Jan 12, 2015 By Eleanor Bailey 8 min read

While Chartiers Valley’s 71-57 victory over Mt. Lebanon created a logjam in Section 4-AAAA, it was the only result the Colts could afford on their home court. The Colts are 4-1 in the division, as are the Blue Devils, Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park.

“If we wanted any chance of winning this league and being section champs, we had to win this game. We knew Lebo was a very good team and we had to take care of business,” explained head coach Tim McConnell, whose lone section loss came at home against USC. “I’m real proud of this team.”

McConnell is particularly pleased with Ross Wilkerson. The sophomore guard fired in 18 points, 16 in the decisive second half. He scored the first five points of the third quarter to stake CV to a 42-25 advantage. Wilkerson buried four, 3-point field goals.

Of Wilkerson’s performance, McConnell said, “that’s what we’ve been expecting of him all year. Ross is a great shooter. When he shoots like that, it makes us tough to guard.”

As the Colts rolled to a 9-2 record, they have depended upon Matty McConnell and Eddie Flohr. A Robert Morris recruit, McConnell leads the WPIAL in scoring with a 29.6 average. A junior, Flohr averages 17 points per game.

“We’ve been two-dimensional too much the last couple of games with Eddie and Matty, but when Ross can shoot it, Coleman (Vaughn) can shoot it, Jake (Ritson) shoots it, that’s when we become a tough team.”

The Colts are tough because of Flohr’s ability to drive to the hoop despite the height advantage held by opposing teams. Against Lebo, which featured big men Matt Hoffman (6’3″) and Patrick Ehland (6’6″), Flohr fired in 22 points, all but three on buckets in the paint or off free throws drawn by his driving.

“Eddie breathes tenacity,” McConnell said. “The energy he brings. The way he plays. He’s fun to watch; fun to coach. He brings a lot to the table. His ability to get to the hoop is huge.”

Against Lebo, the young McConnell was huge, particularly in the first half as the Colts constructed a 37-25 advantage. He led all scorers with 29 markers. He tossed in 20 during the first half. He scored hoops to end the second and third quarters as CV’s lead swelled to 53-36. McConnell buried six, long-range shots.

“If we hit shots, then that’s our game,” said Coach McConnell.

When the Colts neutralize the opposition’s height advantage, then that’s another aspect of their game. Rebounding factored into CV’s favorable outcome.

“We got some big rebounds,” agreed McConnell. “I think one of the keys was not giving them second chances and points and I thought we did a nice job with rebounding the basketball and not letting them get put-backs. When we watched film on them, they got a lot of put-backs. So we did a great job on the boards, I thought.”

Jonny David and Ehland did the job for Lebo, which slipped to 9-4 overall. David pumped in a team-high 22 points. He knocked down three, 3-pointers, two in the first frame as Lebo staked a 16-15 lead. Ehland, whose dunk pulled Lebo to within 42-31 in the third stanza, finished with 12 points. Mark Lamendola and Eddie Jenkins finished with eight and seven markers, while Hoffman provided four points.

Previously, Lebo downed Canon-McMillan, 50-31. Hoffman and Lamendola supplied 15 and 10 tallies for the winners, while Sam Bohn fired in 10 for the Big Macs.

The Blue Devils, who hosted USC last night (Jan. 12), will entertain Moon (1-4, 3-7) in their next outing on Jan. 16.

BP hosts CV

Meanwhile, Chartiers Valley will travel to Bethel Park Jan. 16 for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The Hawks started the week at 8-4 overall and tied for first place in Section 4-AAAA with a 4-1 record.

The Hawks are coming off a critical win at Canon-McMillan. What appeared to be a rout turned into a battle and ended in a 55-52 triumph. The Hawks actually led, 47-25, with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter before the Big Macs rallied.

A 16-point run pulled CM to within six points. On two free throws by R.J. Bell, the Big Macs pulled to within one point, 53-52, before Jake Dixon made a foul shot with 3.5 seconds to play to seal the victory.

“Anytime you play a Canon-Mac team, you know that you are going to get their best shot,” said Bethel Park head coach Ben O’Connor. “It doesn’t matter if they are down two or down 30. They are going to keep coming at you. When you punch, they punch back. I don’t want to say we tightened up, but they started making some shots and fed off their home crowd.”

