aren’t going to intimidate them with our size or our physique, but we can do it with our effort. We can intimidate with togetherness. We can intimidate with our communication. We knew who we were. We never worry about what we are not. We embrace what we are.”
Despite 12 three-point field goals from Canon-Mac – eight in the first half – the two-headed attack of Pine-Richland’s Andrew Petcash and Phil Jurkovec combined for 45 points – too much for the Big Macs.
An up-and-down start favored C-M in the first quarter. A three-pointer from Carson Miller with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter gave the Big Macs (18-6) a 24-23 lead.
However, after keeping it close through the early minutes of the second quarter, Petcash connected on a deep three-point shot at the buzzer to finish a 10-2 run that give Pine-Richland a 47-39 lead heading into halftime.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve played,” said Pine-Richland head coach Jeff Ackermann. “We’ve been chomping at the bit to get going. You try to keep motivated as best as you can but that’s a really long time.”
Despite an eight-point deficit at the break, and being down 10 points to start the fourth quarter, C-M wouldn’t go away.
Miller took the ball hard to the basket to make a contested layup and eventually finish the three-point play after a free throw to cut the Rams’ lead to 63-56.
After two consecutive field goals from Petcash gave Pine-Richland a comfortable 13-point lead, 69-56, the Big Macs again made a run.
The next three possessions for the Big Macs resulted in baskets as its defense tightened. Another layup from Miller cut the lead to 69-65 with 3:48 remaining.
However, Pine-Richland finished the game off with a 10-4 run, including six points from 6-6 center Andrew Kristofic, who finished with 15 points.
“As a head coach, when you get a group of kids who are willing to give you everything they got and be together, what more is there?” Bell asked.
“We wanted to try and keep it close with four minutes to go and hope with the pressure of being No. 1, and being supposed to win, it would get to them. It didn’t and that’s the reason why they are ranked where they are. We have no reason to hang our heads.”
Pine-Richland (22-1) was led by a game-high 23 points from Jurkovec. Petcash finished with 22 points.
“When you play against a team like that, you have to pick your poison,” Bell said. “We couldn’t play man-to-man because we would have had matchup problems all over the place.”
Britton Beachy finished with a team-high 22 points. Miller scored 21.
“I knew two things going into this game,” Bell said of this team, which set a school record for wins. “I knew our kids weren’t going to be afraid and I knew they weren’t going to quit. As a coach, what more can you ask for?”
The Big Macs might not yet be finished. The WPIAL will send seven Class 6-A teams to the state tournament, so a Pine-Richland win in the semifinals will keep the season alive.