Having a 2,000-point career scorer and a slew of additional scoring options, it’s no wonder that Chartiers Valley has had one of the most potent offenses in the WPIAL this season.
But in order for the Colts to achieve their biggest goals, coach Corey Dotchin knows they needed to buckle down defensively when they opened in the playoffs last week.
This is a team that wants to win a WPIAL championship, and Friday night, the Colts used a fantastic defensive performance to take down a team that won the title just a season ago.
No. 4-seeded Chartiers Valley was a balanced bunch offensively and held No. 5 and defending champion Moon to a point total that tied a season low in locking down the Tigers, 51-44, in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal at Upper St. Clair.
“I thought our guys were great,” Dotchin said. “And that’s what we told them when the playoffs started, that we’ve got to be able to hang our hat defensively. We know we can score with the best of them, but we need to be able to buckle down on the defensive end and get stops. And if we do that, we feel like we’ll put ourselves in good position to advance in the playoffs.”
It was the third win for Chartiers Valley (21-3) over Moon (18-6) this season after dispatching its section rival by 16 and 5 points in the regular season. The win propelled the Colts to the semifinals Tuesday for the first time since 2021. There they will meet another section rival, No. 1 Montour (23-1), a team responsible for handing the Colts two of their three losses.
“We plan on coming in with a lot of energy,” Chartiers Valley standout Jayden Davis said. “We don’t plan on losing to them a third time. Of course we want to win and go to The Pete.”
The 44 points scored by Moon tied for its fewest with the total it scored against Chartiers Valley when the teams first met this season. But the final score didn’t tell the full story of the Colts’ excellent defensive play. Moon scored only 24 points through three quarters and didn’t break 30 until there was just over two minutes left in the game. By that time, the outcome was no longer in doubt. The Colts led, 50-36, with 30 seconds left before Moon’s Michael Santicola scored 8 late points.
“We knew we had to communicate,” said Davis, whose team held Thomas Jefferson to 50 points in the first round. “They won the WPIAL championship last year, so they’re a really sound, fundamental team. So we knew we had to communicate, switch screens and everything, so we did really lock in and got the job done.”
Davis, a senior guard who has tallied more than 2,000 career points and averages 23 points per game this season, led Chartiers Valley with 13 points. He got plenty of help in this game, with Julius Best adding 10 points, freshman Luca Federico 9, and Danny Slizik and Julian Semplice 8 apiece. Best and Federico did their damage coming off the bench.
“It’s a strength of ours, our depth that we have,” said Dotchin, who is in his first season. “[Davis] has good guys around him, but he also knows that we need him to be able to be successful. And he shouldered that load for all of the season, and he continues to continue to make the right play and believe in his teammates because he knows there’s bigger things coming down the line.”
Chartiers Valley led, 23-18, at the half before using a 10-2 run to open the third quarter to open double-digit lead. Federico scored 5 points in the stretch, with he and Helfrick knocking down consecutive 3-pointers about a minute apart. The Chartiers Valley lead would balloon to as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Santicola, a Nova Southeastern recruit, finished with 15 points, but had only 7 through three quarters. Amir Turner added 10 points.
Other Class 5A quarterfinals
• Ama Sow scored 19 points and No. 1 Montour (23-1) survived a scare by slipping past No. 9 Latrobe (19-5), 60-52, at Ringgold. Montour won its 17th game in a row, but it wasn’t easy. The Spartans led, 27-20, at the half before Latrobe rallied and cut the lead to one in the fourth quarter. Colton Straight added 17 points for the Spartans, who reached their first semifinal since 2022. Max Butler scored 19 points and Ian Decerb 16 for Latrobe, which was looking to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2016.
• In a battle of double-digit seeds, Drew Navetta knocked down five 3-pointers among his game-high 19 points to lead No. 10 Mars (14-10) to a 64-59 win against No. 15 Penn-Trafford (14-10) at Fox Chapel. Penn-Trafford, which toppled No. 2 Baldwin in the first round, led Mars, 34-33, at the half before the Planets outscored the Warriors, 19-12, in the third quarter. Navetta had 7 points in the third for Mars, which beat South Fayette by 4 in the first round and will play in the semifinals for the first time since 2021. Tyler Anthony paced Penn-Trafford with 17 points.
• Jake Wetzel scored 18 points to help No. 6 Peters Township (17-7) upset No. 3 Uniontown (20-4), 56-52, at Ringgold. Penn-Trafford used a 17-12 scoring edge in the third quarter to turn a 1-point halftime deficit into a 4-point lead. Dylan Donovan and Sean Thelk each added 12 points for Peters Township, which has won 6 of 8. The Indians will play in the semifinals for the first time since finishing as the WPIAL runner-up in 2023. Calvin Winfrey scored 18 points for Uniontown, which saw its 12-game win streak snapped. Uniontown lost in the semifinals a year ago.
Class 3A quarterfinals
• No. 1 and two-time defending champion Aliquippa (19-4) advanced to the semifinals for the eighth consecutive season after a 71-49 rout of No. 9 Shady Side Academy (10-13) at Peters Township. It was the 12th win in the past 13 games for Aliquippa, whose only loss in that stretch was to Class 6A semifinalist New Castle. Shady Side Academy had won eight in a row. The Bulldogs lost in the quarterfinals for the third season in a row.
• Drew Allen scored 25 points and No. 4 Bishop Canevin (15-9), despite blowing a double-digit halftime lead, closed strong to defeat No. 5 Keystone Oaks (17-7), 67-58, at Peters Township. Canevin led, 41-27, at the half before Keystone Oaks used a 22-5 scoring edge in the third quarter to surge ahead. Canevin outscored Keystone Oaks, 21-9, in the fourth to win for the eighth time in nine games and beat its section rival for the third time this season. Erond Jakupi poured in 22 points for Keystone Oaks, which was coming off its first playoff win since 2008.
• No. 2 South Allegheny (21-3) held No. 10 Ellwood City (14-10) to three field goals in the first half and just 10 in the game on its way to a 77-34 win at North Catholic. Drew Cook had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists for South Allegheny, which avenged a loss to Ellwood City in the 2021 championship by advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 2022. Ellwood City was 10 of 49 from the field (20%) and scored just 2 points in each of the first and fourth quarters. Cameron Epps and Josh Jackowski added 13 points apiece for South Allegheny, while Aaron Lake paced Ellwood City with 12.
• Bobby Fadden pumped in a game-high 22 points and No. 3 Mohawk (19-5) rolled into the semifinals for the second year in a row courtesy of a 55-38 win against No. 6 Southmoreland (18-6) at North Catholic. Mohawk, which has won 8 of 10, raced to a 23-9 first-quarter lead and never looked back. Drew Wrona added 13 points for the Warriors, knocking down three 3-pointers. Noah Felentzer scored a team-best 14 points for Southmoreland, which was fresh off its first playoff win since 2017. The Scotties have not reached the semifinals since 1987.
Scoreboard
Class 5A boys
Chartiers Valley 51, Moon 44
Mars 64, Penn-Trafford 59
Montour 60, Latrobe 52
Peters Township 56, Uniontown 52
Class 3A boys
Aliquippa 71, Shady Side Academy 49
Bishop Canevin 67, Keystone Oaks 58
Mohawk 55, Southmoreland 38
South Allegheny 77, Ellwood City 34
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.