After 18 straight wins, No. 2 Moon loses to Chartiers Valley in double overtime

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 1, 2019 | 10:54 PM

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It took two overtimes, but the WPIAL’s only undefeated boys basketball team fell late Friday night.

Joe Pipilo and Jared Goldstrom scored 19 points apiece as Chartiers Valley defeated second-ranked Moon, 69-66 in double overtime, earning the Colts a marquee win under first-year coach Brandon Sensor.

Brayden Reynolds added 15 points for Chartiers Valley (15-3, 10-2) and went 6 for 8 from the foul line in the second overtime. Neither team led by more than five points after halftime, so the free throws were crucial in what became a low-scoring, hold-onto-the-ball battle.

“We’ve been confident all year long,” Pipilo said, “but this win says that we can compete with the best of them.”

With the playoffs approaching, Sensor agreed.

“If we’re playing our best, I think we can beat anybody in 5A,” he said. “Tonight I thought we played close to our best. We played pretty good. They’re confident and they should be.”

Tied 53-53 after regulation, the teams each scored only two points in the first overtime. In the second OT, Chartiers Valley jumped to slim three-point lead with two free throws by Goldstrom and one by Reynolds.

When the lead shrunk to one, Reynolds converted two free throws with 1:01 left, Goldstrom made two with 35 seconds left, and Reynolds made two more at the 24-second mark — each time pushing CV’s lead to three.

Combined, the Colts converted 10 of 12 free throws in the second overtime while Moon went 0 for 4.

The loss snapped a string of 18 consecutive wins for Moon (18-1, 11-1), a season-long streak that included a five-point victory at Chartiers Valley on Jan. 8.

Moon maintains a one-game lead in the Section 2 standings with two section games left, but now faces the mental hurdles that follow a team’s first loss.

“I think it’s a huge test,” Moon coach Adam Kaufman said. “That’s what I’m really anxious to see, to be honest with you. If we’re a team that’s going to win a championship, then we’re going to show up tomorrow.”

Donovan Johnson led Moon with 24 points and Connor Ryan added 20.

Johnson scored 11 points in the first half with seven in the first quarter, but Chartiers Valley slowed down his hot start. The 6-foot-7 junior had only two points in the third quarter and four in the fourth before adding seven in the second overtime.

“We just wanted to be really physical with him and try to keep him far away from the basket as much as we could,” Sensor said. “That was definitely the key. He was killing us in the first half.”

Moon had two extended runs against Chartiers Valley in their first matchup, Sensor said, so his team focused more on defending the Tigers’ transition offense in the rematch.

Moon’s longest runs this time were a pair of short-lived 7-0 streak.

“The last time we faced them we forced a lot of shots and didn’t get back in transition on defense,” Pipilo said. “Those were the two keys why we lost the game. I feel like we really fixed that tonight.”

There were nine lead changes and five ties.

Chartiers Valley led 17-16 after the first quarter, Moon led 25-24 at half and CV led 43-40 after three.

Two free throws by Goldstrom gave Chartiers Valley a 53-50 lead with 34 seconds left in the fourth, until a game-tying 3-pointer by Austin Ryan forced overtime.

“We just couldn’t get that big stop or that big steal to get that basket to separate,” Kaufman said. “It seemed like it was a three-point lead both ways the whole game.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Chartiers Valley, Moon