It’s all in the Ds
DeGregorios, defense lift Trojans to title
When Lincoln Park beat North Catholic in the WPIAL Class 3A championship a year ago, the Leopards did a swell job holding down North Catholic leading scorer Isaac DeGregorio.
Lincoln Park did a pretty good against DeGregorio in the championship rematch Thursday night. But the difference this time was DeGregorio had a little more help — and North Catholic had a lot more defense.
North Catholic won the title with a 65-56 victory against Lincoln Park at Petersen Events Center. The score was tied late in the third quarter.
It was North Catholic’s fourth WPIAL championship since 2009, but the first three were under coach Dave Long. This one came under Dave DeGregorio, in his second year as coach.
Isaac DeGregorio, a senior point guard and the coach’s son, had 19 points, but 12 came from the free-throw line and he had only 9 points through three quarters. North Catholic (24-2), the No. 2 seed for the tournament, got 14 points from senior forward Jackson Paschall and 11 from senior forward Jake Tomer. DeGreogrio was key with playmaking and freethrow shooting, making 12 of 12, including 10 of 10 in the fourth quarter. He had only 14 a year ago when North Catholic lost to Lincoln Park, 62-50.
Defensively, North Catholic this time held Lincoln Park to its fourth-lowest offensive output of the season. Lincoln Park (21-5), the No. 1 seed, came in averaging 66 points, but had only 43 with two minutes left in the game.
“Our kids have really taken pride in playing defense this year,” Dave DeGregorio said. “We give out a defensive player of the game every game. Our defense, we’re able to turn you over in the full court, but not give up much at the back end.”
Lincoln Park had 20 turnovers. Andre Wilder, a 6-foot-6 senior forward, scored 16 points, but he had only five after halftime. Senior forward Tanner Mathos had 12, but only two in the second half. Senior point guard Isaiah Smith, who averages 14 points, was held to 8 and had only one basket until the final 1:30.
“This year, our half-court defense has been crazy,” Isaac DeGregorio said. “The first half, we weren’t making shots, but we kept with it and we just rode our defense. The second half we made shots and still defended. And give credit to Isaiah Jackson. He defended the
heck out of Isaiah Smith.”
Lincoln Park led at halftime, 29-23, but North Catholic started to come on in the third quarter.
“I thought the second half our spacing was better offensively,” Dave DeGregorio said. “They were hugging shooters in the first half and saying, ‘Finish at the rim.’ We struggled with it the first half but we said at halftime that you have to start getting downhill and battle back with the physical play.”
The score was tied, 4040, before North Catholic scored on an out-of-bounds play at the third-quarter buzzer. The Trojans got a 3-pointer from Jake Tomer and a turnover and layup from Jackson Paschall to open a 47-40 lead 77 seconds into the fourth quarter.
After Lincoln Park cut the deficit to 49-43 with 3:46 remaining, North Catholic scored eight consecutive points to grab a 57-43 lead with 2:01 left.
For the DeGregorios the title was a long time coming. Isaac DeGregorio was a freshman at Hampton when the Talbots lost in the 2017 WPIAL 3A title game. Then North Catholic lost last year. Owen DeGregorio, Isaac’s younger brother, is a reserve on North Catholic’s team.
For Dave DeGregorio, he also lost one championship game as the coach at North Allegheny.
“I’d like stand here and say this is nothing I ever thought about,” Dave DeGregorio said. “It’s not something I think about often, but you have to break through at some point in time. You don’t want to be that guy just always got there.”