CLARION — This year, there were doubts.
There were plenty after they graduated several top playmakers from last year’s team that went to the PIAA Elite Eight. And they grew only louder after the team lost five of seven games in early January.
Yes, there were plenty of people who wrote off this year’s Ridgway Elkers.
But on Saturday evening, at a packed gym full of spectators from all over District 9, Ridgway proved those doubters wrong. Leading wire-to-wire, the Elkers pulled away in the second half using their methodical playing style to shut down the Clarion Bobcats and to secure a 41-32 victory in the District 9 Class AA title game at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
Saturday’s win marked back-to-back district titles for the Elkers (19-7), and their fourth championship since 2012.
“Winning never gets old,” said Matt Dush, one of Ridgway’s two seniors on the team. “It’s becoming a habit, though. We’re not done. We have a lot more to do in the state playoffs.”
And for head coach Tony Allegretto, who has been on the bench for all of those championships in the last decade, he admitted that this one tasted just a bit sweeter after having those early-season critics.
“Last year was really special because I had both of my boys on the team,” he said. “This one was special; I got (my son) Domenic as a sophomore starting.
“It’s special with Matt and Zack (Zameroski), as the seniors, because (people were saying), “hey, we lost lost everybody,’ ‘Hey, Ridgway is going to be a little bit down’ and we had a tough stretch in the middle of the year and these guys starting playing our way a little bit more. Hey, we pulled it out.”
Though it never trailed for the duration of the game, Ridgway was given a stiff challenge by the fourth-seeded Bobcats.
After jumping ahead to an 8-2 lead, the Clarion (16-9) offense found some areas to exploit in Ridgway’s usual leak-proof defense. Shooting guard Cal German, who came into Saturday averaging over 20 points per game, had 10 in the first half and the Bobcats were also able to successfully work the ball inside to some of their forwards.
And despite 11 first-half points from Matt Dush and having that early six-point lead, the Elkers found themselves leading by just one, 21-20, at the half.
Allegretto said that he used the intermission not to change the defensive gameplan on German — who hit two long 3-pointers — but rather to contain Clarion’s pick-and-roll offense.
“Basically, (German) made two big shots when we were on him,” he said. “We didn’t change anything on him, what we did change was the way we defended the ball screens. They had three turnovers on ball screens when we were able to build the lead back up. That was the big change.”
Allegretto’s adjustments, per usual, eventually paid dividends.
After Ridgway used a quick 7-2 spurt to seize control of the game’s momentum out of the break with a 28-22 lead, Nick Frederick hit back-to-back shots to pull his Bobcats back to within two points.
But from Frederick’s last made shot until the end of game, a span of over 11 minutes, Clarion knocked down just a single field goal. The Bobcats turned it over on three straight possessions at the end of the third quarter, and once Ridgway had a five-point lead going into the fourth, it was able to control the clock and completely take the ball out of Clarion’s hands.
Each Ridgway possession began to take upwards of 45 seconds in game clock, and when it finally lulled the Clarion defense to sleep, the Elkers were able to find Dan Park in the paint for four critical points in the quarter.
That playing style down the stretch — the one that Ridgway has become known for during Allegretto’s tenure — is one of the main reasons they’ve won 12 of their last 14 games and are on top of the District 9 ladder once again, according to the head coach.
“It’s tough to play the way we play,” he said. “It’s easy to run up and down the court, but you lose games like this sometimes when you play that way. When you play our way, the other team knows it’s going to be a tooth pull.
“It’s painful for them, and it’s not what they’re used to and they know we are going to try to dictate the tempo. It’s not easy for us to do, and it takes awhile to get us to the point of playing that way. This year, with all that inexperience, it took us a little longer to get there.”
After scoring those 10 points in the first half, German was held to just two over the final 16 minutes. For Ridgway, meanwhile, Dush finished with a game-high 14 points, but it was teammates Zameroski (six points in the third quarter) and Park (six in the fourth) who carried the Elker offense in the second half.
“I love seeing everybody show up,” Dush said. “We had a great student section and had great fan support again. It’s incredible to be part of such a great community.
“Coming here (Clarion U.) to play to and to win a championship is a dream come true.”
Ridgway’s next test will be Saturday at 4:30 p.m. back at Tippin Gym against Shenango (District 7, fourth-place team) in the first round of the PIAA state playoffs.
After winning two PIAA games and reaching the Elite Eight a season ago, the Elkers are no strangers to winning at the state level. But with a mostly new cast of characters, this year’s team is eager to take its crack on a bigger stage and keep their dream season going.
“We’re hungry,” sophomore Domenic Allegretto said. “We’re very hungry.”
AT CLARION
Clarion (32)
Cal German 5 0-0 12, Frederick 3 1-2 7, Verdill 2 2-2 6, Craddock 2 0-0 4, Rhoades 1 0-0 2, Craig 0 1-2 1. Totals: 13 4-6 32
Ridgway (41)
Matt Dush 5 2-2 14, Dan Park 4 3-4 12, Zameroski 4 0-1 8, Allegretto 1 0-0 2, Miller 1 1-2 3, Bon 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 6-9 41
Clarion 9 20 27 32
Ridgway 14 21 32 41
Three-point goals: Clarion 2 (German), Ridgway 3 (Dush 2, Park); Total fouls: Clarion 12, Ridgway 6; fouled out: none
