By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com
EXETER – Matt Prociak approached Tuesday night’s title-clinching game as if rules required Holy Redeemer to score before Wyoming Area was allowed to touch the ball and as if it was his sworn duty to enforce those rules.
Whether the attempt came from a Royals teammate or a shot he took himself, Prociak displayed the same vigor in attacking the offensive glass.
Just 5:15 into Holy Redeemer’s 78-41 rout, Prociak had nine offensive rebounds and the Royals were well on the way to the victory that locked up the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 boys title.
Prociak made sure the Warriors never had a chance.
“We were rebounding like crazy,” Prociak said.
Holy Redeemer shot 46.2 percent (12-for-26) from the floor during a 26-5 first quarter, but more importantly, with Prociak leading the way, the Royals got back 13 of the 14 misses to simply try again.
Prociak established his presence early with three offensive rebounds in the first 1:40. One led to a teammate’s score, then the third was converted by Prociak into a 7-3 lead.
Evan Melberger hit a 19-footer on the other end, then Wyoming Area went 11:45 without scoring again while Holy Redeemer ran off 31 straight points – the last 19 of the first quarter and the first 12 of the second – for a 38-5 lead with 3:55 left in the half.
Prociak grabbed his own rebound and scored with 3:32 left in the quarter for a 17-5 lead.
Then, he grabbed five in one trip up the floor, the last four on his own misses, until he scored.
“Some of that is him doing it himself, rebounding his own misses,” Holy Redeemer coach Paul Guido said. “That’s something that we talk with him about, just staying after the ball, continuing to pursue the ball.
“He gets his teammates’ rebounds, but he also gets some of his own as well. That’s just him being aggressive, staying engaged in the game and continuing to pursue the ball until he gets it to go down.”
Prociak locked up his double-double in the first quarter with 10 points and 12 rebounds. He went on to finish with 24 points and 17 rebounds, including 12 offensive, in just 20 minutes playing time during which the Royals outscored the Warriors, 61-18.
Justice Shoats had 13 points in the first quarter on the way to 19 points, 5 steals and 4 assists.
Prociak kept going early in the second quarter with eight more points before sitting after his two fouls shots for the 38-5 lead.
After setting the tone with the gritty work in the first half, Prociak joined Shoats in bringing a Showtime element to the third-quarter celebration of a championship earned.
Shoats initially jumped too high and wound up too hard, firing a dunk attempt off the back rim midway through the third quarter. He made the most of his next two chances.
First, however, Prociak elevated on a drive down the middle for an authoritative, two-hand dunk with 3:35 left.
Prociak then blocked a shot, controlled the rebound and launched the long outlet pass to sprin Shoats for a dunk with 2:56 left.
The Royals made it three straight baskets on dunks when Shoats took a mid-court steal in for a slam and a 58-18 lead with 2:22 left in the third.
The lead expanded to 70-25 when Charlie Floryan opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer.
The Holy Redeemer starters, all of whom had all sat out at least the last 3:55 of the first half, were on the bench for the entire fourth quarter.
When they left the game for good, the rebounding “like crazy” had resulted in a 48-21 advantage on the boards.
Zach Perta grabbed seven rebounds while Jeff Kozerski and reserve Chris Papciak had six each.
Jacob Hunter, another player who came off the Holy Redeemer bench, went go 4-for-5 for nine points along with four assists.
Evan Melberger had 17 points to lead Wyoming Area, which fell to 5-6 in the division and 8-11 overall.
Holy Redeemer, the No. 1 Small School team in the My City Mortgage Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams, has the only perfect boys league record in District 2 at 11-0. The Royals are 17-3 overall with a McGrane Tournament championship also to their credit, with a recent win in a make-up game with Crestwood.
“Winning that and the league, we definitely have our hopes up for bigger and better things,” said Prociak, pointing to the Class 3A district and state playoffs ahead.
Holy Redeemer is positioned to be the top seed in the District 2 Class 3A tournament.
