Straight shooter sparks Montour to section win over Chartiers Valley
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Wednesday, January 22, 2025 | 12:16 AM
Montour’s Colton Straight had a first quarter to remember, yet his buzzer-beater after halftime was the shot Chartiers Valley surely won’t forget.
Straight won’t either.
His deep 3-pointer with zeros on the third-quarter clock helped spark a winning run Tuesday night as No. 1 Montour pulled away from No. 2 Chartiers Valley in a 78-67 victory. The momentum of his shot seemed to carry over to the fourth, letting the Spartans stay undefeated in Section 4-5A.
“It felt amazing,” Straight said.
Some timely shots by Straight and Kaleb Platz, solid defense and the presence of 6-foot-9 center Ama Sow in the middle fueled a decisive 13-2 run. It stretched a five-point Montour lead into 16.
The Spartans led 69-53 with 5:45 left after a dunk by Sow, breaking open what was a tight game for three quarters.
“We knew we were going to get their best shot,” Straight said. “We beat them before. All of their fans were here. Loud crowd. We knew what the refs were going to be like, so we just had to be ready, be prepared.”
Straight scored 29 points with 15 in the first quarter alone. He was one of four Montour scorers to reach double figures. Sow had 19 points and 13 rebounds with a couple of fourth-quarter dunks, Platz added 14 points and A.J. Alston scored 12.
The win gives Montour (13-1, 8-0) a two-game lead over Chartiers Valley (14-2, 6-2) in the standings. Both of the Colts’ losses were to Montour.
“We got away from the game plan,” Chartiers Valley coach Corey Dotchin said. “We executed in spurts early in the game and got done what we wanted to do. … And then we had mental lapses, and it got away from us.”
Jayden Davis led Chartiers Valley with 29 points with 18 after half. The high-scoring guard made 9 of 18 shots overall, at times while facing a diamond-and-one defense.
Dotchin said opponents haven’t run many exotic defenses against Davis this season but believed having Sow in the middle made it easier. As one of the WPIAL’s premier big men, Sow blocked three shots and disrupted many others.
“You can be really aggressive with guys and leave Ama Sow in the middle of the paint to kind of block everything,” Dotchin said. “It gives them a little more flexibility than what some other teams are able to do against him.”
Logan Helfrick scored 12 points with four 3s, and Danny Slizik added 10 points.
The section matchup between the two top-ranked teams in WPIAL 5A drew a near-capacity crowd to Montour’s gym. It was a rematch from when Montour won 66-60 on Dec. 17.
“This was huge to get the section,” Montour coach Bill Minear said. “This gives us a two-game lead over everybody. I’m confident in our guys. I just hope we don’t get complacent.”
Minear said the win fit the team’s pattern this season. He said the Spartans took some early leads, slumped a little in the middle at times, yet found a way to finish strong and win.
“They’ve been doing that all year,” Minear said. “Hopefully it doesn’t bite us at the wrong time.”
Straight provided the hot start by going 6 for 6 shooting in the first quarter. He accounted for 15 of Montour’s 16 points in the quarter.
The Spartans led 16-14 after one.
“I was feeling it,” Straight said. “The first shot felt good and then everything else after that felt good too.”
A 6-foot guard and first-year starter, Straight ranks as Montour’s second-leading scorer, averaging 15.7 points per game. Minear said Straight and Sow developed an on-court chemistry in the summer since as the only non-football players in the starting lineup.
“He’s starting to wake people up to how good he is,” Minear said.
There were six lead changes and five ties in the first half. The last lead change came on putback by Sow to give Montour a 29-27 with 3:30 left in the second quarter. Montour never trailed again, but Chartiers Valley didn’t go away easily.
Leading 39-34 at half, Montour built a 10-point advantage late in the third quarter. The Spartans were ahead 52-42 on 3-pointer by Alston. But Chartiers Valley was back within five after Davis scored eight points in the third.
With four seconds left in the quarter, Montour had one last possession, leading to Straight’s buzzer-beater and a 59-51 lead.
“I knew (the defender) was going to jump at the pump fake,” Straight said. “I had a little more time. It felt so good, even from that deep.”
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, Montour
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