Feb 13, 2016 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Studying an opponent’s previous games can be deceiving. Though the adage is film doesn’t lie, it does not determine the future and can paint a partial picture of what a team is capable.

When Waynesburg head coach Kirk King watched Shady Side Academy’s final two regular-season games, he didn’t see much size, took note of two strong scorers for the Indians and didn’t see much outside shooting.

The scouting report was insufficient.

Shady Side made 12 of 23 three-point attempts and junior Etai Groff scored 45 points as the Indians defeated Waynesburg, 89-44, in a WPIAL Class AA preliminary-round playoff game at Keystone Oaks Saturday afternoon.

“We were not expecting that,” King said. “When we watched film of their last two games, which were games they needed to win, they didn’t hit a lot of threes. We know (Goff and junior guard Kirf Olander) were pretty good shooters, but they rained them in today.”

The Indians (14-8) advance to the first round, where they will face second-seeded Lincoln Park Wednesday at North Allegheny. The Raiders saw their season end with an 11-9 overall record.

Groff, a 6-3 swingman, made five three-pointers, including three in the Indians’ 30-point third quarter, and grabbed nine rebounds. Though he drained uncontested shots from around the perimeter, he also had a strong inside game and made 8 of 9 free throws.

“You don’t see it often unless it’s the girl from Imani, then you see it every night,” Shady Side head coach David Vadnais said of Groff’s game. “I’ve not coached a kid that scored like that and he did it in a way we request him to do.

“It wasn’t just catch and shoot three’s from all over. If it was an open three, he took it. If it was an offensive rebound he could go get, he got it and put it back.”

There were plenty of open looks early for Groff.

He made back-to-back three-pointers to start the game, and Olander, who chipped in 23 points for Shady Side, added a third to put the Raiders down early. Waynesburg pulled to within two points midway through the first quarter after sophomore guard Darton McIntire grabbed a rebound and passed to Ron Howard for a fast break layup.

Waynesburg trailed by 25-15 at the end of the first quarter, but the Indians’ inside game forced King to switch from his man-to-man defense. With Raiders junior forward Mitch Warman out of the game because of foul trouble, the Indians continued to drive, finishing with a layup or forcing Waynesburg to scramble by passing to an open teammate.

McIntire, who entered the postseason as the WPIAL’s leading at just over 26 points per game, scored 27 points, but Shady Side tried to frustrate him with a physical man-to-man defense.

“They were a bigger team than I thought and they were physical, you could see it out there,” King said. “They manned us up a bit pretty hard and when we drove to the hoop. That changed the momentum.”

Shady Side scored 25 more points in the second quarter, including 11 by Groff, to take a 50-28 lead at halftime. To slow the Indians’ perimeter shooting, the Raiders switched to a 2-2-1 press, but Shady Side made four more three-pointers and Groff continued his dominant afternoon, starting the third quarter with a three-pointer from the left corner, scoring on a fast break less than 30 seconds later and setting up Olander for a three-pointer on the following possession.

“We do have very good shooters, but we’ve had games where we’ve struggled,” Vadnais said. “It’s just a matter of it all came together today.”

McIntire had all 13 of the Raiders’ third-quarter points, but they faced a 41-point deficit entering the final eight minutes. Warman, who finished with eight points and five rebounds, fouled out early in the fourth quarter and Waynesburg finished the game with its reserves.

“This is back-to-back years in the playoffs, so we’ll build on it. We are not satisfied by today,” King said. “We’re all competitors. We wanted to do better than this. It wasn’t a good showing. We’ll work on it for next season.”