Coval and crew lift Parkland
Trojans use team effort to beat Liberty 57-43
Nick Coval thought it was no big deal.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference’s most valuable player hobbled off the court with 5:53 left in the third of Saturday night’s District 11 Class 6A championship game against Liberty.
“I just slipped and my knee buckled,” Coval said. “Our trainer Josh stretched me and did a couple of tests on me, but I am fine.”
Coval went out with his Parkland team leading 37-29 and when he returned 2 ½ minutes later, the Trojans were still up by eight, 39-31, and that’s why despite another brilliant performance by the Division I recruit, Parkland’s 57-43 win at Easton Area Middle School was a team effort.
It was the Trojans’ second straight district title and seventh since 2009 under Andy Stephens, and the school’s 11th overall.
Coval scored 24 points, including 18 in the first half when the Trojans had to push through a sluggish start created by a physical and tenacious Hurricanes squad. Liberty clearly demonstrated it wasn’t merely happy to be playing on District 11’s biggest stage.
Liberty led 10-5 after the first few minutes and 14-10 after one quarter before Coval took over by scoring his team’s first 16 points in the second period, including three 3s.
A Zaire Smaltz layup and a 3-point basket by Matt Ray made it 31-24 at halftime and it was a matter of maintaining the lead in the second half.
“Liberty’s a good team and play with a lot of energy on defense and we knew we had to calm that down,” Coval said. “Matt Ray did a great job of handling the ball, everyone chipped in and it was a team effort. Anytime you win a district tournament it has to be a team thing; it’s not one person. I wanted to see my guys out here doing their thing … Ray, Joey Gerbasio, Zaire Smaltz, Robbie Ruisch, Luke Spang, Connor Johns. I love my guys. I’ll go to war with them any day of the week.”
Coval had just six points in the second half, but Gerbasio hit a pair of 3s, Spang and Ruisch had one trey apiece in the third quarter and Ray was 4-for-4 at the line in the final period to go along with seven assists.
Parkland had 10 3s overall and didn’t commit a foul until 1:40 was left in the third quarter in the type of methodical performance the team lacked earlier in the season.
“We knew coming into this game it couldn’t be just Nick,” said Spang, a junior who also won a District 11 6A title as a quarterback on Parkland’s football team. “We all had to come out and play our game. We had to keep their momentum down because they feed off our momentum. We had to stay calm and just play our game.”
The Hurricanes got a big effort from sophomore Dywane Chess Jr., who had 21 points, three steals and two assists, and freshman guard Blake Hargrove added 14 points. Liberty was within five points twice late in the third quarter, but a Coval drive and Ruisch 3 make it 46-36 entering the fourth quarter and the Hurricanes wouldn’t get closer than seven the rest of the way.
Liberty scored just seven points in the final period, going 1-for-9 from the field and 5 of 9 at the foul line.
“It was a hard-fought game and Liberty played terrific early on and we just had to stay the course,” Stephens said after his team improved to 18-9. “Liberty’s going to be really good for years to come. I’m just so happy for our kids because we had a lot of ups and downs this year, but we persevered. It never gets old. You win one or two of these, but you just are so happy for the kids to see them experience it.”
While trips to the district final have become expected for Parkland, especially in the Coval era, Liberty was making its first trip to title game since Darrun Hilliard was wearing a Hurricanes uniform.
Considering the returning talent on the roster, Liberty figures to be back in the big game in the future.
That forecast, however, didn’t ease the sting for coach Nigel Long and his squad.
“First off, I want to tip my cap to Parkland and Andy Stephens,” Long said. “They have a winning tradition and did a nice job. Nick Coval is the MVP for a reason. I thought there were moments we really played well, but at the end of the day, we didn’t finish quarters and had empty possessions. How we shot at the foul line … those are all areas that really hurt. But I am proud of our guys for the effort they gave.”
Long said he wasn’t surprised players other than Coval hit big shots for Parkland.
“That’s what makes them so hard,” he said. “They have a plethora of talented basketball players and they play well together. But like I said, I am proud of our guys.”
Both teams will have home games in the first round of the state tournament on Saturday.
Parkland will host West Chester Henderson, District 1’s No. 10 seed, while Liberty will welcome Upper Darby, District 1’s No. 6. Upper Darby will be making its second appearance in the Lehigh Valley after winning Whitehall’s holiday tournament.
The Trojans lost their firstround game last year when the state tournament started just four days after the completion of districts. This year there will be more time between tournaments so the teams involved can recover emotionally and physically and prepare for PIAAs.
“Hopefully, the longer stretch will help us,” Coval said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
Liberty is as well.
“Looking back at where we were in September until now and the growth we’ve had over the last eight months has been unbelievable,” Long said. “It’s another opportunity for us to get better and get a state game under our belt. Obviously, this taste stinks, but we’ll get a home game in a state opener. I’ll continue to say it, there are no losses, only lessons. We’ll get back to the drawing board and we plan to take to it to them.”
PARKLAND 57, LIBERTY 43
Liberty 12– 12– 12– 7 — 43
Parkland 10– 21- 15– 11— 57
LIBERTY (43)
Hargrove 5-112-214, Pukszyn 2-41-25, Chess,
Jr. 9-162-421, Kamanga 0-00-00, Fenstermacher 0-00-20, Vermuelen 0-10-00, Rivera 1-50-03, Holguin 0-00-00, Goodman 0-00-00, DeJesus 0-1 0-00. Totals 17-385-1043.
PARKLAND (57)
Coval 9-163-324, Ray 1-44-47, Bednar 0-10-00, Gerbasio 4-50-011, Escalona 00-00, Spang 1-3 0-03, Johns 0-00-00, Paz-Romero 00-00, Smaltz 3-40-016, Ruisch 2-40-06. Totals 20-377-857. 3-pointers: Liberty (4-15) Hargrove 2, Chess, Rivera. Parkland (10-21) Coval 3, Gerbasio 3, Ruisch 2, Ray, Spang.
Rebounds: Liberty 13(Hargrove 3); Parkland 23 (Smaltz 6).
Assists: Liberty 4(Chess 2); Parkland 15(Ray 7). Turnovers: Liberty 7, Parkland 10.
Fouls: Liberty 12, Parkland 8.