Chartiers Valley rains 3-pointers on Exeter Township in PIAA Class 5A 1st round

By: Antonio Rossetti
Friday, March 6, 2026 | 8:26 PM

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A steady rain of 15 Chartiers Valley 3-pointers carried the Colts past Exeter Township, 68-44, in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs Friday night.

Julius Best spearheaded the Colts, coming in hot off the bench with 18 points and four 3s.

“I’m not going to lie. I airballed the first 3, so I was thinking this might be a rough night,” Best said. “But after that, I locked in and really started getting hot.”

Julian Semplice added 14 points and three 3s. Silas Verzich racked up 13 points off the bench.

Verzich, Logan Helfrick, Danny Slizik and Jake Lewis sank two treys apiece.

Best and Verzich fueled the Colts off the bench, helping them pull away from the Eagles.

“We were stroking it tonight,” Semplice said. “I mean, off the bench we had seven combined 3s, and that was a huge spark for us, especially when it was a tightly contested game early.”

Verzich hit timely 3s to keep CV ahead. He drew a three-shot foul and scored eight points in the third quarter.

“I came off the bench early and wasn’t hitting my shots at first, so I knew I had to make an impact somewhere else,” Verzich said. “I had to get a stop or something. After that, they started falling.”

At one point, 30 of Chartiers Valley’s 32 points came from 3-point range.

The Colts opened the game on a 9-2 run as Chartiers Valley knocked down three 3s to start the game with Semplice hitting two and Helfrick burying one.

Nevertheless, Exeter held the Colts in check, going on a 7-0 run that extended into the second quarter, tying it at 9-9.

The Eagles kept the Colts out of the paint with strong man-to-man defense forcing them to shoot.

At 11-11, the Colts started knocking down 3s with Helfrick and Semplice hitting back-to-back to go up 17-11.

Best came off the bench and sparked the offense with a three-point play followed up later with a buzzer-beating 3.

The Colts buried seven 3s in the first half to take a 26-17 lead at halftime.

Chartiers Valley came into the second half poised to pull away, racking up 21 third-quarter points with six 3s as a team.

“Coach told us to stop being soft and get to the paint,” Semplice said. “Once we got to the paint, it opened up the outside shots a lot more, and that’s what got us going in the second.”

Chartiers Valley’s drive-and-kick style of play led to open shots, which produced 18 team assists.

“(Driving and kicking), it’s super important,” Best said. “We work on it every day in practice. Sometimes 30 minutes of just drive and kick over and over.”

Verzich said the Colts’ ability to get stops and then move into transition was important.

“It was a big spark for us,” he said. “The game was close early, so we needed stops to get momentum and push forward.”

CV led 47-33 after the third quarter and pulled away from there.

“It’s momentum,” Semplice said. “We have a goal to go to the state championship and win it, and this is our first step there. We’re just going to build off it and keep playing harder.”

Tags: Chartiers Valley