‘This feels amazing’: West Catholic routs Deer Lakes to win its first PIAA championship

HERSHEY, Pa. — The flow of the game almost resembled a tsunami. Before the giant wave overwhelms everything in its path, the ocean first recedes from the shore.

Something similar occurred at the Giant Center on Saturday afternoon after West Catholic fell behind early, but surged late behind senior guards Adam “Budd” Clark and Zion Stanford.

The duo combined to outscore their opponent as the Burrs bludgeoned District 7 champion Deer Lakes, 83-55, to claim West Catholic’s first PIAA Class 3A basketball championship.

”This feels amazing,” West Catholic coach Miguel Bocachica said. “I’m still in the moment, so it’s really hard to take it in. I don’t know if I’ll cry in front of those kids, but I know I’ll cry to myself at some point when I’m thinking about it. This feels amazing.”

When the game began, Bocachica sensed that his team would find its rhythm. The Burrs (20-10), whose defense has been a barometer of their success all season, gave up several wide-open looks early.

As West’s waters receded, the Lancers (21-9), and their fans, seemed to swell with confidence, nabbing an 8-1 lead that elicited raucous celebrations after each basket.

Eventually, however, the Burrs roared back, outscoring Deer Lakes, 24-4, in the second quarter to take a 38-19 lead into halftime.

An alley-oop from Clark to Stanford capped the run just before the halftime buzzer. Clark scored a game-high 32 points, while Stanford, who committed to Temple in September, added 30.

It was the type of play, the duo said, that comes from chemistry they’ve developed since playing youth basketball together in West Philly. The Lancers were in a zone defense, which Clark navigated nimbly as he whittled the clock, ensuring the Burrs would get the last shot. Suddenly, Clark, who shot 16-for-18 from the field, darted toward the paint then lobbed the ball to Stanford, who had cut from the wing.

”Nah, it wasn’t planned,” Stanford said. “We practice against each other and been playing against each other since little league, so it’s good to have chemistry with your point guard. I basically just cut back door. I seen my man wasn’t guarding me. I didn’t [even] think he saw me. I think it’s just like muscle memory at this point. So he threw it up, and I slammed it down.”

The game hadn’t been in much doubt before that dunk, but the sequence effectively washed away what little hope the Lancers had mustered. Junior guard Billy Schaeffer led Deer Lakes with 21 points. Senior guard Bryce Robson added 20.

Clark, who recently decommitted from Coppin State, also added nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals. As a team, the Burrs finished with 12 steals, forced 18 turnovers, and scored 28 points off those turnovers.

”When we’re guarding like that and hitting on all cylinders,” Bocachica said, “we’re just hard to deal with as a program.”

After losing in the Catholic League semifinals at the Palestra for the second consecutive season, the Burrs bounced back to win the District 12 Class 3A championship and now the PIAA Class 3A title.

”This is just kind of surreal,” Bocachica said. “I have some wonderful kids that have helped me shift the culture here and I’m just super proud of them from top to bottom.

“This is just a very proud moment for our program. This is a wonderful place that hadn’t won in a long, long time. Now we’ve shined this little penny and now it feels like a quarter, and we just want to keep going.”