District 6 champion Johnstown entered a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal showdown Friday night with a record of 26-1 and hopes of extinguishing Chartiers Valley’s fire.
Instead, the flames surrounding the white-hot Colts’ postseason surge only continued to spread.
In its first year under new coach Corey Dotchin, WPIAL champion Chartiers Valley extended its winning streak to 11 games and clinched a spot in the PIAA Class 5A Western Region final with a convincing 58-38 victory against the Trojans (26-2) at Norwin. Star senior Jayden Davis led the way with 19 points to go with 18 from junior guard Julian Semplice and 10 from Logan Helfrick.
“It feels amazing,” Semplice said. “We went through a first-round exit [in the WPIAL tournament] last year. To be in the state final four, it feels awesome.”
With the Colts coming off a lackluster season after posting an overall record of 11-12 a year ago, Dotchin instilled a new team culture centered around unselfish play on the offensive end and a tenacious level of intensity on defense. The newfound approach has worked wonders for Chartiers Valley (26-3), with the Colts allowing just under 40 points in all three of their PIAA playoff victories thus far.
For Johnstown, Amier Robinson tallied a team-high 19 points to go with 16 from Donte Tisinger. The duo combined to score all of the Trojans’ points other than a 3-pointer by Dom Alberter with less than two minutes remaining.
“We contested [shots] and tried to make everything as difficult as possible,” Dotchin said. “That’s what we shoot for is to keep teams under 50 and to make things tough on them. … It’s a total buy-in on both ends. That’s the big thing. They’re not just worried about scoring points — they want to stop guys.”
One of 40 players in WPIAL history with more than 2,000 career points, Davis has gone through a fascinating career arc at Chartiers Valley. After bursting onto the scene while averaging 27 points per game as a freshman, Davis then poured in 25 ppg as a sophomore — but he was left off the all-section team as a junior after the Colts’ disappointing season.
As a senior, his scoring average has taken a slight tip to 23.8 ppg, but he is doing all the little things necessary to help his team win while allowing other players such as Semplice and Helfrick to share the spotlight.
“We communicated well, and that’s how we stayed connected,” Davis said about Friday’s win. “We just go out there and play with free will. [Dotchin] believes in us, so we have confidence out there on the court, and that really goes a long way.”
Chartiers Valley jumped to a 17-10 lead after the opening quarter, then the Colts stretched their advantage to double digits going into halftime after a driving layup by Semplice in the final seconds of the second. Semplice then buried two 3-pointers coming out of the break to make it a 13-point lead for Chartiers Valley midway through the third.
Johnstown cut the deficit to nine going into the fourth, but that was as close as the Trojans would come the rest of the way. The Colts started the final quarter with an 11-2 run to all but put it away, using their stifling defense to send another team packing while moving to within one win of a trip to a state championship appearance.
“Like I’ve said all season, we’re more than just Jayden Davis, and that’s why we’re in the state semifinals,” Dotchin said. “They have bought into each other and trust each other. … We have a lot of other guys who have stepped up, and I think everyone is just playing their role for us to be successful.”
Class 4A boys
• Owen Maddalon converted a 3-point play late in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime, and Jude Rottmann scored a team-leading 28 points to help North Catholic (22-6) rally for a dramatic 78-75 overtime win against District 10 champion Cathedral Prep (19-9) at Slippery Rock University.
Class 1A boys
• Yale recruit Courtney Wallace racked up 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first quarter for WPIAL champion Neighborhood Academy (27-1), which surged to a 15-point halftime lead and never looked back in a 64-44 win against District 3 sixth-place finisher La Academia Charter at Altoona High School. Kedron Gilmore and Syncer Nicholson each contributed 10 points for the Bulldogs to go with 9 points apiece from Junior Onwubiko and Shamar Simpson. Quinnes Jones-Hawkins finished with a team-high 13 points for La Academia Charter (14-13).
• After a groundbreaking season that included the first two PIAA playoff victories in school history, Aquinas Academy‘s magical run came to an end in a 75-68 defeat to District 9 champion Otto-Eldridge (28-1) at Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie. Jake Guillen led the Crusaders (20-8) with a game-high 26 points , followed by 18 from David Zaharko and 14 from Sam Duer. Ray’shene Thomas paced four players in double figures for Otto-Eldred with 21 points to go with 19 apiece from Landon Francis and Manning Spain.
Scoreboard
PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals
Chartiers Valley 58, Johnstown 38
PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals
North Catholic 78, Cathedral Prep 75 (OT)
PIAA Class 1A quarterfinals
Otto-Eldred 75, Aquinas Academy 68
Neighborhood Academy 64, La Academia Charter 44
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
