Julian Semplice, Luca Federico, and Julius Best combined for 55 of Chartiers Valley’s 62 points in their victory over Lincoln Park.
This was the matchup basketball fans around the WPIAL have been waiting for. It’s the top two teams in 5A and two of the best teams in all of Western PA. Chartiers Valley entered the game at 9-1 with their only loss coming early in the year to Fox Chapel. Lincoln Park came into this one with a record of 6-2 with both of those losses coming from teams outside of the WPIAL.
Both of these teams are loaded with talent and led by their stars, but Lincoln Park would be without theirs in this one.
Senior guard and Columbia commit, Josh Pratt, recently suffered an ankle injury and will be out for an extended period of time. To make matters worse his younger brother, sophomore Miah Pratt, is out with a hand injury as well. With Lincoln Park down two starters, they would need the rest of the cast to step up in this one.
Chartiers Valley is led by 6’5” sophomore, Luca Federico, who is a do-it-all wing that has already generated some D1 interest. In addition to Federico, Chartiers Valley is loaded with experienced seniors who were all key contributors on their title winning team last season.
This one got off to a slow start with Lincoln Park leading 5-3 after the first five minutes of the game. Lincoln Park sophomore, Amir Woods, had all 5 to start for Lincoln Park in what would be a breakout game for him.
With the teams tied at 5 late in the first quarter, sophomore Malcolm Frye drained a three for Lincoln Park, but Federico answered right back with a three of his own for his first points of the night and after the first quarter it was all knotted up at 8.
Chartiers Valley sixth man, Julius Best, started the second quarter and immediately scored. He was a spark plug for the Colts all night. Semplice followed that up with a bucket to make it 12-8 Chartiers Valley early in the second.
Avon Pressley got the tough layup to go and Damar Johnson drained a triple from the left wing to put Lincoln Park back in front 13-12. It was becoming a back and forth game midway through the second with Semplice and Frye each driving to the basket and scoring.
Lincoln Park senior, Aaron Wehner, checked in for the Leopards and laced a three from the corner, but Best answered with a three of his own to cut the deficit to three before Frye scored again in the lane for Lincoln Park as he spun to the hoop and finished.
Best hit another pull-up three for the Colts to give him 8 points in the quarter and cut the Lincoln Park lead to just two with the score 22-20. Chartiers Valley Head Coach, Corey Dotchin, spoke about his sixth man after the game saying, “He’s been doing it all year for us. He’s a senior, he’s experienced, and he’s been doing it a while. It’s kind of like having a sixth starter for us”.
Lincoln Park closed the half on a 5-0 run, getting a putback from Amir Woods and another corner three from Aaron Wehner to give the Leopards a 27-20 lead at the break.
The first half was very physical and even sloppy at times, but with Lincoln Park holding a 7-point lead, it looked like they were on a mission to prove that this team is still a contender even without Josh and Miah Pratt.
After a quiet first half, Luca Federico came out very aggressive to begin the third quarter. He drained a three early in the quarter and followed that up with an and-1 after grabbing the offensive rebound and getting the put back attempt to go.
Frye got the pullup jumper to go, but Federico answered again on the drive to give him 10 points in the game and 7 straight.
Semplice then scored 4 straight for Chartiers Valley to give them their first lead since early in the first quarter.
Federico got another and-1 to go, giving him 10 points in just four minutes in the third and putting Chartiers Valley ahead 34-30. The Leopards on the other hand really struggled to score to start the second half, only scoring three points throughout the first five minutes of the third.
With Lincoln Park needing a spark, sophomore forward, Amir Woods, went to work. He got the tear drop to fall in the lane and turn-around to go in the low post. Woods stayed hot, sinking a jumper from the foul line to cut the Chartiers Valley lead to just one.
Semplice slashed and scored again for the Colts in what was a big third quarter for him as well, but Frye laced a catch and shoot three at the end of the third for Lincoln Park to make the score 43-41 in favor of the Colts as we headed to the final frame.
Federico started the quarter spinning to the hoop and getting the bucket to go. He was very effective in the second half, scoring 14 or his 17 points in the third and fourth quarters. With Chartiers Valley up by 4, Lincoln Park sophomore, Damar Johnson, made a tough layup with his left hand and got the foul. He completed the three-point play and made the score 45-44.
Semplice drove again and got the layup to go.
He was great in this one. He finished with a game-high 23 points and did the vast majority of his damage around the rim. After Woods went one for two from the line, Best found Federico on the other end for the easy dump off and layup.
With Chartiers over the foul limit by midway through the quarter, the Leopards found themselves at the line quite a bit.
Woods hit two free throws and following another drive and score from Semplice, Johnson hit two more to make the score 53-49 in favor of Chartiers Valley.
Best went back to work late in the fourth driving to the hoop and scoring on one possession and stopping in the lane and getting the step-through to go on the next, giving Chartiers Valley a 57-50 lead.
Johnson continued to stay aggressive and get to the line often for Lincoln Park to keep them within striking distance, scoring 11 points in the quarter, but as time ran down in the game, Lincoln Park was forced to play the foul game.
Best and Semplice drained their free throws each time they got to the line and while Johnson did get a three to go at the buzzer, the game was already out of reach. Chartiers Valley hung on to win by a score of 62-57. Semplice led the way with 23 points for the Colts with Federico and Best chipping in 17 and 15 respectively. Amir Woods was the high-point man for the Leopards tonight, finishing with 18, with Johnson having 14 and Frye scoring 12.
After scoring only 20 points in the first half, Chartiers Valley poured in 42 in the second. Coach Dotchin spoke about his team’s turnaround saying, “In the second half we got back to team basketball and sharing the ball. That’s what we’re about, and that’s what led to the success in the second half”.
Each team will be back in action on Friday with Chartiers Valley hosting Blackhawk and Lincoln Park taking on Mars at home.