Highland rolls past Triton, wins Tri-Co Royal title

For Christian Scafidi, the most important number on Tuesday night wasn't 29 or 22 or even 1,000.

Scafidi, a senior forward at Highland, scored 29 points and had 22 rebounds to lead the Tartans to a 73-46 victory over school district rival Triton.

Scafidi grabbed the 1,000th rebound of his remarkable career.

But those numbers didn't matter much to him. He was more focused on 15.

That was how many years it had been since Highland won a division title before the Tartans clinched the Tri-County Royal crown outright in front of a large crowd in Triton's Harry T. Beaudet Gymnasium.

"I'm a loss for words," the 6-foot-3 Scafidi said. "It means so much for us, for this program, to win a conference title. That's the most important thing to me."

Scafidi produced his 22nd consecutive double-double as Highland improved to 16-6 and 11-0 in the division.

Junior guard Gabe Villegas added 20 points, making six three-pointers, for Highland.

"It means a lot to this program," Highland first-year coach Joe Lewis said of the division title. "Nobody thought these guys could win the division. Christian was really the only guy coming back with varsity experience."

Scafidi, a top student who has committed to play baseball at Penn, said he takes special pride in leading a largely inexperienced team to the program's first division title since 2001.

"Leading, that's one of my favorite things," Scafidi said. "I wanted to set an example as a senior, try to show the way."

"Everybody follows what he does," Lewis said. "He works his butt off. He's the greatest kid."

Scafidi isn't much of a leaper, but he excels as a rebounder because of his anticipation, footwork, tenacity, and strong, sure hands.

"His anticipation is amazing," Triton coach Andrew Canzanese said. "He's just a special, special player."

The setting was special for Scafidi, as Highland was playing its fiercest rival before an engaged crowd that included a spirited Triton student section, the "Stang Gang."

And Scafidi's brother Dom was a 1,000-point scorer for Triton, graduating in 2011.

"His name is up there on the board, so I walked in here under his shadow," Christian Scafidi said. "It just made it even more special for me, playing against our crosstown rivals. My brother went here. A lot of my buddies go here."

Scafidi entered the game with 980 career rebounds. He grabbed No. 1,000 early in the fourth quarter.

Highland 18 16 18 21 - 73

Triton 13 14 14 5 - 46

H: Christian Scafidi 29, Gabe Villegas 20, Zafir Brower 12, Brandon Harden 3, Deron Hicks 3, Alfonso Duran 2, Damola Dairo 2, Tyler Fretz 2.

T: Mike Wright 21, Marcis Truxon 4, Frank Ipri 9, Tyrese Dallas 6, Colton Cargen 5, Darren Aupperle 1.

panastasia@phillynews.com

@PhilAnastasia

www.philly.com/

jerseysidesports