Scotties remain undefeated with 73-53 road victory
- Mount PleasantĢƵ Luke Rivardo (1) slides in front of SouthmorelandĢƵ Ty Keffer (11) as he drives to the basket in the fourth quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant. Keffer finished with a game-high 25 points in the Scotties’ 73-53 victory.
- SouthmorelandĢƵ Wyatt Richter reaches towards the basket for a layup with Mount PleasantĢƵ Connor Pavlocak trailing the play in the third quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant. Richter scored 19 points in the Scotties’ 73-53 victory.
- SouthmorelandĢƵ Ty Keffer shoots from beyond the 3-point arc in the third quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant.
- Mount PleasantĢƵ Luke Rivardo (1) slips between three Southmoreland defenders in the first quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant.
- Mount PleasantĢƵ Luke Rivardo (1) slides in front of SouthmorelandĢƵ Ty Keffer (11) as he drives to the basket in the fourth quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant. Keffer finished with a game-high 25 points in the Scotties’ 73-53 victory.
- SouthmorelandĢƵ Wyatt Richter reaches towards the basket for a layup with Mount PleasantĢƵ Connor Pavlocak trailing the play in the third quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant. Richter scored 19 points in the Scotties’ 73-53 victory.
- SouthmorelandĢƵ Ty Keffer shoots from beyond the 3-point arc in the third quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant.
- Mount PleasantĢƵ Luke Rivardo (1) slips between three Southmoreland defenders in the first quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant.
- SouthmorelandĢƵ Wyatt Richter reaches towards the basket for a layup with Mount PleasantĢƵ Connor Pavlocak trailing the play in the third quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant. Richter scored 19 points in the Scotties’ 73-53 victory.
- SouthmorelandĢƵ Ty Keffer shoots from beyond the 3-point arc in the third quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant.
- Mount PleasantĢƵ Luke Rivardo (1) slips between three Southmoreland defenders in the first quarter of FridayĢƵ non-section game at Mount Pleasant.
The Scotties improved their overall record to 5-0, while the Vikings slipped to 0-4.
Both coaches admitted their squads missed opportunities that might’ve changed the course of the game.
“We missed 28 layups. ThatĢƵ 56 points. ItĢƵ a different ball game if we make those shots,” said Mount Pleasant first-year coach Annie Malkowiak. “We aren’t finishing. ThatĢƵ been our problem all year.
“We left 56 points off the board.”
“Both teams missed an assortment of shots,” said Southmoreland coach Frank Muccino.
Southmoreland began to slowly pull away late in the first quarter, capped on Ty KefferĢƵ layup after a steal just before the buzzer for an 18-13 lead.
Neither team was able to mount a serious run in the second quarter, but Southmoreland put enough baskets together to increase its lead to 34-25 at halftime.
“It was methodical,” said Muccino, noting, “We lost our point guard and we took a little adjusting (to fill the loss).”
The intense rivalry between the schools started to build in the third quarter with increased intensity. That heightened play led to a couple fouls called for physical play.
“ItĢƵ a rivalry game. You don’t know whatĢƵ going to happen,” said Muccino.
The Scotties again added to their advantage, heading into the fourth quarter with a 54-40 lead.
Southmoreland closed out the road victory with a 19-13 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Keffer led all scorers with a game-high 25 points. Teammate Wyatt Richter finished with 19 points and Noah Felentzer added 12.
Dante Giallanardo paced the Vikings with 20 points. Connor Pavlocak knocked home the first points of the game on a 3-pointer and finished with 12 points.
Muccino noted his team still needs to put in work as they prepare for the start of section play against Belle Vernon after the Christmas break..
“We have to play better. We have to match their physicality. They did. They challenged everything we did,” explained Muccino.
“We did what we needed to do.ItĢƵ easier to fix mistakes coming off a win.”
Malkowiak is just four games into her tenure with Mount Pleasant and said she is diligently working to “change the culture.”
“I knew nothing about this would be easy. I am trying to instill new habits. I need to be patient. ItĢƵ a marathon, not a sprint,” said Malkowiak.
One segment of that change is how the Vikings deal with mistakes, both physical and mental.
“The mental errors, instead of the next play mentality, we can’t move on from that (error),” said Malkowiak. “ItĢƵ how you respond. I need to teach them new habits.
“They don’t know how to finish. They need to learn to play through adversity.”







