2022 PIAA Class 4A boys basketball championship breakdown: Quaker Valley vs. Neumann-Goretti

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, March 24, 2022 | 3:22 AM

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PIAA Class 4A boys basketball final

Quaker Valley vs. Neumann-Goretti

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Giant Center, Hershey

On the air: TV: PCN; Streaming audio: TribLive HSSN; Radio: 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM

PIAA titles: Quaker Valley 0, Neumann-Goretti 8 (2010, ’11, ’12, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18)

Quaker Valley (27-0)

Coach: Mike Mastroianni

Probable starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

3, Adou Thiero, 6-6, sr., G

4 Will Dunda, 6-1, sr., G

5, Jack Gardinier, 6-0, sr., G

13, Markus Frank, 6-6, sr., F

25 Dan Bartels, 6-3, jr., F

Notable: Quaker Valley is trying to become the 15th WPIAL boys basketball team to win a PIAA title with an undefeated record. … QV was on the losing end of a double-overtime PIAA championship game in 1999. The Quakers lost to District 3’s Annville-Cleona, 69-57, in the Class 2A final at Hersheypark Arena. That was QV’s only appearance in the state finals. … Quaker Valley reached this year’s finals by defeating Hickory, 67-51; Belle Vernon, 86-45; Fairview, 54-48; and Archbishop Carroll, 67-60. … Frank and Thiero each average a double-double. Frank averages 28.1 points and 10 rebounds. Thiero averages 23.4 ppg and 10.3 rpg. … Frank scored 28 points in the state semifinals and Thiero had 20. … Theiro has Division I offers from Duquesne and UC Santa Barbara. … The Quakers average 72.3 points on offense and allow 49.7 on defense.

Neumann-Goretti (22-4)

Coach: Carl Arrigale

Probable starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

0, Khaafiq Myers, 5-11, so., G

2, Robert Wright, 6-0, so., G

3, Aamir Hurst, 6-1, sr., G

4, Masud Stewart, 6-1, sr., G

11, Sultan Adewale, 6-8, jr., F

Notable: Neumann-Goretti is 8-0 all-time in PIAA championship games. … The Saints reached this season’s finals by defeating ELCO, 74-62; Scranton Prep, 57-51; Bethlehem Catholic, 53-42; and Dallas, 77-50. … Wright averages 19.4 points per game, Adewale 11.7, Stewart 11.4, Myers 9.6 and Hurst 7.9. … N-G’s offense averages 67.9 points. … The Saints’ run to the Philadelphia Catholic League title included a 62-60 semifinal win over Roman Catholic, a finalist in PIAA Class 6A. … Four of their five starters have multiple Division I offers. Among them, Wright recently added Syracuse to a list that already included Wake Forest, VCU, Miami (Fla.), Seton Hall and others. Adewale has offers from Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Rutgers and Memphis, among others. … Adewale is from London, England, and attended high school last year in St. Louis. He was a member of Great Britain’s FIBA U19 teams for the Basketball World Cup and European Championships. … N-G has defeated a WPIAL opponent five times in the state finals: Chartiers Valley (2010), Montour (2011, ‘12), Mars (2016) and Lincoln Park (2017).

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Quaker Valley