Dec 29, 2017 5 min read

McMURRAY – There was no mass hysteria, no large celebration usually reserved for postseason victories and championships. No, this is because Washington High School boys basketball coach Ron Faust wants his players to get used to wins like the one the Prexies enjoyed Friday evening at the Peters Township Holiday Tournament.

Battling a deficit in roster depth and size, the Prexies fought and scrapped their way to a pulsating 46-45 win over Upper St. Clair. A win that might surprise many who follow high school basketball around the WPIAL, but will not move the shock meter with Faust.

“I certainly want my players to be happy because they won, but I don’t want them to be surprised,” Faust noted. “There is no reason to be surprised. They give a premiere effort every time they step on the floor and we can make all kinds of excuses about size and how many people are in the other school. Just play and let it fall where it may.”

Where it fell was on the shoulders of senior guard Jordan Swart. After Panthers forward Quentin Nelson scored on a short jump shot in the lane to give Upper St. Clair a 45-44 lead with 10 seconds left, Swart took an inbounds pass following a timeout, dribbled through pressure, cut to the center of the floor near the foul line extended and floated a leaner over multiple defenders as the clock hit triple zeroes.

His shot grazed the right side of the rim and nestled through the twine with no time remaining, giving the Prexies (5-2) the win.

“I’m not a coach who is going to sit down and draw up some fantastic play,” Faust noted. “My experience is that a lot of times in that situation, kids are going to run that play drawn up whether it is there or not. My comment to them was we have to get to the basket. The only way you can score points is to shoot the ball.”

Swart, along with Dan Ethridge, finished with 14 points for the Prexies. Zahmere Robinson chipped in with seven but fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

Kyle Meinert and Jack Hansberry had 10 points each for USC (5-4).

Upper St. Clair’s stifling pressure defense did force 19 Washington turnovers, but the Prexies refused to be rattled and kept clawing back when it appeared the Panthers would take control.

Washington outscored USC 13-7 in the third quarter. Joe Mercer and Tristen Wood scored layups in consecutive turnover sequences to give the Prexies a 35-31 lead toward the end of the quarter. An Ethridge putback off a miss extended the Prexies’ lead to four at the beginning of the fourth.

After Robinson fouled out, Nelson began to assert himself in the post. He scored two in-close buckets to give the Panthers a 41-39 lead midway through the fourth. A Swart leaner tied at 41, but Hansberry gave the lead back to the Panthers with a put back of his own, making it 43-41 Panthers late in the quarter.

Another Swart runner along with a Tristen Wood foul shot gave the Prexies a 44-43 lead. After a Upper St. Clair turnover, Ethridge was fouled and had a one-and-one from the line. His front end miss preceded Nelson’s basket, which eventually set the stage for Swart’s heroics.

“Jordan stepped up and I’m not surprised with that,” Faust said.

Ethridge was key for the Prexies early as he notched eight first half points. Washington started off strong, building first quarter leads of 7-1 and 14-7. Upper St. Clair responded in the second quarter with an 11-0 run that included two Meinert treys as the Panthers built a 26-22 halftime lead.

South Fayette 56, Peters Twp. 51:

In what could be considered a mild upset, South Fayette rebounded from a 25-point to Upper St. Clair the previous night and handed host Peters Township a 56-51 loss.

Three Lions scored in double figures. Connor Mislan led the way with 17 points, while Noah Plack and Drew Franklin contributed 13 and 10, respectively.

Daniel Boehme led the Indians with 16 points while Colin Cote had 10.

South Fayette (4-3) made an early statement when Plack threw down a thunderous dunk of a transition feed from Braden Hoy to score the game’s first points.

“It’s a neat thing because he gives so much to our program,” Mislan said in reference to Plack. “I know he is a football guy, but he competes like crazy. But when he did that, I can feel it from our bench.”

A scary moment occurred in the second quarter when PT’s Dax Ploskina jumped to corral a pass and tumbled over South Fayette’s Austin Smith. Ploskina crashed hard onto the court, injuring the left side of his upper body. Ploskina left the gym with his upper arm and shoulder area bandaged and covered in ice before halftime. He is expected to miss significant time, according to Indians coach Gary Goga.

“That was tough to see,” Goga said. “Like the Steelers say, next man up. That’s how were going to have to do it.”

Senior guard Conor Pederson has an injured knee and is also expected to be out a while longer, according to Goga.

The Indians appeared energized enough to overcome a three-point halftime deficit by going on a 12-6 run to open the third quarter, giving the hosts a 33-30 lead.

But Mislan’s off balance three at the buzzer gave the Lions a 38-36 lead going into the fourth and they never wavered as South Fayette made seven of eight free throws late in the fourth to ice the win.