WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA Hopewell sends Blackhawk home

The Vikings (19-9) never panicked as they battled back for the 57-53 win.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
ALIQUIPPA, Pa. -- As the old saying goes, the third time proves to be the charm.
After losing two regular-season outings to Blackhawk by margins of seven and 18 points, Hopewell upended the Cougars 57-53 Tuesday to advance to the western semifinals of the PIAA Class AAA state playoffs.
So what was the difference this time?
Transition points: "We emphasized that we had to score a little bit in transition, but the bottom line is that the kids played so well," Hopewell coach Joe Faletta said. "We really executed our zone offense and the guys stepped up and made some big shots."
Blackhawk coach John Miller knows the more times you play a team, the more difficult it becomes to win.
"It is difficult. It is really difficult," said Miller about facing the Vikings for the third time.
Despite being shadowed all night, Ryan Evanochko still managed to score 20 points to lead a trio of Cougars in doubles.
Although Blackhawk (19-9) jumped out to an 8-0 lead, the Vikings (19-9) never panicked as they hung around before battling back for the win.
"We try to prepare against being tentative or nervous," Faletta said. "I don't know which word is appropriate, maybe they both are.
"Blackhawk is such a strong program with a legendary coach [John Miller], and when they were ready to go, we were maybe questioning ourselves a little bit," Faletta said. "Once we got back into it [the flow of the game], I knew we had a chance to win."
Poor decisions: Although the Cougars jumped out to the early lead, Miller felt that one of the factors in allowing Hopewell to hang around was poor decision-making on the part of some of the players at certain times.
"They are a rugged, physical team, but we knew what we had to do," Miller said. "I just don't think my team played smart enough.
"We didn't get good shots near the end of the game when we needed them. We had a couple of chances where we could have put them away, but we couldn't do it."
Different players took their turns leading Hopewell on offense as Rich Absey scored seven of his 11 points in the first period, Matt Fontana counted nine in the third period, and Greg Rosatelli -- keyed by two 3-pointers -- tallied 12 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth period.
With Blackhawk holding a 44-41 lead midway through the final period, the Vikings scored nine unanswered points to take a lead they would never relinquish on 3s by Rosatelli and Fontana followed by a 3-point play by Rosatelli.
Solid team effort: "Greg Rosatelli stepped up and hit some big shots and Matt Fontana carried us in that third quarter, but overall, it was just a solid team effort," Faletta said. "We got off to a late start, but this team right now is coming together."
Hopewell moves to the next round to face defending PIAA champion Franklin at a site and time to be determined.