MONONGAHELA – The Frazier boys basketball team gave the crowd at Ringgold High School its moneys’ worth Friday, keeping fans on the edge of their seats right up until the final minutes of a 52-44 loss to Vincentian Academy in the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs. ‘The game was like a boxing match,’ Frazier coach Dave Vindivich said, alluding to a seesaw contest that saw the lead change hands several times. ‘It had to be a great ball game to watch.’ Vindivich commended the Commodores’ efforts in the loss. ‘I’m proud of my kids,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t ask for more. They carried out the game plan like we wanted to.’ Frazier stayed close to the Royals throughout the game, never trailing by more than six points. In fact, the Commodores held a 44-43 lead in the middle of the final quarter before Vincentian rattled off nine straight points. Seven of those points were scored after Frazier point guard Guillaume Beyl was shaken up near the Commodores’ basket. ‘When Guillaume went down, that hurt us a lot,’ Vindivich said, noting that Beyl injured his back. ‘We were down one, and he just couldn’t go.’ Beyl’s importance to the team didn’t go unnoticed by Vincentian Academy coach Buzz Gabos. ‘He was our focal point,’ Gabos said. ‘We were really impressed with him the other night (against Sewickley Academy).’ Gabos said the Royals did their best to keep Beyl off-balance. ‘He is, point guard-wise, about as good as it gets all around. He runs the team real well, and he’s quick. He’s deceptively quick.’ Knowing that, Vincentian keyed on Beyl’s tendency to go to the right during crossovers. ‘We tried to force him to the left as much as possible,’ Gabos said. The Royals were successful to a point, limiting Beyl to just eight points in the match-up. But Andy Johson and Adam Souply, whom Gabos all called focal points, picked up the slack, scoring 14 points each for the team. Darnell Turner led all scorers with 18 points, and David Brim put in 13 for the Royals, who used some outside shooting to take an early lead. Brim hit a pair of 3-pointers, and Greg Digioia sank a trey as Vincentian Academy went up 17-13 at the end of eight minutes. Frazier rallied, though, holding the Royals to just four second-quarter points, all from Nick West. Souply, meanwhile, tallied six for the Commodores, including the final basket of the half, which gave his team a 23-21 edge at the break. Vincentian’s offense woke up as the third quarter ensued, outscoring the Commodores 9-2 before Johnson tossed in two baskets. Souply added another to hand Frazier a 31-30 advantage, but seven-point periods from Brim and Turner kept the Royals just ahead, at 37-35. Jeremy Reck helped Vincentian Academy to a 39-35 lead with his opening bucket in the fourth, but Matt Kibe and Souply combined to tie the score again. Another basket from Kibe and a free throw by Johnson put the Commodores back on top, but Turner answered with four points as the Royals regained the edge. Souply’s two foul shots once again lifted Frazier to a slim lead, but Vincentian finished the period strong to clinch the win. ‘Darnell definitely stepped up,’ Gabos said of Turner’s performance. ‘We play him at the post, but the moves he made, he made because of his athleticism.’ Vindivich said the entire team played well. ‘You’ve got to give Vincentian a lot of credit because they did make the plays down the stretch,’ he said. ‘They’ve got a nice ball club.’

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