All-time WPIAL boys basketball championship games No. 8: 2014 Central Valley team tops Chartiers Valley in double overtime

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 | 6:18 PM

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The TribLive High School Sports Network will be counting down the Top 10 boys and girls WPIAL basketball championship games leading up to the 2018 title games March 1-3 at the Petersen Events Center.

TRIBHSSN is the exclusive audio and video home for all 12 WPIAL championship games, which will be broadcasted and video streamed live at TribHSSN.triblive.com.

Here is the third installment of a 10-part series ranking the top WPIAL boys basketball championship games in district history.

No. 8: 2014 — WPIAL Class 3A finals: Central Valley 70, Chartiers Valley 69 (2OT)

In its very first year of existence after the merger of Center and Monaca high schools, the Central Valley football team did the unthinkable and won the WPIAL Class 3A championship. The boys basketball team was good right out of the shoot as well, but it took four years to reach the finals and play for district gold.

In 2014, it was a matchup of the top two seeds in the tournament with 2013 runner-up Chartiers Valley as the top seed and Section 2 champion Central Valley at No. 2. Chartiers Valley led 55-53 late in regulation when Central Valley's Mike Sims scored with only four seconds left to send the game into overtime.

In the second overtime, it was Chartiers Valley's turn to come back late. Central Valley held a 67-63 lead before the Colts' Eddie Flohr and Matty McConnell scored in a span of 36 seconds to tie the game with 1:15 left. Tony Gates, who was held scoreless through the first four quarters, put the Warriors up before McConnell tied it with 49 seconds remaining.

Central Valley held for one shot and spread the floor for Gates to drive down the right lane. Chartiers Valley was called for a blocking foul with 0.06 seconds left. Gates hit the first shot, then missed the second, but time quickly expired as the Warriors celebrated their first hardwood championship in exhausting and dramatic fashion.

Jacob St. George led Central Valley with 17 points while Sims added 12, Brian Kolich 11 and John George 10. All seven of Gates' points came in the two overtimes. Jerrad Tuite led all scorers with 27 points for Chartiers Valley, while McConnell scored 22 for the Colts, who went on to win WPIAL Quad-A gold two years later.

Don Rebel is a TribLIVE High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Central Valley, Chartiers Valley