Chartiers Valley’s 2,000-point career scorer had only six points through three quarters Friday. No matter.
Chartiers Valley had its defense.
The undersized Colts came up with a big defensive effort in the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals and defeated defending champion Moon, 51-44, in front of a packed house at Upper St. Clair. After losing in the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons, Chartiers Valley is now in the semifinals.
The contest wasn’t as close in the second half as the final score might indicate. Chartiers Valley’s man-to-man defense caused 13 turnovers in the first three quarters and the Colts (21-3) corralled Moon’s offense, limiting the Tigers to 24 points through three quarters. Chartiers Valley, the No. 4 seed, led by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter.
“What we’ve trying to preach to these guys is that in the playoffs, everyone is scouted a little bit heavier, and everyone knows what your tendencies are,” said Chartiers Valley coach Corey Dotchin, in his first season. “Everyone is well-coached, so you have to be able to hang your hat on your defense.”
Chartiers Valley hung three losses on Moon (18-6) this season. The first two came in section play.
During the regular season, Moon’s lowest point total was 44 points — against Chartiers Valley. Then on Friday, the Colts held No. 5 seed Moon to 44 again.
The defense was needed because Chartiers Valley, which came in averaging 72 a game, wasn’t exactly sizzling on offense, either. Jayden Davis, a senior guard who averages better than 20 a game and came in with 2,084 points, was held to 13. He moved into 30th place on the WPIAL all-time scoring list, but he had only three baskets in the first three quarters.
Chartiers Valley doesn’t have a starter taller than 6-foot-2 while Moon had two players with good size who are threats beyond the arc. Mike Santicola, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, had 15 points, but eight of them came when the game was out of reach. Santicola made a 3-pointer at the 4:37 mark of the first quarter, but didn’t make another 3-pointer until 24 seconds left in the game. Santicola finished with 15 points.
Carter Tumulty, a 6-3 senior guard and a sharpshooter, had only seven points and was 1 for 6 on 3-pointers.
“They have two guys who can really shoot the ball and that’s not a strong suit for their other guys,” Dotchin said. “Seeing them a third time, we knew what to expect. Tumulty killed us when we played at our place. He had six 3’s.”
Game flow
Santicola’s first 3-pointer gave Moon a 7-1 lead, but that advantage evaporated less than 1:30 later. Chartiers Valley made three 3-pointers in the final 3:30 of the quarter and took a 16-11 lead. Chartiers Valley’s biggest lead in the first half was 23-16 and took a 23-18 advantage into halftime.
Danny Slizik with 3 at end first quarter. Chartiers Valley leads Moon 16-11. pic.twitter.com/rQtgmqSuuM
— Mike White (@mwhiteburgh) February 22, 2025
Luca Federico, an impressive looking 6-3 freshman, came off the bench to score five points in the third quarter and Logan Helfrick’s 3-pointer gave the Colts a 33-20 advantage with 2:08 left in the third.
Meanwhile, Moon had trouble getting shots and when the Tigers did get an open look, they were often off the mark.
“On the defensive side of the floor, I thought we cleared some things up from the first two games against them,” Moon coach Gino Palmosina said. “Overall defensively, I thought we did an OK job. Their defense was really good, but I felt like there was a lid on the rim and we couldn’t get the ball to go through the hoop.
“Some of our guys who shoot a pretty high percentage from deep just couldn’t make any.”
Key stats
Moon finished with five 3-pointers, but four were in the fourth quarter. Chartiers Valley, meanwhile, shot 38% (6 of 16) behind the arc. Davis was 6 of 15 from the field. He is the only senior on Chartiers Valley’s team and needs only 13 points to move past Ellwood City’s Joseph Roth and into 29th place on the WPIAL all-time scoring list.
Chartiers Valley got 19 points off the bench from junior guard Julius Best and Federico. Best had 10 points, making five layups. Federico added nine. Besides Santicola’s 15, Moon got 10 points from senior guard Amir Turner.
Moon finished with 16 turnovers.
Quotable
“The situation Corey was dealt, he has them playing the right way, making the extra pass,” Palmosina said. “I definitely thought their defense did an unbelievable job on us.”
Dotson said, “The expectations on this group coming into this season I don’t think were very high. They were 11-12 last year. The same team returned and I don’t think people knew what to expect. Guys took that personally and have played with a chip on their shoulder all season.”
What it means
The win puts Chartiers Valley into Tuesday’s semifinals against No. 1 seed Montour, which defeated Latrobe, 60-52, in another quarterfinal Friday. Montour defeated Chartiers Valley twice in the regular season.
It will be Chartiers Valley’s 21st time in the semis since the 1990s. Seventeen of those appearances came under coach Tim McConnell from 1995-2017. Brandon Sensor took the Colts to the semifinals three times in his tenure after McConnell. Moon was trying to make it to the semifinals for the 11th time.
First Published: February 22, 2025, 4:06 a.m.
Updated: February 22, 2025, 4:16 a.m.
