7 hours Ago By Chris Harlan
In celebration, Chartiers Valley’s Jayden Davis let go of a half-court shot at the buzzer and it went in. That 3-pointer was one more than its opponent Montour made the entire night. The Spartans went 0 for 17 from beyond the arc as Chartiers Valley built an early lead and hung on to defeat Montour, 48-38, Tuesday night in a PIAA Class 5A second-round game at Bethel Park.
Davis scored a game-high 18 points. “Sometimes basketball just comes down to makes and misses,” Montour coach Bill Minear said. Chartiers Valley made six 3s, yet its biggest 3-point play came the old-fashioned way from a resilient source.
Clinging to a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, Colts junior Logan Helfrick scored on an offensive rebound, was fouled and made the free throw for a 41-37 lead with 1:51 remaining. Those were Helfrick’s only points in the game, and they successfully stalled Montour’s second-half rally. “That was a big-time play coming from someone who didn’t score all game,” Davis said.
“Our coach always inspires us to keep playing. ..
. That’s what Logan Helfrick did for us.” Chartiers Valley (25-3) advances to face District 6 champion Johnstown (26-1) in the state quarterfinals Friday at a site and time to be announced.
Colton Straight led Montour (25-3) with 14 points, Kaleb Platz scored 12 and Ama Sow added 10. Sow, a 6-foot-8 senior, also had 16 rebounds and five blocks. This was the fourth matchup this season between the section foes.
Montour won both regular season matchups, but Chartiers Valley won twice in the playoffs. “It’s great,” Chartiers Valley coach Corey Dotchin said. “Because I don’t think anyone is going to remember those two in the season but will remember these two at the end.
” A hot start let Chartiers Valley run out to an early 14-6 lead. Davis scored eight points in the first quarter and Semplice added five, while Jake Lewis and Luca Federico each made a 3-pointer. Chartiers Valley’s shooters went 7 for 10 in the opening quarter including three jumpers by Davis.
The Colts led 19-10 after one quarter. The quick start was important for a Chartiers Valley team that had to rally from behind to defeat Montour in the WPIAL semifinals. “I think that semifinal game prepared us for the moment,” Dotchin said.
“The guys came out ready and threw the first punch. We knew that they were going to punch back. Credit to the guys, they withstood a lot tonight.
” Montour’s only leads this time were 2-0 and 4-3. The Spartans shot 4 for 16 from the field in the first half including 0 for 9 from 3-point range. “They didn’t miss a shot in the first quarter,” Minear said.
“I think we pressed a little bit.” Minear estimated that his team usually makes eight or nine 3-pointers per game. He said this was the first time all season that they’d made none.
“We know that Straight was their shooter,” Dotchin said, “so we try to take him completely out of the game and just contest the other guys.” Chartiers Valley got consecutive 3-pointers by Davis and Danny Slizik early in the second quarter to lead 25-12. The Colts went 6 for 19 from 3-point range.
Montour scored seven consecutive points just before half, cutting the lead to 25-17 at the break. The Spartans used a few Chartiers Valley turnovers in the third quarter to narrow the gap further. A transition layup by Straight in the final minute had the Spartans within five.
Chartiers Valley led 34-29 after three. Montour continued to chip away in the fourth. The Spartans were within one point with two minutes left after a 3-point play by Straight and two free throws by Sow.
But Helfrick shook off a 0 for 5 shooting night, grabbed an offensive rebound, drew a foul and scored. His 3-point play gave Chartiers Valley a 41-37 lead with 1:51 remaining. Montour scored only one point the rest of the way.
Chartiers Valley went 4 for 6 from the foul line in the closing seconds including a pair of free throws by Lewis with 24 seconds left. The half-court heave by Davis pushed the final margin to 10. “We kind of took offense when they said we got them on a bad night (in the WPIAL semifinals),” Davis said.
“We knew it wasn’t a fluke.” Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times.
He can be reached at [email protected] . Tags: Chartiers Valley , Montour.
