Feb 21, 2017 4 min read

BALDWIN – The Trinity Hillers boys basketball team entered the first round of the WPIAL Class 5-A playoffs riding a four-game winning streak.

Those wins were due in large part to playing solid team defense that forced turnovers and got hands in shooters faces, making it tough for the opposition to get open looks at the basket.

That wasn’t the recipe Tuesday night at Baldwin High School as Franklin Regional put on a shooting display from the perimeter.

The Panthers were able to penetrate the Hillers’ defense and find open shooters with ease, making 12 three-point shots on the night, as their perimeter game carried them to an 80-69 first-round playoff victory.

With the win, Franklin Regional (13-10) advances to take on Moon, which had a first-round bye.

“We didn’t know if they were going to come out man or zone,” said Franklin Regional head coach Brad Midgley. “You can see their size. They are a big and physical team. Once they came out in man, we figured there would be a lot of driving lanes. We made a lot of smart plays kicking out to open shooters instead of challenging them at the rim. We hit a lot of shots tonight.”

The Panthers broke open a tight 57-53 game after three quarters with a 10-3 run to start the fourth.

Tyler Giles and Aidan Fisch knocked down back-to-back threes to give Franklin Regional a 67-59 advantage. Giles and Fisch each knocked down three shots from three-point range on the night, each finishing with 11 points.

Hunter Stonecheck led Franklin Regional with 15 points.

That proved to be enough breathing room for the Panthers, who iced the game from the free-throw line, going a perfect 14-for-14 on the night.

“We just couldn’t stay in front of anyone,” Trinity head coach Tim Tessmer said. “They were killing us on our rotations. They executed on all of those threes. We watched five or six game tapes on them and they didn’t make that many threes combined.”

The game was back-and-forth from the opening tip as there were 13 lead changes in the first quarter alone as neither team led by more than three points during the opening eight minutes.

Trinity (14-9) took a 24-23 lead after one quarter on a late layup from Steven Schultz.

Joey Koroly paced the Hillers early offense with nine first quarter points, all on three-point shots. Koroly led all scorers with 23 points.

Franklin Regional made the Hillers pay early on, knocking down five three-pointers in the first quarter.

The second quarter was more of the same from each team with a fast, up-and-down tempo.

The lead changed hands eight more times in the second quarter before the Panthers closed the half on a 12-4 run.

Back-to-back three’s from Aidan Sadoski and Nate Leopold put the Panthers up 38-34 with two minutes left in the first half. The four-point advantage was the biggest either team held at that point.

The Panthers took a 44-38 lead into halftime, closing the half getting three layups coming off offensive rebounds, which also was a problem for Trinity all night.

“I thought our energy was good,” Tessmer said. “We had a good game plan. They just made shots and got to loose balls and we didn’t.”

Trinity clawed back and tied the game in the third quarter, but Fisch knocked down a couple more threes to keep the Panthers on top.

Every time Trinity made a push, Franklin Regional was able to answer with a big three-point shot.

“I feel terrible for these seniors,” Tessmer said. “These were the guys who were with me when we started this thing. We went from 2-19 to back-to-back playoff appearances. But we should be heading home with a win and that part hurts.”