Dec 25, 2018 3 min read

If they say a picture is worth 1,000 words, Peters Township High School boys basketball coach Gary Goga could’ve eclipsed that by a long shot when he saw a photo taken at the KSA Disney Classic tournament in Orlando, Fla., last week.

As Nate Bayer launched a three-point shot, players on the Indians’ bench stood up and raised their hands with hope, many of them also wearing smiles.

“It was so symbolic,” Goga said of the photo. “We are playing together, making the extra pass, talking and communicating on the floor. It’s a domino effect. All 22 guys. You can’t win games with a selfish team. You just can’t.”

Peters Township swept all three games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex to win its bracket, momentum it hopes to bring home when hosting its annual Christmas tournament Thursday and Friday.

Expected to be one of the better holiday tournaments in the area, the Indians will host South Fayette Thursday night and Washington Friday. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.

Other games in the predetermined matchups include Washington playing Upper St. Clair at 6 p.m., Thursday. South Fayette plays the Panthers at the same time Friday.

It’s momentum Peters Township (5-2) was never able to capture last season, especially when it was about to host its tournament. The Indians lost four consecutive games entering last season. A loss to South Fayette on the second day of the tournament sent them into another long losing spiral that lasted the next six games.

The same four teams this year enter the tournament with a combined 20-5 record with none of them having more than two losses.

“We are really fortunate to have these programs willing to come and play,” Goga said. “We will be playing two really good teams and have two really good games.”

Peters Township has scored at least 60 points in every game this season, an effort led behind hot-shooting Colin Cote, who leads the team with 20 points per game. Dax Ploskina, Sean Werner and Thomas Melonja, who has played four games after working his way back from a preseason ankle injury, have helped balance the scoring.

The smiles last year were faint, and at many points during an injury-plagued season that ended with a 5-17 record, non-existent.

“We have shot it really well, no doubt about it,” Goga said. “The time being put in is paying off. The moment that final buzzer sounded last year, it was over. I don’t put any emphasis on it. I don’t think (our players) even care about what happened now. They are focused on the now.”

The only two losses the Indians have this season are a two-point loss to one of the favorites in Class 6A, Butler, and an overtime loss to Upper St. Clair. They defeated New Castle in a non-section game.

“I’m not a big fan on the term moral victory,” Goga said. “People that like moral victories are the same people that like participation trophies. If there is such a thing as a good loss, then you want it against good competition. Playing these teams early gets you a win late.”