Rams’ comeback falls short at South Park

The Ringgold boys suffered their ninth loss in their last 10 games.

Ringgold used a relentless press and an aggressive attitude in the second half to get back into Saturday’s non-section contest against South Park, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles pulled away late to secure a 61-49 triumph.

“We sped them up in the second half with our pressure.” Rams coach Shane Bertovich said. “Our quickness prevailed and we were playing with some energy. We were forcing turnovers and got into our transition game.”

With 53 seconds left in the third quarter, South Park’s Luke Scarff, who finished with a game-high 24 points, hit a free throw to make it 44-33.

The Rams (4-13) closed out the scoring in the third frame with baskets by Xavion Thomas and Chris Wilson to bring the deficit down to 44-37.

Ringgold continued to control the game with a 4-0 run to start the fourth quarter with back-to-back buckets by Thomas to make it 4441.

The Eagles (14-5) looked to be on their heels, but Cooper Hochendoner hit a wide-open 3-pointer to extinguish the comeback.

“We had the momentum and we cut it down to three, but then we had a near-miss steal and they were then able to hit a three that totally deflated us,” Bertovich said. “That was the turning point. It has been a long season and these last couple of games has been a grind. The hope is that we get better the more games we play. We play a lot of underclassmen, so this experience is key.”

The Rams have lost nine of their last 10 games.

After Daniel Battista connected on a shot from beyond the arc to push South Park’s lead to 50-41, the Eagles scored seven of the next 10 points and did a solid job of running a ball-control offense that drained a lot of the clock in the final eight minutes.

“We told our team that Ringgold was not going to stop and they were going to keep coming at you,” South Park coach Chad Pappasergi said. “That kept our guys focused. I thought we played with calm and poise under pressure in that fourth quarter. We were able to slow things down and we were better organized with our offense late in the game.”

Braylen Lomax drained a 3-pointer for the visitors to make it 57-47 with 1:01 left in regulation, but the home team collected four of the final six points to secure the victory.

Pappasergi, who is assisted by his father Bruno and Ringgold graduate Demetrius Butler, points to a critical matchup at South Allegheny Tuesday in Section 3-3A action.

“South Allegheny is a machine,” Pappasergi said. “They are terrific and an athletic squad. You have to be ready to compete against them, and I know the last time we played them we were not. We have learned a lot from that game and I think we will be ready for the challenge Tuesday.”

Joining Scarff in double figures for the Eagles were Battista (16) and Hochendoner (15).

Lomax led the Rams with 12 points, while Thomas garnered 11 off the bench and Szyair Dungee chipped in with 10.

After Scarff started the scoring in the game with a baseline dunk, Ringgold responded with an 8-3 run. Dennis Hawkins, who transferred from Monessen a couple of weeks ago and was playing in only his second game with the Rams, started the spree with an interior hoop.

“Dennis is a strong, athletic kid,” Bertovich said. “He transferred to us and after sitting out the 21 days, he has been in our lineup the last two games. He is only a sophomore, so as we get to know him better, I think we can do a better job of putting him in better spots to affect the game more.”

The Eagles ended the opening eight minutes with an 8-5 spurt to knot things up at 13-13 after threes by Battista and Scarff, plus another emphatic dunk by the 6-foot-8 Scarff.

The teams exchanged points to begin the second quarter before the Eagles took firm hold of the contest. They went into intermission with a 34-24 lead after ending the first half on a 14-5 run.

Scarff had nine points in the quarter, but Hochendoner and Battista combined for the other 12 points in the second.

“Luke gets a lot of the attention and rightfully so,” Pappasergi said. “But it was a team effort today. Cooper and Danny came up big for us. We got some contributions from our bench as well and that is something that we have had some struggle with as of late.”

Demetri Lowe hit two foul shots to start the scoring for the Rams in the third quarter, but the Eagles countered with a 9-2 spree to extend its lead to 43-28. Hochendoner had five points in the run, while Battista punctuated the scoring spurt with a trifecta.

Ringgold has three games left in Section 3-5A play and will host Thomas Jefferson tonight.

Before the game, South Park held a ceremony for legendary coach Phil Pergola, as some of his family was there to accept flowers and an Eagles’ jersey in his honor.

Pergola, who passed away over the summer, was a fixture on the basketball sidelines in the Mon Valley for more than 50 years. He amassed more than 600 victories while coaching at Charleroi, Ringgold, California and South Park.