McConnell’s Magical Night Lifts Colts To AAAA Championship

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 28, 2015 | 11:55 PM

This was one for little brother.

Matty McConnell scored a game-high 34 points, grabbed ten rebounds and went over the 2,000 point mark in his career on a buzzer-beating half-court shot, leading No. 2 Chartiers Valley (23-3) to a 78-67 win over No. 1 North Allegheny (23-3) in the WPIAL AAAA Boys Basketball Championship on Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center.

McConnell’s shot capped a tremendous third quarter comeback by the Colts in which they outscored the Tigers 24-6, helping them rally from, at one point, a 14-point deficit.

“It was probably one of the greatest shots I’ve ever taken,” said Matty McConnell, who won a WPIAL Championship in his senior year, just like his brother, current Arizona Point Guard T.J. McConnell.

“I had two children who won WPIAL Championships in their senior year,” said Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell. “As a father and a coach, what more could I ask for?”

North Allegheny would get off to a hot start in which they hit six three-pointers and got 11 points from Will Sandherr in the first quarter, eventually building a 34-20 lead. The Tigers, who were searching for their first ever WPIAL Basketball Championship, would take a 43-33 lead into halftime.

“Any team on a big stage like this would panic,” said Matty McConnell. “But credit NA, they hit shots and defended us and we didn’t defend them. I would say that there was a little bit of panic in the first quarter.”

In the second half, Chartiers Valley would begin to chip away behind McConnell and Eddie Flohr, who scored 20 of his 24 points after halftime. The Colts would take their first lead since the opening minute of the game with 2:45 left in the third quarter on a Flohr foul shot, putting Chartiers Valley up 50-49. The lead change came in the midst of a 24-3 Chartiers Valley run.

With time expiring in the third, McConnell would grab a long rebound with two seconds left, take three steps and launch a running shot from just beyond the half court line, giving the Colts a 57-49 lead. The shot not only put McConnell over 2,000 points in his career, but made he and T.J. the only pair of brothers to each score 2,000 points in their careers.

Despite the efforts of North Allegheny star Cole Constantino, who scored a team-high 27 points, the Colts would never relinquish the lead and, at one point, extend their advantage to 13 points.

Chartiers Valley will move into the PIAA AAAA Playoffs as the top seed out of District 7 and will meet section rival Mount Lebanon next Saturday in the First Round.

Sandherr scored 18 points for the Tigers, who were 8-of-14 on three pointers in the first half but just 3-of-11 in the second. They will be the second seed in the PIAA AAAA Playoffs and will play rival North Hills in the PIAA 1st Round on Friday.

Scoring By Quarter:
CV: 16-17-24-21=78
NA: 27-16-6-18=67