North Xtra: Knoch counting on a strong finish
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Some games, the Knoch boys basketball team looks like it is capable of a deep run in the WPIAL playoffs.
Others, it appears as if it would be lucky to avoid the Section 1-AAA cellar.
Some halves, the Knights play like a polished team; then for a quarter, it will revert back to its inconsistent ways.
At home, Knoch was literally unbeatable until the Knights ran into first-place Hampton this past Friday.
On the road, at times, the team has barely looked competitive.
The Knights prefer to look at the bright side of their one-step-forward, two-steps-back season so far: They're confident that, if they can ever play to their potential for a long stretch of time, they can play with anybody.
With the season's stretch run and (hopefully) the playoffs on tap for the immediate coming weeks, maybe -- just maybe -- Knoch can put it all together at the perfect time.
"That's something we're trying to get to every game," senior guard Tavita Lio said. "But sometimes we just don't find it. When we really do come together, it's a good result."
Knoch is 9-10 overall but 7-4 in section after beating Highlands, 70-56, Tuesday. The Knights have beaten a 10-4 Mars Area team and gone on the road to defeat Valley and Burrell. That's "Good Knoch."
But the team also was the victim of Deer Lakes' only section victory this season, also lost to previously 4-10 Kittanning and was blown out by 40 at Hampton on Jan. 3. That's "Bad Knoch."
Making sure they are firing on all cylinders at all times is the goal for the Knights as they strive to define their season.
"Our problem has always been inconsistency," said Lio, the team's captain and leading scorer. "With games and practices, too. When we end up having a good practice, we end up having a good game. If we slack a little in the practice before a game, we're not coming out on the court prepared.
"That's just how it's going. It was the same thing last year. But I think we're doing pretty well. If we all get on the same page, it will show on game day and in our record."
After a 2-7 start to the season, Knoch appeared to turn a corner by winning six of its next eight to put it firmly in the section race. That run included the team's first two -- and until the Highlands game on Tuesday -- road victories of the season.
But just when it looked like the Knights were rounding into form, they were beaten, 63-51, by a Kittanning team that had only one section win coming in.
"We're really up and down," Knights coach Josh Shoop said. "I think we have enough talent to win games, but our guys are not always coming mentally ready to play. We're doing OK, but I wish we were doing a little better and being a little more consistent.
First Published February 2, 2012 12:00 am
