Feb 19, 2019 4 min read

IMPERIAL – Canon-McMillan was dead. It really was.

The Big Macs had scored only 31 points through three quarters. And playing against the stingiest defense in Class 6A, their 10-point deficit seemed more like 30.

However, this Canon-McMillan boys basketball team is nothing if not determined.

The Big Macs turned the tables on North Allegheny, holding the Tigers to only five points in the fourth quarter, rallied to force overtime then scored 15 points over the extra four minutes to complete a improbable and thrilling 61-59 come-from-behind victory Tuesday night in the first round of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs at West Allegheny High School.

The win sends the Canon-McMillan (15-8) into the quarterfinals Saturday against second-seeded Latrobe. The Big Macs, who were once 3-4 in section play, have won six in a row.

Not bad for a team that doesn’t have any highly regarded players.

“We don’t have any all-section kids on this team,” said C-M guard Drew Engle, who turned in an all-everything performance by scoring a game-high 21 points.

“What we have is what teams today don’t have, and that’s a team-first attitude. We don’t care who scores.”

Canon-McMillan didn’t do much scoring through three quarters against North Allegheny (13-9), which allowed only 52.8 points per game during the regular season. The Tigers held Canon-McMillan to nine points in the first quarter, seven in the third quarter and led 41-31 with eight minutes to play.

The Big Macs, however, switched to a 1-3-1 three-quarter court trap in the fourth quarter and it stymied the Tigers (13-9), who at times seemed committed to running out the clock instead of adding on to their lead in the fourth quarter.

“When you see us go to the 1-3-1 trap,” C-M head coach Rick Bell said, “you know we’re desperate. There is nothing else on the playsheet.”

This time, the trap worked, forcing several turnovers that the Big Macs quickly turned into points. North Allegheny scored only five points in the fourth quarter.

Tommy Samosky, who finished with 10 points, got C-M going with a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter. After an NA turnover, Samosky scored again on a drive that cut the gap to 41-36.

The Big Macs closed to within 46-44 with 49 seconds left when Elliott Waller made a jump shot. After North Allegheny missed the front end of a one-and-one, Waller made two free throws with 29 seconds to play that tied the score at 46-46.

North Allegheny held the ball for the final shot of regulation but missed a corner three. However, the ball went out of bounds off the Big Macs with one tick left on the click. The Tigers’ inbounds pass was too high for 6-4 center Anthony Hattrup, who had a team-high 19 points, to catch and the game went to overtime.

The lead changed hands four times in overtime until Samosky made a three-pointer that put the Big Macs in front for good at 54-52. Canon-Mac made five free throws around a basket by Hattrup to push the gap to 59-54.

The Tigers made one final push as Mike Egnaczyk made a three-pointer from the left wing – his only basket of the game – that pulled NA to within 59-57, but Engel made two free throws that capped the comeback.

“What you saw tonight is us,” Bell said. “We were losing to Peters Township 58-49 with four minutes to play and won. I reminded our kids of that. We’ve been in a bunch of games like that one.”

Yet none of those games and wins seemed as satisfying to the Big Macs.

“We’ve always trusted our coaching staff,” Engel said outside his team’s loud locker room. “They always have us prepared. We knew we were playing a good defensive team, so Coach Bake (Robert Baker) is a former Division I player and he took turns in practice guarding each one of us because North Allegheny’s ball pressure is the best in 6A. He had us prepared for it.”

Beachy finished with 14 points for C-M and Waller had 11, including seven over the fourth quarter and overtime.

“You know how guys after the Super Bowl say, ‘I’m going to Disney World.’ Well, I’m going to practice,” Bell said enthusiastically.