Offensively gifted Chartiers Valley leans on defense in WPIAL 5A quarterfinal victory over Moon

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 12:52 AM

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Chartiers Valley has a talented 2,000-point scorer in Jayden Davis, and the Colts have often shown a knack for beating teams on the offensive end of the floor.

This time, they won at the other end.

Chartiers Valley allowed only 24 points through three quarters Friday night, a determined defensive effort that let the fourth-seeded Colts defeat No. 5 Moon, 51-44, in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal that drew a standing-room crowd to Upper St. Clair.

The Colts now have held two playoff opponents to 50 points or less.

“That’s what we told them when the playoffs started: ‘We have to be able to hang our hat defensively,’” first-year Chartiers Valley coach Corey Dotchin said. “We know we can score with the best of them. But we need to be able to buckle down on the defensive end and get stops.”

This was the third matchup this season between the section foes, and Chartiers Valley won all three.

Moon was held to 11-, seven- and six-point quarters this time, and Chartiers Valley ended the third with a 33-24 lead. Freshman Luca Federico and junior Logan Helfrick made consecutive 3s late in the third.

The Colts started the fourth with an 11-2 run that stretched their lead to 18 points with less than 4 minutes left.

“We really try to lock in on that (defensive) end,” said Davis, pointing out that Dotchin stresses defense daily at practice. “He is always telling me defense is going to win the games and win championships. Going out there tonight really proves that.”

Davis scored 13 points and Julius Best added 10 for Chartiers Valley (21-3), which advances to face No. 1 Montour in a semifinal Tuesday at a site and time to be announced. This is the first time in Davis’ four seasons that Chartiers Valley has won a playoff game.

The Colts lost in the first round in 2022 and last season.

“It means a lot after three years and falling short every year,” Davis said. “It feels good. We’ve worked hard for it.”

Michael Santicola led Moon with 15 points, and Amir Turner had 10. Santicola scored eight points in the final 24 seconds to narrow Chartiers Valley’s margin of victory.

Chartiers Valley won their first matchups, 60-44 and 57-52.

“We had to make some adjustments, and I thought the adjustment on the defensive side was pretty good,” Moon coach Gino Palmosina said. “We just couldn’t get some shots to fall. … It’s very difficult to beat a team three times. They came out here on a big stage and did it.”

Moon already clinched a spot in the PIAA playoffs. Eight WPIAL teams from 5A qualify for states.

This is Dotchin’s first season as coach at Chartiers Valley, having previously coached at Highlands. He said he watched all of Chartiers Valley’s games from last season on video and challenged his players to become better on defense.

The Colts average 71 points on offense.

“He has them playing the right way,” Palmosina said. “Defensively, I thought they did an unbelievable job on us. The first time we played them, I had to put 10 new sets in because he knew every one from watching film.

“And then this one, we had to put 10 more sets in. Give Corey a ton of credit. He had his guys ready to go.”

Chartiers Valley led 16-11 after one quarter despite no points by Davis in the opening 8 minutes. The Colts found scoring from others, including a pair of 3-pointers by Danny Slizik, and Davis contributed in other ways.

Moon trailed 23-18 at halftime and 33-24 after three.

Dotchin set less than 50 points as Chartiers Valley’s defensive goal after doing some research.

“When we met as a team early in the season, I said, ‘Fellas, 11 of the last 12 WPIAL champions, the points per game they gave up was under 50,” Dotchin said. “That’s what we needed to aim for.”

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: Chartiers Valley, Moon