Jan 19, 2015 By Eleanor Bailey 7 min read

Watch out WPIAL Quad-A boys’ basketball teams, because after scoring 54 points during Chartiers Valley’s victory over Bethel Park, 90-76, Matty McConnell indicated the best is yet to come.

When asked by reporters to rate his performance, McConnell ranked it as one of his better efforts. His previous best occurred last year against South Park when he tossed in 46 tallies.

“Either this one or South Park is the best game I’ve played at CV so far,” he said. “I think I can do better. I think there is more to come. With everyone on the team.”

His father, who also doubles as the CV head coach, was glad to hear those comments.

“Our goal is to be better every day, every game. That’s our goal. But,” Tim McConnell stressed, “we talk about that in private.”

Yet, the young McConnell picked a very public place and forum to make a statement for himself and his Colts. With a 6-1 slate, they trail Mt. Lebanon by half a game for the top spot in Section 4-AAAA. The Blue Devils are 7-1. Overall, the Colts are 11-2, while Lebo is 12-4.

“My dad said before the game that if ‘you want to be in the driver’s seat for the section, then you have to come into people’s home courts and get a win,” Matty said. “I told [my teammates] before we started the game that if we wanted to be section champs, then this is the time that you start.”

While the squads started on an even keel, racing to a 17-17 finish by the end of the first frame, McConnell established himself as the premier player in the league. The WPIAL’s top scorer already had nine points. “I knew we were going to come out and play like that,” he said. “As the game went on, I felt better and better. I just let the game come to me and my teammates just got me the ball.”

McConnell connected on 21 field goals, five of them 3-pointers. The Robert Morris recruit connected on all seven of his free throws. He pulled down 24 rebounds. He dished up five assists, blocked two shots and made four steals.

“The performance by Matty was phenomenal,” coach McConnell said. “That’s the best he’s every played. All-around. He rebounded. He stole the ball. He controlled the boards. He drove. He pulled up. He hit threes. All dimensions were flowing for him and he was feeling it.”

After pumping in 12 points in the second stanza, McConnell was feeling it in the third quarter as he fired in 23 of his team’s 25 tallies. In the process, the Colts stretched their halftime advantage from 42-29 to 67-55.

McConnell credited his teammates for the third quarter. “They knew that I was hot and kept getting me the ball and I was just knocking down shots and going around them.”

His father looked on in awe. “It was a heck of a performance. I’ll tell you that,” he said. “Not as a dad but for that to happen as a coach, watching that was pretty remarkable.”

McConnell continued to watch, for he could not afford to relieve his son for one moment because the Hawks never relented. In the final frame, Bethel Park actually waged a comeback, cutting the margin to 69-64 with 5:28 to play.

“Bethel just clawed and clawed. They did not pack it in,” said coach McConnell. “Bethel kept coming at us. It wasn’t like I could just take him out.”

At that point in the game, McConnell had already broken his personal record. He had 46 points. When he reached 50, McConnell said his father offered sage advice. “If you can beat your brother, then beat your brother, but go get the ball and put your teammates in a position to win the game,” Matty said. “If I didn’t beat it, he still has the honor, but I’m glad we got the win.”

With a pair of free throws with 37.9 seconds to play, McConnell sealed the victory and put himself in the annals of the storied CV basketball program. He is now one of three players in school history to surpass the half-century mark.

Back on Nov. 26, 1974, the late Tim Skelley set the standard, which McConnell tied. In a 104-88 win against Langley, Skelley, who died of lung cancer on Nov. 12, 2011, tossed in 54 points. Skelley scored 1,198 career points.

McConnell’s brother, TJ, who is a standout at Arizona, scored 52 points in a win at West Mifflin during his junior year.

For Coach McConnell, there is no picking between siblings. McConnell’s father said he remembered when TJ scored 52 and now Matty has 54. “Fans want to chant ‘TJ’s better’ but you be the judge,” he said to reporters. “Matty rebounds. He defends. He steals. He’s a lot like TJ, but they’re different. I’m proud of both in their own way.”

Father and son are more proud of the outcome.

“I was glad we got the win and we’re moving on,” said Matty. “This game really brought us closer together. Everyone was talking. Everyone was getting excited. It really brought our team chemistry up.”

The win proved the Colts could win on the road. That’s vital, because CV visits Canon-McMillan, Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon during the second half of section action. USC is responsible for CV’s lone loss, but the Panthers, however, split decisions with the Big Macs this past weekend. Plus, all playoff games are away contests.

“Like we keep talking about,” coach McConnell said, “if we want to be section champs, you have to get wins like this on the road. To get one at Bethel is huge because it’s not an easy place to play. It took a performance like that to beat Bethel, because you saw how well they played and how well we played, and it was still only a 10-point game at one point. It was hard fought. To win on the road like that, that says a lot, because these guys are giving an effort day in and day out in practice and in games. And, I’m liking my team a lot. These guys are working their tails’ off. I cannot ask for anything more.”

BP Hawks

The Hawks could not have asked for anything more from Joey Mascaro, who plays on the same AAU team with McConnell during the summer months. The senior exploded for 30 points to pace the Hawks. Also for Bethel Park, Anthony Bomar and Jake Dixon finished in double digits with 11 and 10 tallies. Jake Ritson tacked on 10 points for CV.

Of Mascaro’s performance, McConnell said, “Joey and Matty are great friends, so I know how good Joey Mascaro is. We knew he was going to be a tough match-up. Joey Mascaro is a great basketball player and he’s a great kid. I got to know him a lot at my house at AAU. He’s fun to be around. I love him. He’s a great kid.”

BP skipper Ben O’Connor agreed. “Joey’s a good player and like all good players he wants to play well against [McConnell]. Certainly one makes the other play better. It was a big game and Matty certainly was up to play against Joey. He had a great individual performance.”

O’Connor was more impressed with the Colts, particularly in the decisive second stanza. CV outscored BP, 25-12, in the frame. “They made all the 50-50 plays. They outrebounded us in that stretch and created that 13-point gap. Even with him getting 50-some points, we did get that margin down. Our kids played really hard. They competed. That second quarter was what really hurt us.”