Archbishop Carroll knocked off Trinity, 63-40, Friday night at Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pa., in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA tournament.

Senior Alec Stavetski torched the District Three runner-up Shamrocks for a career-best 28 points, on 7-for-13 shooting and 12-for-14 from the free-throw line. Carroll (19-7) draws Octorara, a double-overtime winner Friday, in a second-round state game Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

Here's more from Stavetski after the win:

He hoisted shot, after shot, after shot … but none went in.

That's how it goes some nights for Alec Stavetski, Archbishop Carroll's senior sharp-shooter. Stavetski went 0-for-11, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range, against Philadelphia Electrical Charter Feb. 29, when Carroll clinched District 12's No. 3 seed in the upcoming PIAA Class AAA tournament.

Carroll (18-7) faces Trinity Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at Milton Hershey School.

It's not as though Stavetski had hands in his face on every attempt. It just wasn't his night, which is why Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk isn't worried about his leading scorer – especially with a nine-day lag between districts and states.

“If it was someone that I didn't feel was a mentally strong player and couldn't rebound from this, yes, I'd be worried,” Romanczuk said. “But Alec has played for us and, now, started for us for two years. He's the kind of kid who would miss four shots and take the fifth shot as if he had made the previous four. His confidence is pretty stable.”

Romanczuk said he expected Stavetski in the gym in the days that followed the PEC win, but only because “that's the way he is. He'd be in there even if he went 11-for-11.” The Patriots (18-7) will need Stavetski if they plan on advancing past their first-round game Friday, March 9.

“He'll be fine. He's really confident,” Carroll senior Pat Finnegan said of Stavetski. “He knows we go to him and he knows we have to go to him if we're going to win in the state tournament.”

(Photo courtesy Philly.com)

Here's a look at Delaware County's free-throw shooting leaders for the 2011-12 season, with only two stipulations to make the cut: Players must have attempted an average of four free throws per game (88 for a 22-game season and so on) and must have knocked down at least 50 percent of them.

Without further ado, your leaders:

84.3 ... Dan Rutecki, Springfield (75-89, 22 G)
75.4 ... Kevin Gladstone, Haverford (98-130, 22 G)
75.3 ... Jerry Price, Penn Wood (61-81, 20 G)
73.2 ... Ryan Kelly, Garnet Valley (71-97)
71.5 ... Shawn Church, Ridley (63-88, 22 G)
69.2 ... Ryan Furst, Marple Newtown (72-104, 22 G)
68.1 ... Rob Pittman, Chichester (96-141, 19 G)
67.6 ... Alec Stavetski, Arch. Carroll (71-105, 21 G)
65.9 ... Malcolm Richardson, Penn Wood (56-86, 21 G)
64.2 ... John Fender, Strath Haven (68-106, 22 G)
63.3 ... Yosef Yacob, Arch. Carroll (76-120, 22 G)
62.4 ... Rondae Jefferson, Chester (73-117, 22 G)
58.3 ... Christian Irons, Interboro (84-144, 22 G)
55.9 ... Erikk Wright, Chester (52-93, 22 G)
55.4 ... Sammy Foreman, Haverford School (51-92, 22 G)
51.6 ... George Walker, Glen Mills (62-120, 22 G)

For all intents and purposes, Monday's win over Roman Catholic was nothing more than Archbishop Carroll's attempt to finish out the regular season on a strong note.

But we all know that's not the case.

Once again, as evidenced, by the 46-45 win over the Cahillites, Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk has his Patriots pointed in the right direction as the Catholic League Playoffs approach.

Carroll has won 10 of its last 12 games, dating back to Jan. 6, and the Patriots haven't lost consecutive games since December. Not a bad run to be having.

Against Roman, Carroll's leading scorer Alec Stavetski didn't score a single point. Freshman Derrick Jones continues to contribute in more ways than one, with scoring, rebounding and blocking shots. And junior Yosef Yacob, pictured, had a huge night, dropping 17 points and resembling the player who turned heads last season in the PCL tournament.

If the PCL playoffs began today, Carroll would clinch third place. Listed below are the standings, as well as the remaining schedules for Carroll and Roman:
PCL ... Team (Overall Record)
11-0... Neumann-Goretti (17-3)
11-0... St. Joe's Prep (18-2)
9-2 ... Arch. Carroll (14-6)
8-3 ... Roman Catholic (12-8)

Friday
Archbishop Carroll at West Catholic, 6:30
Roman Catholic at Father Judge, 7:30

Sunday
Archbishop Wood at Roman Catholic, 2:30
St. Joseph’s Prep at Archbishop Carroll, 3

(Times staff photo / ERIC HARTLINE)

OK, folks. Since everyone loves stats, I've compiled a blog post for the stat-hungry basketball junkies out there.

