Unstoppable
Fox Chapel junior scores 31 of team’s 49 points
Fox Chapel junior scores 31 points in key Class 6A boys basketball win.
Hempfield’s defensive strategy in Tuesday night’s big game against Fox Chapel was to stay glued to shooters and not help if Fox Chapel’s Eli Yofan drove to the basket. In essence, Hempfield’s Spartans wanted Yofan to beat them.
He did.
In a game where offense was a little lacking, Yofan, a junior guard and one of the WPIAL’s best players, poured in 31 points and made play after play down the stretch to lift host Fox Chapel to a 49-48 victory. The win gives the Foxes, the Post-Gazette’s No. 3 WPIAL Class 6A team, sole possession of first place in Section 3 with a 4-1 record (8-2 overall).
Yofan hit 12 of 21 shots for the game, but he was at his best in the second half when he made six of nine shots and all six free throws.
“It’s one of those games where a playmaker makes plays, and he probably made one more than we did,” said Hempfield coach Bill Swan, whose No. 4ranked Class 6A team dropped to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in section. “But that was our game plan. We weren’t going to let anybody else open, and they still scored only 49 doing that. Yofan made everybody else better against other teams, but he took over himself tonight. I thought our kids kind of took over, too, and hit some big shots.
“That’s a team that beat [No. 1-ranked] Upper St. Clair and beat us by 22 points earlier this season, so we’re right there.”
Fox Chapel recognized Hempfield’s defensive strategy. So, as Fox Chapel coach Zach Skrinjar put it, he and his coaches were “imploring” Yofan to take over. Yofan listened.
Yofan, a left-hander who averages 21 points a game, finished with five rebounds, three steals and three blocks. He scored Fox Chapel’s final 12 points and had a big blocked shot when the score was tied with two minutes left. Yofan has an excellent first step on offense, and his quickness and jumping ability lets him get his shot almost any time he wants against man-to-man defenses. With the score tied, 43-43, he scored on two drives to give Fox Chapel a 47-43 lead.
“I have not seen a lot of players who aren’t in Class 6A, and obviously, there are some pretty good players out there,” Skrinjar said. “But I wouldn’t trade him for anyone in the WPIAL. He can impact a game in so many different ways.”
After Fox Chapel took a four-point lead, Hempfield’s Mike Hosni, who had 10 points, made a 3pointer with 36 seconds left to bring the Spartans within 47-46. Christian Zilli led Hempfield with 12.
Fox Chapel’s Jacob DeMotte had a one-and-one with 21.7 seconds left but missed the front end. Yofan was on the left-hand side of the lane, darted to the right side, snuck under a Hempfield player, grabbed the rebound and scored to give Fox Chapel a 49-46 lead.
Hempfield made things interesting at the end, though. Dom Hipps made one free throw to make it 49-47 and missed the second on purpose. The ball bounced out to Sean Gordon, who missed a 3pointer, but Hipps grabbed the rebound and was fouled on a shot with 0.3 seconds left.
Hipps missed the first shot and made the second to make the final 49-48.
After the game, Skrinjar offered some thoughts on Class 6A.
“The WPIAL had the foresight to have an open tournament this year. If there was any year for it, this is the year to do it in 6A,” Skrinjar said. “I still do think Upper St. Clair is just a hair better than everyone, but I really think if you played the 6A tournament 20 times, you could have 15 different outcomes, depending on seedings.”