Thirty-two years after his father played in the first WPIAL Class AAAA championship, Andrew Petcash made his own mark.
The Pine-Richland junior scored a game-high 21 points Saturday night and his Rams won the first WPIAL boys basketball title in school history with a 73-50 victory over section rival North Hills in the Class AAAA final at Petersen Events Center.
“Coach always tells us to make history,” said Petcash, whose father Bob played for Ambridge in 1984. “And we did.”
No. 4 seed Pine-Richland (20-6) and No. 7 North Hills (16-9), rivals in Section 3, split their two regular-season matchups with each winning on the other's home court. But neither had ever won a WPIAL title.
North Hills had never reached the WPIAL championship until this year. Pine-Richland was in the finals just once before, a 2000 loss to Blackhawk in Class AAA.
“We didn't want to come here and not complete the mission,” Rams coach Jeff Ackermann said. “Our goal from last March was to make history. We definitely did that tonight.”
The WPIAL title was a measure of vindication for Ackermann, who won three at Moon but later was let go.
“I guess there are some people out there who didn't think I could coach anymore,” he said. “It's not about me, but I wanted to show that I still can, and I have a lot left in me. Pine-Richland has really rejuvenated me.”
Pine-Richland led almost from start to finish. North Hills led 2-0 and 4-2, but then the Rams used their balanced scoring to build a double-digit first-quarter lead they never lost.
Petcash led the way and scored the 1,000th point of his career, but the 6-foot-3 guard found help all around him. Alex Goitz had 14 points with three 3-pointers, Adam Alexander scored 12 and Phil Jurkovec added 10 points and nine rebounds. Charles Tortorice scored eight.
“That's what makes us tough; we have a lot of guys that can put the ball in the basket,” Ackermann said. “People might think we're only Andrew Petcash and Phil Jurkovec, but they'd be wrong if that's what they think.”
The Rams led 30-24 at halftime, but returned to double digits in the third quarter with four points each from Petcash, Alexander and Jurkovec.
“They definitely have balance,” North Hills coach Buzz Gabos said. “Goitz and Alexander hit shots early. You're paying attention to Phil and Andrew, but their role guys were really good. They were just better than us.”
North Hills relied mostly on two scorers for its offense. Nick Smith had 19 points and Ishmael Waldron scored 17. Combined, Smith and Waldron scored 22 of North Hills' 24 first-half points. No teammate scored until late in the second quarter, when sophomore Kamron Taylor hit a baseline jumper with 1:08 left.
“That was our goal,” Ackermann said. “We wanted to make the other guys struggle to score. We thought we could outscore just those two.”
As a result, North Hills didn't repeat its hot semifinal start. The Indians scored 17 first-quarter points Wednesday, but Pine-Richland held them to six in the finals. Six points from Petcash and 3-pointers from Alexander and Goitz helped Pine-Richland take a 16-6 lead after one.
“That was huge,” Petcash said. “We knew we had good matchups with me and Nick and Phil and Ish. I told Adam and Alex, ‘I think you guys are better players than theirs.' They got it done.”
Pine-Richland had five first-half scorers and maintained a double-digit lead into the second quarter, before North Hills fought back with free throws.
The Rams had held Smith to just two first-quarter points, but North Hills' leading scorer broke free with 10 in the second. He was 6 for 6 from the foul line in the quarter. However, Smith found his own foul trouble with a get-to-the-hoop mindset. With 2:01 until half, Smith headed to bench with three fouls. His third was a charge in the lane, stalling his momentum.
Pine-Richland led 30-24 at halftime.
Ahead by 11 points in the fourth, Pine-Richland pulled away with a 12-3 run. A basket by Petcash with 2:30 left gave the Rams a 64-44 lead.
North Hills was outscored 25-14 in the fourth quarter.
“We've been a good transition team all year,” Petcash said. “If we get a lead, it's hard to come back and beat us.”
Pine-Richland will open the PIAA tournament next Saturday against Bethel Park. North Hills will face Latrobe.
Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.
