PINE TWP — Knoch’s starters didn’t want to come off the floor.

With a trip to the WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball title game up for grabs, can you blame them?

“I’m sure they’re pretty tired, but I’m sure there’s a lot of energy right now that they’re feeding off of,” Knights first-year coach Joe Lafko said Saturday after his side’s 70-46 semifinal win over No. 2 North Catholic in front of a sold-out crowd at Pine-Richland High School.

Led Vinnie DeFelice’s 17 points, all five of No. 3 Knoch’s starters poured in double digits. None were substituted until 1:15 remained and 27 points separated them from the Trojans.

Juniors Roman DeFelice and Liam Avon, respectively, had 13 and 10 points.

“In a game like this, it’s hard, especially when we’re in such a big moment,” said senior swingman Derek Lang, who tacked up 15. “It’s hard to take us out, to break our rhythm. We’ve gotten used to playing together in those moments.”

The Knights will play the winner of No. 1 Quaker Valley and No.13 Deer Lakes for the WPIAL crown Thursday at the University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center.

The Trojans turn their attention to the state tournament. They’ll play the loser of that same semifinal Wednesday at a time and place to be determined in the WPIAL Class 4A third-place contest.

Senior guard Teegan Finucan grabbed the program’s all-time scoring record by banking in a layup with 2:40 remaining, the final bucket of his 15-point effort. Over a minute later, he zipped a no-look pass to Vinnie DeFelice, who was waiting under the hoop and effortlessly deposited it.

Lafko made his first lineup changes shortly thereafter.

“(With) our chemistry between our starting five, you’d think we grew up together — we technically did,” Finucan said. “We’ve been playing basketball together since third grade. Our juniors, Rome and Liam, I’ve got the utmost respect for those guys. ... They’re so underappreciated.”

Knoch (21-4) raced out to a 10-0 lead, eight of those points thanks to Lang. The Trojans (18-6) finally got on the scoreboard with Jason Fredericks’ corner 3-pointer, but Finucan and the DeFelices got in on the action, inflating the Knights’ advantage to 17-3 with under 1:30 to play in the opening frame.

“We knew we had to establish the paint,” Finucan said. “We needed to get to the paint and get layups and start the game off.”

The Knights’ 2-3 zone puzzled North Catholic, which posted just 16 points during the opening half. The Trojans had overcome a 10-point halftime hole in their quarterfinal win over No. 7 Elizabeth Forward, but there was no such surge this time around.

North Catholic senior guard Jason Fredericks — who tallied a game-high 22 points — pulled his crew within six points with 5:39 to go in the second quarter, but a 16-2 Knoch run provided it a 36-16 edge at the midway point.

Knoch was sound on the boards and smart with the ball. Baskets came in bunches as it stayed on the offensive in the second half.

“It’s hard to get up on a team like that,” Lang said. “I think that definitely started the game off well, gave us a lot of confidence to keep going until the end.”

“An environment like that, with a packed house — and winning a basketball game against a quality team like North Catholic — it’s a great feeling,” Lafko said. “It’s what keeps old guys like me coming back.”

Lafko was reflecting his players’ enthusiasm.

“We’re all touching the ball,” Finucan said. “And you look at the scoring, look at the stat sheet, and everybody’s got points. There’s not one man doing too much, and that’s really how we keep our stamina.”

“We know our end goal is much more than being tired,” Lang said. “We’ve wanted this since we were freshman, eighth grade. ... It doesn’t really affect us at this point.”

KNOCH 70

Vinnie DeFelice 6 4-5 17, Teegan Finucan 7 1-2 15, Derek Lang 5 4-5 15, Roman DeFelice 6 0-3 13, Liam Avon 5 0-2 10, Jackson McCool 0 0-0 0, Colt Sprankle 0 0-0 0, Evan Fink 0 0-0 0, Owen Gillis 0 0-0 0, Mason Heller 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29 9-17 70.

NORTH CATHOLIC 46

Jason Fredericks 8 2-2 22, Brandon Pickett 4 0-0 9, Jake Olkowski 3 0-0 8, Jude Rottmann 1 2-2 5, Thomas Arth 1 0-0 2, Brady Trout 0 0-0 0, Tom Rottmann 0 0-0 0, Liam Regan 0 0-0 0, Zac Zolkowski 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 4-4 46.

Knoch 17 19 16 18 — 70

North Catholic 9 7 16 14 — 46

3-point goals: North Catholic 8 (Fredericks 4, Olkowski 2, Pickett, J. Rottmann); Knoch 3 (Lang, R. DeFelice, V. DeFelice)