Boys Fall to USC in Section Finale

UPPER ST. CLAIR - It wasn’t the way Chartiers Valley basketball coach Tim McConnell envisioned his section season. However, despite Saturday afternoon’s 51-39 loss at Upper St. Clair, the coach says he’s proud of how his team played in the toughest section in Class AAAA.

“This is a difficult section. You have to be ready to play every night,” he said. “I think we’re a team that played all out all season long. I’m very proud of these kids.”

With the loss, Chartiers Valley (16-5, 10-4) will finish tied for second best record in Section 4-AAAA with Upper St. Clair. But since the Panthers won both meetings this season, the Colts ultimately will finish in third place.

The game featured eight lead changes in the first half, but the Colts would trail 26-25 at the break. That’s when things went wrong for Chartiers Valley.

Upper St. Clair delivered the knockout blow in the third quarter, when it outscored the Colts 16-3. Chartiers Valley was unable to make a field goal during the entire frame.

“Our offense was out of sync, and when you’re not hitting shots it makes your offense look bad,” McConnell said. “It isn’t a lack of effort. I think our guys played hard.”

McConnell doesn’t think the fact that his team played the night before contributed to the loss.

“They played last night too. A big rivalry game against Mt. Lebanon,” he said. “I think the difference in the game was they hit shots when they needed to and we weren’t able to hit shots. If we had made some shots, this game could have been different.”

The Colts still have one game remaining on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at Class AAA No. 1 South Fayette. The playoff brackets will be released Tuesday night, and with the third place finish, the Colts are most likely looking at anywhere between a No. 8 to No. 12 seed.