Quaker Valley came into this game riding high.
They had a 5-0 record and their longtime Head Coach, Mike Mastrioanni, just got his 600th career win in their last game, making him only the 14th coach in WPIAL history to reach that mark. But Shaler came to spoil the party today in a neutral site game at La Roche University as part of their annual Harry Jenkins Classic event where the Titans topped the Quakers 59-51.
It was a tight game early, with the Quakers actually jumping out to an early 6-2 lead, but Shaler answered right back with a three from the top of the key by Nick Perez off the feed from Jordan Epps.
Epps is Shaler’s leading scorer, and is coming off of a 35 point performance in their win over Plum on Friday, but he was more of a facilitator in this one. It was clear that Quaker Valley’s gameplan was to make him have to pass the ball and make someone else score.
Shaler Head Coach, Brandon Sensor, spoke to this after the game saying, “Epps is our guy. He’s a phenomenal player. Teams are going to key on him and there’s going to be nights like this when it’s hard for him to get his”.
Quaker Valley is led by junior guard, Sam Chapman, who was aggressive early, scoring on back to back baskets to give the Quakers an 8-5 lead, but Shaler answered again with a three to tie the game at 8. Senior Quaker Valley guard, Zach Washington, connected on the pull-up jumper to put his squad back in front, but once again, Epps found a teammate for the open three and Shaler took back the lead. After one quarter, they led Quaker Valley 13-10.
Shaler senior, Deron Nixon got the pull-up to go to make it 15-10 early in the second, but Quaker Valley answered with a corner three from sophomore guard, Harrison Kerley, to make it a two point game. Washington drove and scored shortly after to tie it at 15.
Nixon got fouled on the three from the left corner, knocking down two of three free throws to put Shaler back in front 17-15 with five minutes to go in the half. Nixon continued to stay aggressive, getting the steal and score and giving him a quick 6 points in the quarter.
Epps got on the board in the second quarter as well, converting a tough layup where he twisted through the lane and spun the ball off the glass for the finish. Nixon got the floater to go and Shaler was up 25-17 with about two minutes to go in the half.
Shaler pushed the lead to 11 when Epps kicked it out to Perez for another triple and made the score 28-17 in favor of the Titans. Washington was able to hit two free throws very late in the half to get the deficit back to single digits, but it was Shaler by 9 at the half. 28-19.
Shaler had just been the more aggressive team so far in this game. They were playing with much more intensity than Quaker Valley, especially on the defensive end, and it showed in that first half.
Shaler senior, Brayden Page, got things started in the second half with a three as Shaler pushed the lead to 31-19.
Quaker Valley would begin to fight back though, hitting two threes, one by Cohen and one by Washington from the corner, but Epps answered right back with a three of his own from the left wing to put Shaler up 38-26.
Chapman converted on the and-1 for the Quakers, but Page would score the next 4 points for Shaler to give them a 41-29 lead. Quaker Valley managed to get another and-1 to go, but as had been the theme all game, Shaler had an answer. They hit another corner three to make it 44-32.
With Shaler over the foul limit, Quaker Valley was headed to the line late in the third. They hit both and on the second free throw, Shaler was called for a foul underneath which sent Quaker Valley back to the line for their third and fourth straight free throws.
Senior Shaler forward, Zach London, got going late in the third and scored on the drive to put Shaler up 47-35 heading into the final quarter. He was a beast on the offensive glass throughout this entire game.
Quaker Valley wouldn’t go quietly though, as Chapman started the fourth quarter with a spin move and score inside and the Quakers followed that up by making two more free throws. It was just an 8 point lead now for Shaler.
Shaler continued to crash the offensive boards with London getting another rebound and putback, this time for the and-1.
Quaker Valley ratcheted up the pressure in response on both ends of the floor and they were starting to force Shaler to make mistakes.
Washington hit two free throws, the Quakers got a steal and score, and they were creating turnovers. London got another bucket to go for Shaler to keep the lead at 10 with 1:49 to go, but the next minute was all Quaker Valley in this one as they were able to get to the free throw line and ultimately cut the Shaler lead to just 5 with 39 seconds to play.
It was a valiant effort for the Quakers in a game where they were down nearly the entire way, but it wouldn’t be enough as Shaler made their free throws down the stretch to ice the game and go on to win this one by a score of 59-51.
With Epps not having his usual high-scoring night, it was up to the rest of the Shaler squad to step up, and they did that tonight. Coach Sensor spoke to that after the game saying, “When they have to, other guys are stepping up. They’re hitting big threes, they’re flying around, and they’re making plays on defense”.
Shaler moves to 5-3 on the year and have won their last four straight. They still have one more game before the holidays, as they have a big matchup on Tuesday against section opponent, Penn Hills. Quaker Valley falls to 5-1 and will also be back in action on Tuesday with a section game of their own against Avonworth.