Vikings fix flat, drive into semifinals
Erase 11-point halftime deficit, race by Spartans
After a nearly two-week break between the Feb. 10 regular-season finale and playing its first postseason game, Sto-Rox did not look like itself against Brentwood.
“We came out flat and looked like we didn’t play in two weeks,” Vikings coach Ryan Hughes said.
Sto-Rox went from looking flat to flattening the Spartans with a big third-quarter run that led to a 71-61 triumph in a WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal played at Chartiers Valley.
The Vikings (17-6) will face Shenango in the semifinals Tuesday at a time and site to be determined. The Vikings, the No. 2 seed with a firstround bye, have won eight WPIAL titles in school history, but are in the midst of a 18-year title drought. The Vikings began the season 3-6, but that seems like ancient history after Friday’s victory, their 14th in a row.
Brentwood (18-6) led, 33-22, at halftime before the Vikings responded after the break. Sto-Rox went on a 14-0 tear over the final four minutes of the third quarter to take control and then fend off the Spartans down the stretch.
The Vikings turned their first-half weakness into their second-half strength.
“The key point is they outhustled us on everything [in the first half],” Hughes said. “They were beating us up and down the court, getting on the floor and getting the loose balls. That’s what we did in the second half. We brought our style of play.”
Malik Smith paced Sto-Rox with a game-high 26 points, including an emphatic jam over Brentwood’s Zachary
Keib with 40 seconds remaining that served as an exclamation point to the victory. Jamil Williams added 15 points, A.J. Nelson 12 and Corey Simmons 10.
C.J. Ziegler netted 21 points for Brentwood and his torrid second-quarter shooting put his team in control at that point. Early foul trouble forced the Vikings to sit back in a 2-3 zone and Ziegler found an opening from the right wing to fire away. He converted four 3-pointers and a free throw to account for 13 points in a quarter in which Brentwood outscored the Vikings, 22-7.
“We knew the pressure was coming,” Brentwood coach Dan Thayer said. “First half, we did a really good job with it. The third quarter, we had trouble with it. We couldn’t keep that third quarter where we needed to be.”
Sto-Rox seized control of the game by utilizing that 14-0 run to outscore the Spartans in the third, 24-8. Brentwood was able to cut the deficit to four points midway through the third on a driving basket by Aaron McPherson, but that was as close as the Spartans would get.
“Some of the shots we hit earlier, we didn’t get in the second half,” Thayer said. “They adjusted and we weren’t able to make a couple big ones when it counted.”
Brentwood began the season with 10 consecutive wins before a midseason fourgame losing skid. The Spartans had righted their ship by the postseason and coming into Friday had won eight of nine.
Hughes has 10 seniors on his team and credited that depth for pushing through the rough patches. Whether it was dealing with foul trouble or keeping up a relentless pace throughout four quarters of action, the Vikings rotation was up to the task.
“Our bench carried us today,” Hughes said.