Here's a list of Delaware County's finest free-throw shooters this season, with only two stipulations: The player must have attempted at least 50 foul shots AND they must have made at least 60 percent of them. (Otherwise, the list would stretch from here to the Jersey shore.)

So here's your leaderboard through Wednesday's games:

(Minimum 50 attempts, 60 percent efficiency)
Through Wednesday
FT % ... Player, School (FTM-FTA)
85.7 ... Danny Rutecki, Springfield (60-70)
73.1 ... Xavier Couthen, Glen Mills (38-52)
73.0 ... Matt Fox, Springfield (38-52)
72.4 ... Ryan Kelly, Garnet Valley (50-69)
69.4 ... Malcolm Richardson, Penn Wood (41-59)
69.3 ... Rob Pittman, Chichester (70-101)
67.9 ... Ray Hollman, Haverford School (36-53)
67.0 ... Ryan Furst, Marple Newtown (59-88)
64.7 ... Austin Stephens, Delco Christian (44-68)
64.2 ... Alec Stavetski, Arch Carroll (52-81)
63.9 ... John Fender, Strath Haven (62-97)
63.6 ... Darius Robinson, Chester (35-55)
62.7 ... Yusef Ross, Upper Darby (37-59)
61.5 ... Rondae Jefferson, Chester (56-91)
60.6 ... Christian Irons, Interboro (54-89)

Here's a look at Delco's top 10 leading scorers, through Wednesday's games.

(Through Wednesday)

Name, School ... Avg (Point, Games)

1. Chuck Dorsey, Academy Park ... 20.2 ppg (121 p, 6 g)
2. Malcolm Richardson (right), Penn Wood...19.0 ppg (95p,5g)
3. Shawn Church, Ridley ... 18.8 ppg (169 p, 9 g)
4. Alec Stavetski, Arch. Carroll ... 15.0 ppg (75 p, 5 g)
5. Rob Pittman, Chichester ... 14.5 ppg (116 p, 8 g)
6. Ryan Furst, Marple Newtown ... 14.4 ppg (130 p, 9 g)
7. Matt Fox, Springfield ... 13.8 ppg (110 p, 8 g)
8. George Walker, Glen Mills ... 13.7 ppg (82 p, 6 g)
9. John Fender, Strath Haven ... 13.4 ppg (94 p, 7 g)
10. Tyree Bynum, Penn Wood ... 12.6 ppg (63 p, 5 g)
CLOSE CALLS: Ryan Kelly (Garnet Valley) and Mike McKale (Springfield) each average 12.3 ppg and Pat McGee (Marple Newtown) averages 12.0 ppg.

Some things to consider here:
**It's a three-horse race. Beyond Dorsey, Richardson and Church (pictured), there's a great disparity in the players' averages.
**Penn Wood has two representatives in the top 10, in Richardson and Bynum.
***Glen Mills' Raheem Harvey does not qualify because he hasn't played in two-thirds of his team's games. The 6-8 center, who missed four games, is averaging 26.5 ppg through two games, however.

One final note: The location and time of Chester's game New Year's Day against Christ the King (N.Y.) have changed. The game, between teams that opened the season ranked in nearly every national poll, tips off at 7:45 p.m. at Widener.

For the second straight season -- and to the same opponent -- Archbishop Carroll lost the Catholic League championship game.

Monday's 59-55 loss to Neumann-Goretti meant the Saints were able to take home their 15th league crown while concluding their third consecutive unbeaten slate in league play.

All the while, Carroll was unable to win its second such crown.

The Patriots relied too heavily upon All-Delco Juan'ya Green, who poured in a game-best 30 points. He shot 9-for-25 from the floor; his team combined to shoot 10-for-24, which doesn't sound all that bad ... but it was.

The Patriots' second-leading scorer this season, Yosef Yacob, who had 18 points in the league semifinal, finished with six. Alec Stavetski, another usually reliable offensive cog, was left scoreless. Jay Donovan, a long-range sniper, had only one trey and seven total points.

"We didn't do enough," Donovan said.

"Sometimes we stand too much. It happened tonight," he added. "We stand around and watch Juan'ya too much. We should set picks and get each other open better. We need to play better as a team. We can't rely on Juan'ya like that. One versus five won't work. He's a great player, but we need to help him out."

Tracy Peal was Carroll's only other double-figure scorer, tallying 12 points with eight rebounds.

For more on the game, including a column by Jack McCaffery and sidebar special to the Times by Tom Kerrane, pick up Tuesday's edition of the Daily Times.