Every single one of the returning players on Fox Chapel’s team vividly remember watching the ball bounce off the backboard and rattle around the rim, over and over again, until it finally fell in the hoop and sank their hearts to the pit of their stomachs in a 51-48 defeat against Allderdice at the inaugural Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Classic last December.
The painful memories of that buzzer-beating 3-pointer by former Dragons standout Logan Golle were fresh on their minds walking into PPG Paints Arena on Sunday, when the Foxes took on Peters Township in a marquee matchup to close out the second annual Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Classic. And with Fox Chapel facing a five-point deficit and less than 20 seconds remaining, the Foxes appeared to be headed for another devastating defeat.
Not on Caden Kaiser’s watch.
After a three-point play by John Rehak to bring Fox Chapel within two, the Foxes forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass. Kaiser then caught a pass near the elbow from Asher White and drove to the hoop, banking in a game-tying shot to send the game to overtime. He then threw down an emphatic dunk in the extra period to put the finishing touches on a 59-50 OT win that Kaiser and his Fox Chapel teammates won’t soon forget.
“It feels wonderful to be able to lead my team,” Kaiser said. “Especially at a big arena like this. … I feel like we’re not even close to our potential. Where we can be and where we’re going to be is scary.”
A senior forward who sat out the game against Allderdice last year with an injury, Kaiser is averaging a team-high 18.9 points per game this season — and he made the most of his one and only appearance in the holiday showcase, posting a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals. Along with his game-tying bucket at the end of regulation, Kaiser also drained a running 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt to beat the halftime buzzer, giving him a handful of indelible memories to take home from the event.
“Every time during practice when we go for a water break, I shoot half-court shots,” Kaiser said. “You’ve always got to prepare for every moment. … I knew it was going in the moment it left my hands.”
Kaiser leads Fox Chapel in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks, but he isn’t doing everything alone. White is a 6-4 senior averaging 12 ppg, and he has displayed a smooth shooting touch while knocking down a team-high 13 3-pointers. Plus, Rehak is averaging 6.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-high 3.4 assists per game, providing another complementary piece on offense for the Foxes.
“We’re together as a group,” said longtime Fox Chapel coach Zach Skrinjar. “I really enjoy being at practice with them.”
With a career record of 248-121 in 16 years at the helm, Skrinjar has a knack for inspiring his players to embrace a team-first brand of basketball predicated on elite ball movement and suffocating defense. This year’s unit epitomizes those traits as well as any, making up for its lack of size with a level of defensive tenacity few teams can match. Through eight games this season, only one team (Woodland Hills) has managed to score more than 50 points against the Foxes.
“Everyone kind of focuses on offensive plays, but there are also defensive schemes and plays to be made,” Skrinjar said. “I think we are growing together as a team. … They have done an excellent job of just playing for each other.”
Skrinjar’s special suit steals the show
Almost three years removed from a 27-win season that culminated in a WPIAL Class 6A title and trip to the Western Region final, Fox Chapel spent the previous two seasons in Class 5A and reached the WPIAL quarterfinals both times. Now back in Class 6A, Skrinjar has the Foxes right back in the thick of the championship picture as he closes in on win No. 250 for his career.
And in case you haven’t heard — or seen — he is doing it in style. Already known as one of the best-dressed coaches in the WPIAL, Skrinjar brought out a special red suit with a green tie on Sunday that he purchased while on vacation in Rome with his wife.
“This red one just kept talking to me,” Skrinjar said. “I was like, ‘Well, if I get it, I’ve got to get some pants and wear it to PPG.’ Straight from Rome to PPG Arena.”
In the waning moments of the fourth quarter on Sunday night, though, both Fox Chapel’s chances of victory and the suit’s chances of seeing the light of day again appeared bleak. But thanks to Kaiser’s late-game heroics, the Foxes found themselves victorious — and Skrinjar may have just found himself a new lucky suit.
“I’m very superstitious, but we would be back [win or lose],” Skrinjar said about the event. “I can wear [the suit] again now. It doesn’t have to go in the archives.”
Football stars leading charge on hardwood for Montour
Montour saw its once-promising football season come to an unceremonious end this fall, as the Spartans won their first eight games en route to a share of the Parkway Conference crown before a 48-42 loss against Mars in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals. Now, a handful of Montour’s top players are seeking another shot at a WPIAL title in basketball instead.
Of course, 6-11 forward Ama Sow and 3-point specialist Colton Straight are the main attractions for the Spartans — and Sow delivered another prime-time performance with 28 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks in a 76-37 win against Lincoln Park on Sunday. But beyond the towering big man Sow and the sharp-shooting Straight, three of Montour’s primary playmakers in football are also serving as key starters on the hardwood for coach Bill Minear and the unbeaten Spartans — quarterback Trey Hopper, wide receiver A.J. Alston and PUP all-star linebacker Kaleb Platz.
“Right now, our chemistry is tremendous,” Minear said. “They’ve been together so long. A lot of them are three-year starters.”
For the season, Platz is averaging 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game, doing just a little bit of everything to help the team win. After a breakout season at quarterback, Hopper is averaging 5.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, while his favorite target on the gridiron, Alston is averaging 6.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and a team-high 3.8 assists per game.
“Hopefully we can carry that [hunger] over late in the season,” Minear said about the football team’s disappointing first-round playoff exit. “This is their chance.”
Santicola shining in starring role for Moon
In Moon’s run to the WPIAL Class 5A title last season, PUP all-star Elijah Guillory was the Tigers’ leading scorer and unquestioned leader, while Aiden Reesman and Michael Santicola helped round out a formidable trio of long, talented two-way players. Guillory and Reesman have since graduated, but with Santicola stepping into the spotlight as a 6-5 senior capable of passing, rebounding and defending at a high level while scoring both inside and outside, Moon still has to like its chances of making another deep playoff run.
The Tigers’ team defense was the key to victory against South Fayette on Sunday, when Santicola led all scorers with 12 points in a 46-29 win. The Nova Southeastern recruit then turned it up a notch with 26 points in Moon’s 59-44 win against Bishop Canevin on Monday.
“Mike has always been a leader, but he has really stepped up this year,” said Tigers coach Gino Palmosina. “He feels that he is wearing this very heavy backpack. Following in the footstepes of Guillory is a tough, tough task. But I know Mike is up for it. Mike cares so much about this. … He has really stepped up to the plate this year.”
Palmosina was part of a ceremony Monday night at Bishop Canevin honoring the school’s 2022 WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A championship team. He left after the season to take over at Moon, where he won his third WPIAL title in four years as the Tigers roared back from a 10-point second-half deficit to defeat Franklin Regional in last year’s Class 5A final, 53-48.
“It’s going to be pretty special,” Palmosina said the night before the ceremony. “About 99% of the team is coming back. And obviously, Aaron [McGee], who is my best friend, is the head coach there now. … I wouldn’t be where I am without that group.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
