Wash High’s balancing act topples C-H
According to Wash High boys basketball coach Ron Faust, he has yet to see a complete performance from start to finish from his team.
After three players scoring in double-figures again Tuesday night in what looked like as complete of a performance as Wash High has had this season – a 77-59 win over Section 3-AA opponent Chartiers-Houston – balance is something the Prexies are continuing to rely on.
“To know that you have people on the offensive side of the floor that can score is vital,” said Faust. “We have had consistent and distributed scoring from many of our starters in the last several games.”
The consistent scoring began with senior Markel Pulliam, whose 18 points in the first half led to a game-high 24 points.
Nate Swart and Matt Popeck also reached double-digits for Wash High (4-1, 6-5) with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
The Prexies, who struggled with bench production early in the season, found defensive help from guards Isaiah Perry, Ronnie Paith and Tariq Wilson. Both Perry and Paith had the duty of defending Chartiers-Houston’s leading scorer, A.J. Myers, holding the dynamic junior guard to only three field goals.
“One of the characteristics of good teams that we’ve had in the past was a shutdown defender,” said Faust. “The last few games, Isaiah (Perry) has played real well off the bench. We need to continue to lengthen our bench and are still working hard to get consistency.”
Myers was able to find hard-fought success in his 20-point performance, which mainly came from the foul line, where he went 12 of 15.
Another glaring difference that finally favored the Prexies was size, as Wash High was able to create second-chance opportunities on numerous possessions.
“We like to take advantage of any opportunities we have,” said Faust. “Tonight, it happened to be that we were a little bit stronger inside.”
Wash High was able to use its size and athleticism to jump out to an early 19-5 lead, a deficit too large to overcome for the Bucs.
“Size is a factor,” said Chartiers-Houston head coach Eugene Briggs. “The biggest factor, which has been an issue most of the season for us, is that we come out extremely lethargic. The other team always throws the first punch and then we are countering. We have to be able to come out, set the tempo and be physical.”
The Prexies racked up another eight-point run in the middle of the second quarter to take a 38-24 advantage at halftime.
Despite Chartiers-Houston (1-4, 7-5) entering on a four-game winning streak, Briggs knows that coming out slowly and playing with confidence is an issue the Bucs have to address.
“To beat the top teams in the section, you can’t come out slow,” he said. “That has even been a problem even in the games we have won. If we can play with more confidence, which we get in bits and pieces, and find seven guys that really just go after it, then we will be fine.”
Wash High left the Bucs distantly in the rearview mirror with a 10-2 run immediately out of halftime, headlined by seven points from Perry.
Cam Hanley, who matched Myers with 20 points, scored all of Chartiers-Houston’s points in the third quarter with the exception of a buzzer-beater that cut the Prexies’ lead to 56-37.
“It really showed in our last game against Laurel,” said Faust. “We have demonstrated a commitment to winning. Tonight, we showed flashes of it. You really have to want to compete. When you do that, and combine it with athleticism, you can be competitive with many teams.”