If it weren’t for bad luck, South Fayette wouldn’t have had much luck at all the past 2½ months.
It was so bad at times that you couldn’t blame the Lions if they had decided to change their name from South Fayette to “Heartbreak City.”
The Lions lost two games via buzzer-beaters, one with a second left, a total of four games by one point, and another by two. Overall, they dropped seven games by seven points or fewer.
Just bad luck, right? Well, the team’s leading scorer took it even further.
“I did think we were cursed a little bit,” senior Elijah Hill said.
Maybe, but unlike a lot of curses, this one didn’t last long and ended just in the nick of time. Somehow, South Fayette was able to stay the course and rally to claim a WPIAL playoff bid. Not only that, but the Lions (13-9) will host Shaler (16-6) in a Class 5A first-round game Friday.
“I’m older, so I have a lot of cliches,” South Fayette coach Dave Mislan said. “I tell the kids, ‘It’s about the journey, not the destination.’ And we’ve been on a journey that has been unbelievable.”
Mislan isn’t kidding. Much of the misfortune came in January when the Lions lost their first four games and seven of nine before ending the month with a 22-point win against Chartiers Valley. In the span of three weeks, the Lions lost two buzzer-beaters and once with one second remaining. On Jan. 3, Moon’s Michael Santicola hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the host Lions, 46-45; on Jan. 13, Royce Parham’s 3-pointer lifted North Hills to a 62-61 win; and on Jan. 26, Moon’s Donnie Turner made two free throws with one second left (South Fayette had been whistled for an over-the-back foul) to vault the Tigers to a 53-51 win.
Despite the agony involved, Mislan pointed to the North Hills loss as a turning point. North Hills has been one of the elite teams in Class 5A this season, and South Fayette rallied to force overtime after trailing, 38-16, at the half.
“It gave them the belief that we can play with anybody,” Mislan said. “Then we just had to figure out a way of how to beat everybody.”
Added Hill, “I just think it’s coming into practice every day and not being scared of any team. Just keep a positive mindset, keep going harder and harder in practice, and don’t look back at the losses.”
To Mislan, the disheartening defeats had nothing to do with bad luck or a curse, but rather a lack of execution. Playing excellent teams night in and night out played a part, too. Class 5A Section 2 was arguably one of the strongest sections in the WPIAL. All four playoff entrants are seeded in the top eight: North Hills (3), Moon (5), Mars (7) and South Fayette (8).
“Fortunately, with our backs up against the wall in the second half of the section, we made the plays we needed,” Mislan said.
After potentially being cursed in January, South Fayette has cruised in February. The Lions are 4-0 this month and have won five games in a row. The triumphs came against Chartiers Valley, at Mars, North Hills, at West Allegheny and Seton LaSalle. The Mars game went three overtimes and likely had South Fayette fans thinking, “Here we go again!” especially after the Planets made shots in the final seconds to force the second and third overtimes.
“That win was huge,” said Hill, who sent the game to overtime with a basket in the final seconds of regulation.
South Fayette’s late surge combined with Chartiers Valley’s late struggles allowed the Lions to grab the section’s final playoff berth.
Hill is a 6-foot-3 senior forward and one of five new starters for South Fayette, which actually lost its top six guys from last season’s squad. Hill has been outstanding and ranks fifth in Class 5A in scoring with 21.7 points per game. He shoots 65% from the field, averages 8.1 rebounds and leads the Lions in charges taken. Hill scored 36 points in the win at Mars and 33 in a win against Bethel Park in December.
“He’s a workhorse,” said Mislan, adding that Hill is receiving interest from Division III schools. “He’s the most polite kid. He’s always trying to pick up everybody at all times. I still think his best days are ahead of him. He might be 6-3, but he is who he is. He’s a high school post player. He has good footwork and plays to his strengths.”
South Fayette also has a double-digit scorer in its backcourt. Michael Plasko, a 6-1 junior guard, averages 16 points (18.5 in section play) and leads the Lions in assists. He scored a career-high 29 points in the loss at North Hills.
“He’s a scorer at every level,” Mislan said. “His pull-up game is really a throwback. He has a nice 15-foot pull-up, is fast off the dribble, and stops on a dime. He’s our other scorer.”
Mislan called sophomore guard Gavin Orosz the team’s top perimeter shooter. Junior guard Noah Knox has been excellent defensively, while junior forward Nico Lamonde has been fearless and the team’s “diamond in the rough,” Mislan said.
With the heartbreak hopefully out of its system, South Fayette continues to move forward and aims for a gem of a finish. The matchup against Shaler will come nearly a year to the day when the Titans won at South Fayette, 68-64, in a first-round game. The teams have met once since, with host South Fayette claiming a 51-39 win on Dec. 8. Like South Fayette, Shaler has quite a few talented juniors, a group that includes guards Keegan Smetanka, Joe DeSabato and Kaden Orga, and forward Brandon London.
As for South Fayette, count Hill among those who believe the Lions have quite a bit of positive karma in their bag should they need it. But with this team finally executing consistently and playing with so much confidence, luck might not even be needed.
“I would say we have a good run ahead of us,” Hill said. “I think we have a shot against anybody.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.