Carroll speeds to win in PIAA playoffs

ALEC STAVETSKI'S pregame ritual for basketball contests not played at Archbishop Carroll High involves all kinds of z's.

"A few of us are like that," he said. "There's a lot of talking when we first get on, then some of us just fall asleep. Like me. Always."

Tap, tap, tap.

At some point during the ride to Coatesville High, site last night of Carroll's game vs. Octorara in the second round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs, Stavetski felt the hand of teammate Lou Dominique, followed by his excited voice.

Hmm, what could have happened?

A teammate had passed an outrageous amount of gas? Someone had just decided to make his college announcement? Free soft pretzels would now be distributed? Not exactly. The bus, from a private company, had been pulled over for speeding on Route 202.

"I couldn't believe that one. That's a personal first," Stavetski said, laughing. "A school bus? Gets pulled over for speeding? I'd never seen that. Had never heard of it.

"Right after Lou woke me up, he said to look behind the bus and I saw the flashing lights. We were on the off-ramp. It took about 10 minutes. It was pretty crazy. We were all kidding around about it."

To a large degree, the bus episode was more exciting than the game.

Thanks in part to Stavetski, a 6-3, 170-pound senior wing guard, Carroll rolled to a 71-50 success.

Stavetski totaled 18 points and seven rebounds and he was especially productive in the first quarter, as the Patriots used a 14-0 run to expand a 7-4 lead. (They weren't ticketed for speeding, but did score a few times on breaks.) Stavetski crammed nine of his points and four of his rebounds into the first quarter and his very first bucket came on a follow.

He and his teammates weren't finished. Carroll thrived on the offensive glass.

"Coach [Paul] Romanczuk did talk about that a little," Stavetski said. "How they tried to depend on their athleticism to get rebounds and didn't really focus on the fundamentals. We made sure to keep attacking the glass."

Stavetski, folks might remember, is the guy who recently shot 0-for-11 from the floor in Carroll's win over Philadelphia Electrical & Technology Charter for District 12's third AAA seed.

Since he often gives off a born-shooter aura, such a messy performance was particularly surprising.

Luckily for him, and Carroll, it didn't send him into a shell.

"I knew it wasn't a form thing," said Stavetski, who went 6-for-13 (three treys) and 3-for-5 in this one. "Most of the shots were straight. They were either short or long. Nothing was to the side. If they do go to the side, that's a form thing. But if they're on target, they'll fall.

"I didn't expect [the problem] to linger. The way I figure, if I'm 0-for-11 then after the next shot I'm going to be 1-for-12."

In that first quarter, which ended 21-6, Dominique and Yosef Yacob halved 12 points while freshman Derrick Jones posted five rebounds and two blocks.

Octorara, District 1's No. 2 seed, had many more supporters, especially the vocal variety (students), but there was little opportunity to rejoice the rest of the night.

Yacob finished with 20 points and four assists. Dominique had 10 points and six boards. Jones mixed 15 points with 12 rebounds and Isaiah Warren dished four assists.

Stavetski had a scary moment with 2:57 remaining. After driving the left baseline and missing a reverse layup, he snagged the offensive board and tried a follow. Whack! Ouch! He was slammed to the court with such force, an intentional foul was called. He made the second of the two freebies for his final point.

Stavetski, who lives in Wayne, "right down the street from Carroll," as he put it, is down to Muhlenberg, Washington College and Salisbury. He plans to major in business.

Today, he might be givin' that to the members of Carroll's girls' team. They played the first game in Coatesville's gym and waffled Downingtown West, 49-29, in the AAAA classification after storming to a 36-9 pad.

When reminded that a 21-point win outdoes a 20-pointer, Stavetski pumped his fist. Not outrageously. Just a little.

"Nah, I'm not dating any of them," he said, smiling. "I do have a lot of friends on that team. We have fun watching them."

Kind of a busman's holiday.