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PIAA 5A: Wood holds off Abington Heights in state semifinal

03/22/2017, 1:15am EDT
By Josh Verlin

Andrew Funk (above) scored 17 points in Wood's win over Abington Heights. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Andrew Funk struck so quickly, Abington Heights didn’t know what hit it.

The Archbishop Wood junior came off the bench late in the first quarter of a PIAA 5A semifinal and absolutely lit up the gym at Freedom HS.

First came a 3-pointer, the 6-foot-3 guard’s smooth release dropping the ball through nothing but net. The next time down the floor, he didn’t hesitate from the left wing for another 3; a third time down brought a mid-range jumper, then yet another triple. Four possessions, four baskets.

Then the buzzer sounded, Wood up 10 points and on its way.

“I think i hit my first one in the corner...and after that my teammates started finding me, and I think on this team, anybody can get hot at any time,” Funk said. “That’s what this team’s been all about, anybody can go off on any time, so that’s one of the great things about us.”

Indeed, Wood’s ability to get points from anywhere on its top eight has been a big reason for its success this season. That was apparent yet again as the Vikings rolled into the state championship game after a 68-57 win over the Comets; they’ll play Meadville in Hershey’s GIANT Center at 8 PM on Friday.

When you can bring a Division I recruit like Funk -- the younger brother of Army freshman Tommy Funk has Army, Rider and Lafayette scholarship offers so far -- off the bench like Wood coach John Mosco can, then depth is certainly not a concern.

“We go eight deep and I feel like I have eight starters, but you’re only allowed to start five,” Mosco said. “That’s one of (our) strengths where you can’t isolate or focus on one individual.”

After winning its first three state tournament games by at least 24 points, Wood (27-3) faced a much tougher challenge from the District 2 champs, which had won each of its previous two games in double overtime.

Abington Heights (25-4) righted itself nicely after Funk’s initial burst, closing to within 34-29 at halftime behind 7-footer Seth Maxwell. The senior big man had 13 of his game-high 23 points in the first 16 minutes, taking advantage of two early fouls by Wood’s 6-11 junior Seth Pinkney and generally having his way inside.

The Comets eventually got as close as two points in the third quarter, but Wood never gave up the advantage, quickly extending the lead back to six on four Collin Gillespie foul shots and never looking back.

“I think we’re really good at playing while we’re ahead,” Funk said. “I think the biggest thing was getting stops...we knew we could score but they would always come right back. So when we pushed the lead was when we scored and then we got stops.”

Funk had another shining moment at the end of the third, getting a shot blocked as the final seconds ticked off but grabbing the loose ball and heaving it up at the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Like everything he put up in the first quarter, it hit nothing but net, making it 49-41 going into the fourth.

Funk finished the game with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

Gillespie, a Villanova commit, led Wood with 18 points, dishing out seven assists and collecting three rebounds and steals apiece. Junior wing Tyree Pickron added 16 points and seven boards while senior guard Matt Cerruti had 11 points, two rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist.

Abington Heights coach Ken Bianchi stuck with his five starters for all 36 minutes, never once turning to his bench.

Sophomore Trey Kohler had 15 points and five assists and junior Jackson Danzing had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists; the only other Comets player to score was sophomore George Tinsley,who had six points and 10 rebounds (four offensive).

Friday night’s state championship game is the culmination of what’s been the best season in Wood basketball history. The Vikings have already captured the first Catholic League and District 12 titles while winning more games than any of their predecessors; now, they can raise one more banner before sending off the terrific senior class of Gillespie, Cerruti and Keith Otto.

It’s been a target they’ve been aiming for since going just 14-10 last year; Wood put on a show in every offseason event it played in, setting the stage for what was to come.

“I think we’ve had even the past summers before that I think we had good summers but we never kicked it into gear in the regular season,” Funk said. “I think we had to stay focused on our goal, especially getting into the regular season, we saw we were really good in the summer leagues and I think it was just all about staying together as a team throughout the whole year.

“We’re just trying to finish it off with a third title, cut down the nets in Hershey.”


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