Joe Mascaro led the Hawks with 23 points, including a 3-point field goal at the buzzer that lifted BP to a 32-19 lead at halftime. Levi Metheny finished with 10 tallies.

With 20 tallies, Sam Bohn led the Big Macs, who made one of their first seven shots and were just 7 of 22 from the field in the first half. Bell and Britton Beachy followed with 12 and 11 markers, respectively.

Previously, BP dispatched Moon, 62-55. Mascaro fired in 20 points while Jake Dixon and Josh Duda followed with 14 and 12 tallies.

Although the loss dropped the Big Macs to 1-4 in the division and 6-6 overall, they remain optimistic regarding their post-season prospects. Canon-Mac, which played Peters Township Jan. 13, faces Upper St. Clair in back-to-back games this weekend. The Big Macs host the Panthers Jan. 16 then travel to USC Jan. 17. Both games have a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

After the loss to Bethel, head coach Rick Bell asked his players if they were mathematically eliminated from the playoff race. He also asked them if they were eliminated from the winning the section. “They answered no,” he said. He also emphasized how proud he was of his squad for not giving up against the Hawks.

“Sometimes in life, you are down … and what are you going to do? Quit? We aren’t about to do that,” he stressed. “It’s disappointing not to win the game because that is our goal, but I am extremely proud of the effort we gave. We didn’t quit.”

USC keeps pace

With wins against Peters Township, 53-36, and Baldwin, 36-35, Upper St. Clair kept pace with BP, CV and Lebo in the section race. The Panthers, who won last year’s division title, improved to 10-2 overall with the victories.

In the win against the Highlanders, Andrew Wheeler led the Panthers with 10 points. Against the Indians, Wheeler and Zach Pateras fired in 12 tallies while Marcus McGinnis tacked on 10 points. Rylen Faloni led the Indians with 11 markers.

The Indians also dropped a 73-44 decision to Chartiers Valley. Michael Cortese topped out with 10 tallies for the Indians. Matty McConnell pumped in 26, while Jake Ritson contributed 24 points to CV’s totals.

Peters Township hosts Baldwin (Jan. 16) and Mt. Lebanon (Jan. 17) before traveling to Bethel Park for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off Jan. 20.

SF tops AAA

South Fayette improved to 8-1 overall and moved to the top of the standings in Section 5 with an unbeaten mark of 5-0. The Lions knocked off Montour and McGuffey in recent outings.

South Fayette outscored Montour, 12-6 and 19-9, in the second half on the way to a 55-30 triumph. Jack Relihan pumped in 23 points and Brett Brumbaugh provided 11.

The Lions also defeated McGuffey, 61-40. While Relihan and Brumbaugh pitched in 20 and 18 points, Nick McKee followed with 14 markers.

South Park, which trails the Lions in the standings with a 4-2 record, dispatched Keystone Oaks, 58-40. Mike Orosz and Jake Morgan both tossed in 11 points for the Golden Eagles, while Justin Gorny and Harry Zaremba were tops for the Eagles with 19 and 14. KO started the week at 0-5 in the section and 1-11 overall.

Rebels rule AA

Defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Seton-La Salle has raced to an 11-1 record this season. The Rebels rule Section 3-AA with a 6-0 mark.

Ryan Norkus exploded for 25 points as Seton-La Salle downed Kiski Area, 72-53, in a non-league contest. Cletus Helton and Christian DelGreco followed with 15 and 11 markers.

In section play, the Rebels thrashed Burgettstown, 78-50. Christian Del Greco and Paris Ford each pumped in 16 points while Helton and John Marzina pitched in 13 and 10 markers. The Rebels also defeated Fort Cherry, 85-42. Helton (21), Ford (14), William O’Malley (14) and Del Greco (12) led the balanced attack.

In other Section 3-AA action, Bishop Canevin defeated Brentwood, 53-50. Justin Six (14), John Weldon (12) and Mitchell King (11) led the Crusaders.

Canevin followed up with a 68-66 win against Burgettstown. Weldon (20), King (12) and Walter Bonds (11) led the way to victory.

Chartiers-Houston beat Brentwood, 47-41. The Bucs used a 12-0 run to start the fourth quarter and break a 31-31 deadlock. A.J. Myers pumped in 21 points, eight in the final frame. Alec Ferrari pitched in 16 markers.