Prexies beat S-L a third time, headed to PIAA playoffs
Wash High’s Markel Pulliam, who scored 20 points Monday, celebrates after the Prexies defeated Seton-La Salle 68-53.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter Wash High’s Anthony Popeck tries to get around Seton-La-Salle’s defense during the second half of Monday night’s game at Peters Township.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter Wash High’s Matthew Popeck tries to get a shot off as he is fouled by Seton-La-Salle’s Mike George during Monday night’s game.
McMURRAY – For Washington, the second season under head coach Ron Faust has often been the tale of two halves, two teams or even two minutes.
The Prexies’ offense has, at times, looked like disorganized chaos or a pickup basketball team competing without a running clock or even keeping score. It all came together in the final eight minutes of Monday night’s PIAA play-in game.
Wash High saw a lead evaporate and committed several mental mistakes with clock management. But the Prexies pulled things together, used quick guard play with a dash of resilient fourth-quarter performance to punch their ticket to the state playoffs.
Senior Markel Pulliam and junior Matt Popeck combined for 17 fourth-quarter points, including going 11 of 11 from the free throw line, to help Wash High defeat Section 3-AA rival Seton-La Salle 68-53 in a PIAA Class AA play-in game at Peters Township High School.
The Prexies (18-7), who clinched a spot in the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 2010, will face Quaker Valley (20-5) Thursday for the WPIAL’s fifth seed in the state tournament Thursday at a site and time to be determined.
Pulliam had a team-high 20 points and Popeck added 19 for Wash High, which shot 25 of 42 from the field – with most shots coming from within three feet of the basket.
“It was obvious if you were here at this game that I don’t think we’re going to be nominated for an immense basketball award, but at the same time, we have so much guts and grittiness that we don’t have any idea how much time is on the clock or what the situation is,” Wash High head coach Ron Faust said. “In the fourth quarter, that played to our strength instead of a weakness.”
It almost became their undoing in the third. With senior forward Nate Swart in foul trouble, the Prexies struggling grabbing rebounds and shot just 2 of 12 from the field. Seton-La Salle guard Cletus Helton’s two free throws cut the Rebels’ deficit to one point entering the fourth.
Moments later, Nolan Abbiatici banked in a three-pointer from the left wing to give Seton-La Salle (15-11), which lost twice to Wash High in the regular season, its first lead of the game.
That’s when the Rebels started to shoot three-pointer after three-pointer, but with Swart back in the game, Wash High controlled the boards and thrived on offense with Pulliam and Popeck driving to the basket to draw fouls or finish with lay-ins fit for a highlight reel.
They combined for 17 of Wash High’s 29 fourth-quarter points and Swart chipped in six of his 12 points in the final eight minutes.
“Their guards were just too quick for our guards,” Seton-La Salle head coach Mark Walsh said. “Pulliam is very challenging to guard off the dribble. If he gets space, he’ll go right around you. They were too quick for us in man-to-man and we didn’t take advantage of our opportunity in the third quarter to grab a lead. If we did that, then we could play a zone.”
The Rebels went seven possessions without scoring and were 2 of 8 from three-point range after Abbiatici’s shot gave them the lead early in the fourth quarter. Wash High, meanwhile, was 9 for 9 from the field in the final eight minutes.
It was far from the game plan that worked in the first half, when sophomore forward George Mike had 10 first-half points and Seton-La Salle found success against Wash High’s zone defense.
Balanced scoring and quickness off the dribble helped Wash High forge a 15-point lead with five minutes left in the first half, but like its opponent in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs – Laurel – the Prexies strayed away from the motion offense that worked well.
The Rebels cut the deficit to eight at halftime and held Wash High to just two field goals in the third quarter.
“Things came so easy offensively that when you back off, and we started to back off with about three minutes to go in the second quarter, this isn’t an off-on switch,” Faust said. “It’s tough to get that tempo going again. When they start sneaking up on the scoreboard, the shots are a bit tougher, the passes are more difficult and we worked through that. I’m proud of them for working through that.”
Helton had 17 of his team-high 20 points in the second half.