Chartiers Valley exacts revenge on Upper St. Clair, 85-47
Jake Riston (No. 3) drives to the basket as Doug Wagner (No. 24) attempts to stop him. Ritson exploded for 20 points, 12 off four 3-pointers, as Chartiers Valley defeated Upper St. Clair, 85-47, in boys’ basketball action.
Upper St. Clair head coach Danny Holzer is at a loss for ideas to stop Chartiers Valley. Though the Panthers beat the Colts previous in Section 4-AAAA boys’ basketball action, on Jan. 27, CV invoked the Mercy Rule in rolling to an 85-47 victory over USC.
Joe Antonucci (No. 2) and Doug Wagner (No. 24) battle for a rebound during Chartiers Valley’s 85-47 victory against Upper St. Clair.
Danny Holzer has coached boys’ basketball at Upper St. Clair for 20 years and never once did a guest of the Panthers inflict the Mercy Rule on them as Chartiers Valley did Jan. 27 in an 85-47 victory.
“In all these years here, I don’t think that has ever happened,” Holzer said. “In competitive athletics it can happen to anybody at any level but that was one of the best performances that I have seen in a long time. We’ve never gotten beaten like that.
“They played tremendous. They are the Kentucky of high school basketball,” Holzer continued. “They also have the best player in Quad-A right now.”
Behind Matty McConnell, the Colts powered their way past the Panthers. McConnell, who leads the WPIAL with a 30-plus scoring average, dropped in 38 markers in the victory. The Robert Morris recruit buried five, 3-pointers, including one each to conclude the first and second quarters as CV stretched a 23-10 edge into a 47-27 lead by halftime.
“[McConnell] has a lot of basketball savvy,” said Holzer. “What makes him so good is he knows when to pass and when not to and take the shot. He shares the ball. He gets to the rim strong. He shoots the ball well. Those were two amazing bombs at the end of the first two quarters.”
From the onset, it was bombs away for the Colts as they knocked in 7-of-10 in the first half. Jake Ritson initiated the party, burying a pair of long-range shots in the first frame. He finished with 20 tallies. His four, 3-pointers came on the heels of a six, 3-point game in CV’s victory against Lincoln Place in the Pittsburgh Basketball Classic held three days earlier at Montour.
“Jake is a big contributor for us,” said CV skipper Tim McConnell. “He can shoot and drive. Jake is a shooter but last year he couldn’t defend.”
Defense played a key role in CV’s reversal of fortunes against the Panthers. Earlier in the season, USC defeated CV, 68-64, for its only loss in section.
“We guarded this time,” explained McConnell. “They sliced and diced us the last time. The difference this game was our intensity, our defensive effort and our shooting.”
Five minutes into the fray, CV lead, 15-4. The margin swelled to 65-32 midway through the third quarter and 76-37 after three frames before the assault abated.
Eddie Flohr and Ross Wilkerson joined in the scoring act. Each finished in double digits with 10 tallies. Joe Antonucci picked up five points.
“Mentally, we were ready for this game and we shot the ball better,” said McConnell, who racked up his 499th career victory.
McConnell added that he hasn’t seen many better teams than the club he currently coaches. “Overall, with the way they are playing as a team and shooting the ball, I would put them in the top five,” McConnell said. As he went down the list of teams that features such standouts as Michael Colbert, Amr and Ahmed El Nokali as well as his own son, T.J., McConnell quickly retracted that statement. “Top three make that,” he said. “We have four or five players on this team that can really shoot the ball.”
For the Panthers, Marcus McGinnis led with 12 tallies. Nick Beeler followed with eight markers.
Despite the defeat, Holzer was optimistic his Panthers could rebound. USC, which slipped to 7-4 and into fourth place in the section, travels to Baldwin (Jan. 30) and Peters Township (Feb. 3) before hosting Lebo on Feb. 6 in the regular-season finale.
“Fortunately this is only one game,” he said. “At any level this can happen but you learn to forget about it and get ready for the next game. I truly think good things are ahead of us.”
CV’s victory coupled with Mt. Lebanon’s loss to Bethel Park, 58-49, moved the Colts into sole possession of first place in Section 4-AAAA. The Colts are 9-1 in the division and 15-2 overall. They host Peters Township at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30.
Lebo is 9-2 in the section and 14-5 overall. The Blue Devils visit Canon-McMillan Jan. 30 before hosting the Colts on Feb. 3.
Meanwhile, Bethel Park improved to 7-3 in the section and 11-6 overall. In the win against Lebo, Joey Mascaro fired in 20 points. Levi Metheny and Josh Duda followed with 14 and 10 tallies respectively.
The Hawks play three of their final section games on the road at Moon Jan. 30, at Baldwin Feb. 6 and at Char Valley Feb. 7. They host Canon-Mac Feb. 3.