Quaker Valley fights off valiant Leopards, 86-75
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Quinton Martin lofts a shot over Quaker Valley鈥檚 Dan Bartels and Adou Thiero (3) during Friday night鈥檚 PIAA playoff game at North Allegheny. Martin scored 21 points but the Quakers won, 86-75.
Rob Burchianti | 缅北禁地
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Alonzo Wade drives to the basket against Quaker Valley during Friday night鈥檚 PIAA playoff game at North Allegheny. Wade scored a team-high 24 points but the Leopards lost, 86-75.
Quaker Valley's Jack Gardinier (right) defends Belle Vernon's Daniel Gordon during Friday night's PIAA playoff game at North Allegheny. Gardinier scored a career-high 36 points in the Quakers' 86-75 win while helping to limit Gordon to eight points.
Belle Vernon's Tyler Kovatch makes a free throw during Friday night's PIAA playoff game against Quaker Valley at North Allegheny. Kovatch scored 11 points but the Quakers won, 86-75.
Belle Vernon's Quinton Martin drives to the basket as Quaker Valley's Adou Thiero (3) defends聽during Friday night's PIAA playoff game at North Allegheny.
Belle Vernon's Daniel Gordon attempts a 3-point shot against Quaker Valley during Friday night's PIAA playoff game at North Allegheny.
Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino roams the sidelines during Friday night's PIAA playoff game against Quaker Valley at North Allegheny.
Quaker Valley's Adou Thiero blocks a shot by Belle Vernon's Alonzo Wade聽during Friday night's PIAA playoff game at North Allegheny.
Belle Vernon's Quinton Martin shoots over Quaker Valley's Dan Bartels聽during Friday night's PIAA playoff game at North Allegheny.
Belle Vernon's Daniel Gordon shoots a free throw聽during Friday night's PIAA playoff game against Quaker Valley at North Allegheny.
Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino (left) and Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni embrace after the Quakers defeated the Leopards, 86-75, in Friday night's PIAA playoff game at North Allegheny.
WEXFORD 鈥� Quaker Valley鈥檚 6-foot-5 seniors Markus Frank and Adou Thiero form the most dangerous scoring duo in the WPIAL.
The pair averaged a combined 52.6 points per game (Frank 27.5, Thiero 25.1) during the regular season and helped the Quakers win the WPIAL Class 4A championship.
Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino was well aware his team had to focus on containing Frank and Thiero going into their PIAA second-round playoff game on Friday night.
Jack Gardinier completely blindsided the Leopards, though.
The senior point guard exploded for a career-high 36 points, including seven 3-pointers, to help unbeaten Quaker Valley fight off the valiant Leopards, 86-75, at North Allegheny High School.
Frank poured in 29 points and Thiero rang up 21 as the trio accounted for all of the Quakers鈥� points.
鈥淣o. 5 鈥� Where in the hell did he come from?鈥� Salvino said with a laugh. 鈥淚 watched him. He didn鈥檛 shoot like that, that鈥檚 for darn sure. I think in their last game he had two 3-pointers but nothing like that.
鈥淏ut they鈥檙e a good team. You can鈥檛 take anything away from that team.鈥�
Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni noted that while Gardinier might be flying under the radar he鈥檚 an important cog in his team鈥檚 engine.
鈥淢arkus Frank is really good. Adou is really good. But Jack Gardinier would be a star point guard on any other team,鈥� Mastroianni said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why our record is what it is.鈥�
The Quakers鈥� record is now 25-0 as they head into Tuesday鈥檚 quarterfinals against District 10 champion Fairview (25-2).
While his team relies heavily on the scoring of Thiero and Frank, Mastroianni feels that fact may give some people a misconception about the Quakers.
鈥淭hose top two guys get a lot of attention, and deservedly so, but they鈥檙e team guys and our other guys play their roles to the fullest,鈥� Mastroianni said. 鈥淛ack just had more opportunities tonight and he produced.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not a selfish team. No. 3 (Thiero) doesn鈥檛 bring the ball up and look to go one-on-one. We play team ball. It鈥檚 a good formula.鈥�
Belle Vernon鈥檚 season comes to an end with a 20-5 record.
The Leopards, playing a second straight game without suspended 1,000-point scorer Devin Whitlock, fought gallantly and rallied from behind several times but in the end couldn鈥檛 keep up with Quaker Valley鈥檚 three-pronged attack.
The game was tied 9-9 after a 3-pointer by the Leopards鈥� Tyler Kovatch but Quaker Valley reeled off the final 10 points of the first quarter, capped by Gardinier鈥檚 3-pointer, to take a 19-9 lead.
Undaunted, Belle Vernon battled its way back into the game in the second quarter and pulled even at 29-29 by scoring the final eight points of the half on another 3-pointer by Kovatch, a jump shot by Quinton Martin and a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer by Daniel Gordon.
The Quakers again took control by putting up three quick baskets to start the second half, prompting Salvino to call a timeout.
Again the Leopards clawed their way back even at 43-43 thanks to a three-point play and then a 3-pointer by Martin, as Mastroianni then opted for a timeout.
鈥淲e鈥檙e playing against a coach and a team like that, they鈥檙e prepared and they weren鈥檛 going anywhere,鈥� Mastroianni said. 鈥淚 tried to convince our guys of that. Belle Vernon guys are tough. I honestly thought the first half they played a lot harder than us.
鈥淲e knew they were playing without their lead guy. Subconsciously we probably dropped our level a little bit.鈥�
After the timeout, the Quakers reasserted themselves again with a 10-point burst capped by 3-pointers by Thiero and Gardinier and held a 57-50 advantage after three quarters.
鈥淲hen you get down like that and you have to make those runs to come back, it does take a lot out of you,鈥� Salvino said.
Belle Vernon kept scrapping, getting a lift from freshman Alonzo Wade who scored 15 of his team-high 24 points in the final frame, but could get no closer in a high-scoring fourth quarter. Quaker Valley led by as much as 14 before settling on an 11-point victory.
Martin tallied 21 points and Kovatch wound up with 11 for the Leopards.
鈥淭yler had the best game he鈥檚 had all year and I鈥檓 glad for him because he鈥檚 a senior and it was his last game,鈥� said Salvino, who also noted Wade鈥檚 total was a career high.
Belle Vernon also got nine points from Klanchar, while Gordon, who scored 27 points in a first-round win at Obama Academy, was limited to eight points.
Mastroianni pointed out Gardinier鈥檚 performance on the defensive end also as he guarded Gordon most of the night.
鈥淲hen we watched the last game, No. 20 (Gordon) is one of the best long-range shooters and Jack held him down,鈥� Mastroianni said.
Belle Vernon still connected on 11 3-pointers with Wade draining four, Martin, Gordon and Kovatch sinking two apiece and Klanchar making one.
Salvino had nothing but praise for his team after the game.
鈥淭hey really played well,鈥� Salvino said. 鈥淚 told them, 鈥楢 coach can鈥檛 ask for anything more than what you gave. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 so proud of you because you never quit.鈥� We could鈥檝e quit when we got down by 10, when we got down by seven, even towards the end, we never quit.鈥