POTTSVILLE–Less than a minute remained and West Catholic held a 13-point lead when Warrior Run guard Landon Polcyn lunged and knocked the ball free before hitting the floor. As the ball rolled toward the wall, fellow Defender guard James Keifer sprinted, dove and slid across the court.

That sequence basically personified the entire Warrior Run season.

A talented, deep and close group, Warrior Run complemented those qualities with relentless fight. And that helped the Defenders put together the program’s best season of the 21st century.

Saaid Lee shined off the bench and made repeated big second-half shots and West Catholic ended that fabulous Warrior Run season Wednesday night at Martz Hall, defeating the Defenders, 51-38 in the Class AAA state tournament’s Sweet 16. Warrior Run appeared in the state tournament’s second round for the first time in the 2000s and finished its season with 21 wins, the most for the program during that time.

All this after Warrior Run won just one game three years ago. What a climb it has been.

“It was great getting to states and winning a game here. We lost in consolation game of districts the last two years and then we come out this year and get to the final and win a game in states. That’s big,” Warrior Run center Aiden McKee said after producing his 21st double-double this season. “We really turned it around and that makes it great. People are coming out to the games, and we have a lot more fans than we did my freshman year, so it’s great to see the community excited and supporting you.”

That support shined through again at Martz Hall as Warrior Run fans filled most of the lower bleachers. Their team gave them one more final, gritty performance to cheer as well.

Playing against a team featuring a 6-foot-8 Division I recruit and four starters who were 6-foot-3 or taller, Warrior Run made things exciting, cutting a 17-point third quarter deficit to nine in the fourth quarter. Utilizing smothering defense and riding McKee (16 points, 11 rebounds), Warrior Run kept the outcome in doubt until the closing minute and it took Lee repeatedly squashing runs to hold it off.

“It’s a credit to the people in the locker room and their families. They’re blue-collar people who work hard every single day and the kids have earned everything they’ve achieved,” Warrior Run coach Eric Wertman said. “I’m just so proud of all the kids and the example the seniors set. They showed so much dedication.”

That was a big reason Warrior Run won its first league title this century and made a seven-win improvement from last season while reaching its first Heartland Athletic Conference championship and its first district final since 1999. Whether outsiders dismissed Warrior Run because of not having much recent history, or because West Catholic is a perennial power which won the 2023 state championship is unknown.

What is known is that Warrior Run never flinched against the Burrs. The Defenders led 9-6 late in the first quarter and clawed within 39-27 entering the fourth when McKee banked in a 30-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer.

McKee then scored three points to open the fourth and making it, 39-30 but Warrior Run could pull no closer. Lee had a hand in nine of West Catholic’s next 11 points, hit shots on trips after Warrior Run had scored twice and finished with 18 points, six rebounds, four steals and four assists off the bench.

Still, Warrior Run made a statement and, with four starters back next season, could potentially use this performance as a springboard.

“We had to fight for our seniors,” McKee said. “We didn’t want to just go out there and hang our heads and say we had a great year. We wanted to play well and have fun and show what we could do.”

McKee was a big reason Warrior Run proved it can do a lot. The junior center capped what likely will be an all-state season, effectively scoring, facilitating and protecting the rim. In addition to his 16 points and 11 rebounds, McKee blocked six shots, including a major stuff early in the fourth quarter which sailed toward the free throw line and prevented a layup.

McKee went over 1,100 career points and 700 rebounds this season and still has his senior year ahead. If there was any doubt about his place among the state’s premier post players, McKee erased them against West Catholic.

“He (Kingston Wheatley) is a big recruit, so I knew it was going to be a challenge,” McKee said. “We just wanted to be physical. I just wanted to go out and prove myself against a kid that is going D1 and is my size.”

“We talked about the importance of him touching the basketball. If you’re open he’s going to kick it out, but it opens up the offense the more he touches it,” Wertman said. “We talked about it all year and really emphasized it going into tonight. Aiden played well and battled hard. It was nice to see him have such a good game.”

Keifer capped his outstanding playoff run with 11 points and three assists. Wilkins also dealt three assists in the final game of his terrific high school career and Polcyn had six points, two steals and two assists.

All the players defended hard and kept West Catholic out of rhythm. The Burrs produced a lot of their points by turning defense into offense but in the half-court had a hard time penetrating Warrior Run’s stifling man-to-man pressure.

Players kept the Burrs in front of them, denied passing lanes and that tough defense kept Warrior Run in the game when the offense stalled in the middle quarters. After West Catholic routed Antietam, 79-35 in the opening round, some thought Warrior Run would be the next blowout victim. The Defenders embracing their team’s name helped them prove otherwise.

“We heard all about it. We heard the noise, but we defend at a really high level, and we played excellent defense,” Wertman said. “It was something similar to when we played (4A quarterfinalist) Shamokin. Between the first quarter and second, we said, ‘We can play with these guys.'”

That provides a hungry group extra incentive entering the offseason. The goal now is to make a season like this one, not the exception but the norm.

“We’re going to work hard,” McKee said. “We’re going to do what we have to do to improve.”

WARRIOR RUN (38)

Aiden McKee 6 3-8 16, Cooper Wilkins 2 0-0 5, James Keifer 4 1-2 11, Landon Polcyn 2 1-2 6, Griff Harrington 0 0-0 0, Jake Bruckhart 0 0-0 0, Gavin Gorton 0 0-0 0, Ethan Balzer 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 5-12 38.

WEST CATHOLIC (51)

Saaid Lee 7 4-6 18, Jaden Banner 1 0-0 2, Jayvon Byrd 4 3-4 12, Kingston Wheatley 5 1-2 11, Rahmir Speaks 2 0-0 5, Xavier Fauntroy 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 8-12 51.

Warrior Run 9 6 12 11–38

West Catholic 10 18 11 12–51

3-pointers: Warrior Run 5 (Keifer 2, McKee, Wilkins, Polcyn); West Catholic 3 (Byrd, Speaks, Fauntroy).

Records: West Catholic 11-14. Warrior Run 21-8.