For three quarters Wednesday, Central Valley held the Mayo.
Beaver’s Brady Mayo was the second-leading scorer in the WPIAL during the regular season and was coming off a career-high 45-point effort in a win against Avonworth that helped the Bobcats claim a share of the section title for just the fourth time in school history.
But after being held in check for 24 minutes, Mayo came alive in the final eight to help Beaver rally for a win.
Mayo and his teammates now get to relish in the fact that they’ve reached the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in a dozen years.
Mayo scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead host No. 3 Beaver to a 58-50 win against No. 6 Central Valley in a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal.
“I think Brady is the best guard in the WPIAL,” first-year Beaver coach Jason Bumblis said. “I know he doesn’t get all the hype, but you see what he’s been doing. When the season was on the line …. In the fourth, what did he have, 15 points? They didn’t stop letting him shoot. He just did his thing. He’s special, man. He’s the hardest-working kid I’ve ever coached. He’s a dog.”
It was the eighth victory in a row for red-hot Beaver (19-4), which won the rubber match with Section 2 rival Central Valley (19-5) to put itself a win away from reaching the final for the first time. The Bobcats had not reached the semifinals since 2013. Central Valley had won 10 of 12 and was looking to reach its first semifinal since 2017.
Beaver had rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to pull within 37-35 after three quarters. Mayo, a 6-foot-1 senior and Bucknell football recruit, had only 11 points at the time, this after pouring in 27.2 a game during the regular season. Central Valley threw the kitchen sink at Mayo defensively, often double-teaming him and sometimes going box-and-one. But Mayo saved his best for last, scoring 15 points in the final frame, including 11 in the final 3:51. After Nick Krzeczowski knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:33 left to put Beaver in front, 44-43, Mayo scored 10 straight Beaver points — including his only two 3-pointers — to fuel what turned out to be a game-changing 15-2 run. Beaver held a 23-13 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.
“Games are fluid. There are four quarters for a reason,” said Mayo, who finished 7 of 15 from the field and 10 of 14 from the free-throw line. “I know the game is going to come to me. I’m not going to force anything. I’m going to get my teammates involved. It just wasn’t working offensively. Once we got it going offensively, the floodgates opened.”
Mayo won both the game and his duel with Central Valley senior guard Isaiah Jeter, the school’s all-time leading scorer who had gone off for 46 and 33 in his last two games. Jeter, who was averaging 19.5 points a game on the season, finished with 19 points but did not score after sinking two free throws with 5:05 left that gave the Warriors a 43-41 lead. Beaver rotated Mayo and Junior Marino on Jeter, who was 8 of 21 from the field and 3 of 3 from the line.
“He’s a great shooter, so the key is to not let him shoot,” Mayo said. “Make him put the ball on the ground, make him go to the rim. He did a good job of that in some points in the game, but it was just limiting him and making the other guys beat us.”
Adam Shroads was the only other Central Valley player scoring in double figures, as he came off the bench to tally 12 points.
Krzeczowski added 10 points for Beaver, and he along with 6-7 Logan Weiland and 6-4 Micah Pupi did an excellent job on the boards for the Bobcats, who didn’t allow Central Valley many second-chance opportunities.
Beaver will now get a chance to make history when it battles North Catholic in Saturday’s semifinals.
“This is the furthest any Beaver team has ever made it in history, and we don’t want to be done yet,” Bumblis said. “We want to go further, and I think we have the team to do it.”
Other Class 4A quarterfinals
• No. 1 Belle Vernon (19-4) survived a major upset scare by holding off visiting No. 8 Elizabeth Forward (18-6), 55-51, to capture its 13th win in a row and reach the semifinals for the fourth time in six years. Belle Vernon led, 49-41, after three quarters before Elizabeth Forward pulled to within 52-51 with just under a minute left. Belle Vernon beat its Section 3 rival by margins of 4 and 28 points in the regular season. Zion Moore, the WPIAL’s third-leading scorer (27 ppg), led Belle Vernon with 17 points, while James Gile paced Elizabeth Forward with 15 points.
• Rowan Carmichael pumped in 35 points to push No. 4 Avonworth (18-5) into the semifinals for the second year in a row following a 72-63 win against visiting No. 5 Knoch (17-7). Carmichael, the WPIAL’s scoring leader during the regular season (32 ppg), scored 18 of his points in the first half when Avonworth rushed to a 34-21 lead. The Antelopes also got 20 points from Noah Goetz. Jackson Bauman scored 30 points and Teegan Finucan had 17 for Knoch, which lost in the quarterfinals for the second straight season.
• Jude Rottmann scored 20 points to lead host No. 2 North Catholic (18-5) to a 65-51 win against No. 7 Deer Lakes (17-6), ending the Lancers’ two-year reign as WPIAL champs. Deer Lakes won Class 3A titles in 2023 and 2024. North Catholic led, 34-28, at the half before outscoring Deer Lakes, 16-4, in the third quarter to pull away and topple its Section 1 counterpart for the third time this season. Jason Fredericks chipped in 13 points for the Trojans, who won their ninth game in a row. Collin Rodgers paced Deer Lakes with 15 points.
Class 1A quarterfinals
• Courtney Wallace produced yet another triple-double to power No. 1 Neighborhood Academy (22-1) to its 12th win in a row courtesy of a 66-20 rout of No. 8 Beaver County Christian (10-10) at Shaler. Wallace finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his 16th triple-double of the season. Kedron Gilmore tacked on 15 points and 9 rebounds for the Bulldogs, a finalist a season ago who led, 46-6, at the half. Hunter Mozley scored 10 points for Beaver County Christian, which was making its first quarterfinal appearance.
• Jake Guillen poured in 24 points to propel No. 4 Aquinas Academy (18-5) into the semifinals for the first time after a 69-40 win against No. 5 Geibel Catholic (14-9) at Shaler. Sam Duer added 14 points for Aquinas Academy, which won its first-ever playoff game in 2023 and fell in the quarterfinals the previous two seasons. The Crusaders led by 16 points at the half before extending their advantage to 28 after three quarters. Roman Riccelli scored a team-best 18 points for Geibel Catholic, which produced a strong season after going just 1-21 a season ago.
• Serra Catholic (20-3), the No. 2 seed, rallied from a 2-point halftime deficit to eliminate visiting No. 7 Summit Academy (9-8), 80-61. Serra, which has won 10 of its past 11 games, outscored Summit Academy, 45-24, in the second half, including 25-14 in the third quarter. Owen Dumbroski, Serra’s all-time leading scorer, tallied 25 points and Mark Johnson chipped in 19 for the Eagles, who advanced to their first semifinal since 2019 after falling in the Class 2A quarterfinals the past three seasons. Kyzir Rowan paced Summit Academy with 27 points.
• No. 3 Nazareth Prep (18-4) got defensive to win its eighth straight game, limiting No. 6 Monessen (13-10) to its second-lowest point total of the season on its way to grabbing a 53-38 win at Sewickley Academy. Will Evans scored 12 points for Nazareth Prep, which led, 24-16, at the half before going on to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2020. Ty Kershaw scored a team-best 13 points for Monessen. The Greyhounds lost in the quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row and ended the season with four consecutive losses.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.