Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni has mentioned a number of times this season that one of the best things about his undefeated team is the player chemistry, where three players are willing to constantly defer on offense to star players Adou Thiero and Markus Frank, who are one of the best scoring duos in WPIAL history.
“In this day and age it’s unusual to have guys willing to play their roles,” Mastroianni said, “and let those two do their thing.”
But on Friday night, Quaker Valley’s Jack Gardinier didn’t defer. He did his thing and took over.
Thiero and Frank combined for 50 points, but Belle Vernon got “Jacked” up by a 6-foot senior guard who had the game of his life in Quaker Valley’s 86-75 victory in a PIAA Class 4A second-round game at North Allegheny.
Gardinier, a combo guard, scored 36 points. That’s only 28 above his average.
“This is pretty unforgettable,” said Gardinier, who came in averaging 7.9 points. “To have 36 in a state playoff game, that’s pretty cool.”
Gardinier was scintillating hot. He made 7 of 10 from 3-point range. This from a player who came into the game with only 25 3-pointers made all season.
Gardiner’s play helped break open a close game as Quaker Valley lifted its record to 25-0 and moved on to Tuesday’s quarterfinals against Fairview, which defeated Lincoln Park, 54-51, in another second-round game Friday.
Quaker Valley, the WPIAL champion, and Belle Vernon (20-5) were tied at halftime, 29-29, and the game was deadlocked, 43-43, midway through the third quarter. But Gardinier scored seven points to help Quaker Valley go on a 14-6 run to end the quarter and open up a seven-point lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Gardinier hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter to give the Quakers a 10-point lead and another behind the arc to put the Quakers up by 65-52 with 5:45 left. Belle Vernon got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
“It’s not surprising to us what he did,” Mastroianni said. “And No. 3 (Thiero) and No. 13 (Frank) were probably just as happy as anyone for him. I know they’re not surprised, either.
“We kept saying to Jack that he was going to be open tonight and he could probably get to the rim. We didn’t think he’d score 36, though.”
Gardinier came into the contest averaging 5 shot attempts and 7.9 points a game. He made 9 of 10 in the second half when Quaker Valley shot a terrific 76% (19 of 25) from the field.
Like most teams, Belle Vernon hoped to control Frank (28 ppg) and Thiero (24 ppg), playing a triangle-and-two defense against the duo at times. Thiero had only four points in the first half.
Sometimes in state playoff games, someone unexpected steps up and has an unforgettable game. Tonight it was Jack Gardinier of Quaker Valley.
— Mike White (@mwhiteburgh) March 12, 2022
It’s not that he’s not a good player. But he scored 36 - that’s 28 more than his average. pic.twitter.com/AMaxjQ37bC
“Who in the heck would’ve ever thought No. 5 (Gardinier) was going to score 30-some points?” Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino said with a laugh. “But things like that happen in sports sometimes. Look at us in this game. We had a couple guys who had the best games of their career, too.”
Frank scored 29 points for Quaker Valley and Thiero rebounded from his slow start to register a triple double. He had 21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 7 blocked shots. For Belle Vernon, freshman guard Alonzo Wade scored 24 and sophomore forward Quinton Martin 21. Belle Vernon played without second-leading scorer Devin Whitlock, who was suspended by the school for the past two games for actions after a WPIAL semifinal loss two weeks ago.
But this night belonged to Gardinier, who also held Belle Vernon guard Daniel Gordon to eight points.
“We practiced all week against junk defenses,” said Gardinier, who will play next season at Division III Susquehanna University. “I can knock down open shots. I was hitting tonight, so I kept shooting.”
Thiero said, “We know what Jack is capable of. We always tell him to shoot the ball, shoot the ball. I’m happy today he actually shot. They were guarding me and Markus pretty tight. Jack was open and we fed the hot hand the whole game.”
It might have been the final game in Salvino’s career. Salvino is in his 38th season (at Monessen and Belle Vernon) and won his 700th game in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. He said he does not know if he will return next season.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: March 12, 2022, 2:56 a.m.