Chartiers Valley cut what had been a 15-point third-quarter deficit down to 2 two minutes into the fourth quarter of its PIAA Class 5A semifinal against Hershey on Friday.
A nightmare final six minutes then put an end to the Colts’ dream season.
Hershey held Chartiers Valley without a field goal the final 5:58 and ended the game on a 16-2 run to earn a berth in the state final for the first time following a 66-50 win at Clearfield High School.
Three weeks after winning its first WPIAL title in a decade, Chartiers Valley (26-4) fell one win short of reaching the PIAA final for the third time and first since 2010, T.J. McConnell’s senior season. Hershey (25-3), which won its first District 3 title in 51 years, will take on Neumann-Goretti in the final March 28 at the Giant Center, which is located only three miles from Hershey High School.
Charters Valley, which saw its 11-game win streak snapped, trailed Hershey by 15 points early in the third quarter before using a 14-1 run to pull within 37-35 on Julian Semplice’s layup with 3:38 left in the quarter. Hershey would stretch its lead back to eight after three quarters, but an 8-2 Chartiers Valley run highlighted by 3-pointers from Jayden Davis and Semplice once again pulled the Colts within two at 50-48 with 5:58 remaining in the fourth.
That’s when Chartiers Valley’s sweet dreams morphed into a sour ending. The Colts would miss their final seven shots of the game, with Davis providing their only points courtesy of two free throws with 2:13 left. As the Colts went cold shooting, Hershey feasted on transition layups and free throws, and it seemed as if nearly every loose ball ended in the hands of a Hershey player.
“We lost our composure a little bit,” Chartiers Valley coach Corey Dotchin said. “They had a double tipped get-on-the-ground ball that pops up and they get a layup. They shoot a ball, it gets tipped around, they get an offensive rebound, get a putback. A part of it was the ball didn’t bounce our way during that stretch. But we think we lost ourselves a little bit, so that’s on us. But they also had a couple of bounces that went their way that would have changed it.”
Hershey shot 54% from the field (24 of 44) against a Chartiers Valley team that had surrendered 29, 38 and 38 points in their first three PIAA games. The Trojans were 10-of-14 shooting in the second quarter when they outscored Chartiers Valley, 25-8, to take a 34-19 halftime lead.
“I think we were resilient,” Hershey coach Paul Blackburn said. “We knew they were coming at us. We had turnovers, they made plays, and we had to collect ourselves and get back to fundamentals and connect with our teammates. And I think we guarded them very hard tonight. I think we’re a good defensive unit and we take a lot of pride in that.”
Chartiers Valley struggled shooting, finishing just 31% from the field (16 of 51). In particular, Hershey did an excellent job against Davis, who averages 22 points per game. Davis, who was hounded by Hershey standout 6-2 junior guard Cameron Sweeney, scored one point in the first half and finished with 14 in the game.
“I just think Sweeney is a really good athlete,” Dotchin said. “He’s a physical kid. He’s athletic. He’s got long arms. He accepted the challenge. I think [Davis] got some good looks in the first half. They just didn’t go. But I felt like he was rushed a little bit. But all in all, I thought it was more on us than it was on them.”
Semplice led Chartiers Valley with 15 points. Freshman Luca Federico came off the bench to add eight, but no other Colts’ player scored more than six.
Sweeney (14 points), Jack Zakovitch (13), Drew Garna (13) and James Campbell (11) all scored in double-digits for Hershey, which defeated WPIAL foe Penn-Trafford by 10 points in the first round and advanced to the quarterfinals via a double forfeit after Uniontown and Meadville were both eliminated due to the fight that took place at their second-round game.
Chartiers Valley showed a lot of fight this season after finishing just 11-12 a season ago. And while the WPIAL champs fell two wins shy of their biggest goal, the future is bright as the Colts lose only two seniors.
Said Dotchin, “I told the guys, ‘What you guys did this year was program changing. You might not realize it now, but in a couple of days or a week you will, and you can always come back and see that banner hanging in the gym. And that’s something to be proud about.’”
Class 4A semifinal
• WPIAL runner-up North Catholic (22-7) coughed up a fourth-quarter lead before falling to District 3 champion Berks Catholic (24-4), 67-59, at James Buchanan. Berks Catholic outscored North Catholic, 23-12, in the fourth quarter. North Catholic led by five before Berks Catholic rallied to tie the score at 55. Kingston McCoy then made two free throws to put Berks Catholic ahead, 57-55, with just under two minutes left, and the Saints led the rest of the way. McCoy paced the Saints with 24 points and Bryce Gumby scored 19 off the bench. Jason Fredericks tallied 20 points to lead North Cathoilc, which led, 47-44, after three quarters. Owen Maddalon added 17 points and Joe Waskiewicz 12 for the Trojans, who had won 13 of their previous 14 games and were trying to reach their first final since 2009. Berks Catholic advanced to its first final and will meet District 12 champ Devon Prep in the championship game.
Class 1A semifinal
• After leading by only five points at the half, WPIAL champion Neighborhood Academy (28-1) put its foot on the gas in the second half to reach the final for the first time after a 55-38 win against District 9 champion Otto-Eldred (28-2) at Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie. The Bulldogs led, 22-17, at the half before outscoring Otto-Eldred, 14-10, in the third quarter and 19-11 in the fourth. Otto-Eldred trailed, 31-25, midway through the third when Neighborhood Academy countered with a 19-6 run to take control. Kedron Gilmore scored a team-high 14 points for the Bulldogs, who won a PIAA game for the first time just a season ago. Syncer Nicholson added 13 points, Shamar Simpson 12 and Courtney Wallace 10. Wallace also had 15 rebounds and 9 assists. Landon Francis led Otto-Eldred with 14 points and Manning Splain had 13. Neighborhood Academy will play District 12 winner Sankofa Freedom in the final Thursday in Hershey.
Scoreboard
PIAA Class 5A semifinals
Hershey 66, Chartiers Valley 50
Neumann-Goretti 79, Upper Moreland 53
PIAA Class 4A semifinals
Berks Catholic 67, North Catholic 59
Devon Prep 64, Valley View 44
PIAA Class 1A semifinals
Neighborhood Academy 55, Otto-Eldred 38
Sankofa Freedom 63, Lancaster Country Day 41
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.