Popeck finds range as Wash High moves on
FARRELL – As Matt Popeck was called for a charging foul while driving the lane in the middle of the second quarter Thursday night, looks of frustration and disbelief came over the Washington High School senior.
Popeck, whose early success in the game quickly diminished with several second-quarter shots that uncharacteristically rimmed in and out, stalled a Prexies offense that wasn’t finding much success elsewhere.
However, it wouldn’t take Popeck long to get his shooting touch back as he scored more than half of Wash High’s points in the final two quarters as the Prexies defeated Erie First Christian Academy, 59-46, in the second round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs at Farrell High School.
The win advances Washington into a quarterfinals matchup Saturday at a site and time to be determined against Lincoln Park, the second-seeded team from the WPIAL. Lincoln Park defeated Greenville, 58-46.
“The rhythm didn’t come at first,” said Popeck, who finished with a game-high 26 points. “Stuff wasn’t going right for me in that first half. My shots weren’t falling at the beginning but sometimes that happens. You just have to stick with it and keep playing.”
Popeck did that when it mattered most for Washington (22-5) after the Prexies lost a 24-21 halftime lead. Erie First scored seven points of the third quarter to grab its first lead of the game.
After trading baskets – with the Prexies eventually regaining a one-point advantage – Popeck connected on a three-point shot from the corner, forced a steal and hit consecutive floaters on back-to-back possessions to give Washington a 38-32 lead. The Prexies never trailed again.
The 7-0 run at the end of the third quarter by Popeck, interrupted by a layup from First Erie’s Zam Chew that broke three minutes of scoreless basketball by the Eagles, carried over to the fourth quarter. Popeck made another three-pointer and added a free throw to give Washington a 44-34 lead with 6:44 remaining.
“We missed a couple of early opportunities to grow the lead,” Washington head coach Ron Faust said. “We knew it was going to be a scrap until the end.”
Erie First (17-10) took that literally. Several hard fouls by forward Samuel Lawal and Penn State University football commit Jesse Luketa had each player in trouble throughout the final two quarters.
Lawal, who picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter, fouled out with 6:44 remaining. Luketa followed him to the bench with his fifth foul nearly three minutes later after Erie First cut the Prexies’ lead to 45-41.
“That game wasn’t going to come down by any particular calls from the referee but how we were going to just play the game,” Faust said. “We knew they didn’t have a great deal of depth, so we wanted to push the pace and attack them. Some other teams who faced them made the mistake by thinking you can’t attack them. We wanted to get their interior players in trouble. Those guys are horses. They are physical specimens.”
Washington’s Isaiah Robinson took advantage of the then-vacant frontcourt for the Eagles as he grabbed the offensive rebound off a missed free throw and took it back up to put the Prexies ahead by seven points, 48-41.
Hunter Kallay led Erie First with 16 points by finding success in the first half with three three-pointers but failed to make a field goal over the final 16 minutes. Lawal had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We have to play defense,” Faust said. “We just have to. We had more players coming off the bench contributing to that effort. If it’s not going our way offensively we can’t let that carry to the defensive end or we don’t have a chance.”
The Prexies had eight different players score, including Robinson with nine points. Robinson, the team’s second-leading scorer, did not play in the first round because of disciplinary reasons.
Jordan Swart finished with seven points.
“We’re very resilient,” Popeck said. “Every single player on this team plays hard. We just didn’t come out with the right mindset. Once we got it going, we were good to go.”
said Faust, who added that it’s going to take a team effort Saturday.
“We just have to be ready to play,” Faust said. “We have one opportunity coming up and hopefully one more after that. It’s all hands on deck from here on out.”