West Greene falls into Eden Christian’s trap
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter West GreeneþÄôs Eric Stoll takes the ball down court passed Eden ChristianþÄôs Drew Aiken during a WPIAL game at Trinity High School on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter West GreeneþÄôs Kolton Rush takes the ball down court passed Eden ChristianþÄôs Seth Delposen during a WPIAL game at Trinity High School on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter West GreeneþÄôs Benjamin Jackson gets a shot passed Eden ChristianþÄôs Tanner Gross during a WPIAL game at Trinity High School on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017.
The Eden Christian High School boys basketball team was down to his final defense when they finally picked a winner.
Eden Christian’s switch to a trapping 1-2-2 half-court defense in the second half Friday night proved to be the difference in the game, sparking the Warriors to a 46-35 victory over West Greene in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs at Trinity’s Hiller Hall.
The win sends Eden Christian (12-9) into the quarterfinals Thursday against top-seeded Monessen.
Eden Christian had to overcome a double-digit deficit. West Greene (13-8), behind 6-8 center Craig Weaver, led 14-6 after one quarter and 19-9 midway through the second quarter.
Eden Christian closed to within 19-15 at halftime, getting basket by Sam Delposen at the buzzer. In the second half, Eden Christian’s trapping defense forced West Greene into 11 turnovers and held the Pioneers to just six field goals.
“When teams play us man-to-man we score,” West Greene coach Jim Romanus said. “We have sets that are really good.”
Against the half-court trap, the Pioneers too often turned the ball over or rushed perimeter jump shots instead of working the ball inside to Weaver or 6-5 Kolton Rush. Weaver led West Greene with 13 points but did not have a field goal in the second half.
“It came down to the zone again,” Romanus said. “They went to the zone and we didn’t have the guard play to control and pass the ball against it. In the second half, when they extended the zone against us, we started shooting too quickly. We fell into their trap.”
Unable to set an offensive rhythm it could live with, West Greene saw Eden Christian go on a 12-2 run to take a 27-23 lead. A three-pointer by Nathan Brudnock, who scored 10 points, pulled the Pioneers to within 27-26 but Eden Christian put together a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter to open a 40-29 lead with five minutes left. The Warriors then went into a delay offense and sealed the win, though they converted only five of 12 free throws down the stretch.
“We had used all of our defenses when we went to the trap. It is something we do use,” Eden Christian coach Todd Aiken explained. “That got us back in the game. We wanted to make one ball-handler take on two defenders. They didn’t get easy looks with the big guy after that.”
Weaver finished the game with 14 rebounds and two blocked shots.
“I was real impressed with him,” Aiken said.
Weaver is part of a four-member senior class that will be difficult for West Greene to replace. The group was trying for the Pioneers first playoff victory since the 1990-91 season.
“I feel bad for our seniors,” Romanus said. “That’s not the way they wanted to go out. Those kids came a long way. Four years ago, they didn’t win a game. That entire senior class is great. They are going to leave a huge void.”
Chase Haring led Eden Christian with 15 points including eight in the fourth quarter.