‘We’ll take an ugly win:’ No. 1 Chartiers Valley gets past Moon, earns spot in Class 5A finals

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 | 11:41 PM

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Moon sophomore Brody Bauman launched a possible game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds left that hit off the front of rim and bounced away as time expired, keeping Chartiers Valley’s hopes of a repeat alive.

In front of a standing-room-only crowd at Peters Township, the Colts edged the Tigers, 39-37, advancing to the WPIAL Class 5A boys championship game on Saturday night.

“There’s definite excitement because we knew this was going to be a tough game,” Chartiers Valley coach Corey Dotchin said. “We had two really good days of practice, and the guys were focused in. They executed, and I’m happy for them.

“We made enough plays, and we were two points better. We’ll take an ugly win in a grind-it-out game anytime over a loss.”

The rubber game of the season series between the Section 4-5A foes was indeed a grind.

Moon scored the first bucket of the game and then scored only one more basket the rest of the first quarter.

Chartiers Valley struggled to score in the middle two quarters. The Colts had 12 points after one quarter but combined to score only 13 points in the second and third.

“We guard. That’s what we do,” Moon coach Gino Palmosina said. “I said if we were going to have a shot, we were going to have to hold them in the 40s. Here we held them in the 30s and still didn’t come out with the victory.”

The Colts led by eight points after one and by two points at the half, 19-17.

A steal and a layup by Chartiers Valley senior Julius Best in the third quarter gave CV its biggest lead of the second half at 23-17.

However, Moon finally hit a rhythm and got hot late in the third quarter and into the fourth with Jackson Bauman hitting a 3-pointer then connecting on three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt.

That was part of a 12-2 run by the Tigers that turned a six-point deficit into a four-point lead.

“I thought we had a great start to the fourth quarter,” Palmosina said. “Then they got a bucket off an offensive rebound, and we turned it over and then an offensive foul. That hurts when every possession matters.”

The game was tied twice in the fourth quarter, including 33-33, before a bucket in close by Chartiers Valley 6-foot-5 sophomore Luca Federico put the Colts up for good with 2:30 remaining, 35-33.

The game turned into a free-throw shooting contest in the final minutes, which turned out to be bad news for Moon.

“I thought in the first half, we got some second-chance opportunities that gave us some points and some extra possessions,” Dotchin said. “In the second half, I thought free throws were a key. I think they missed four or five free throws in the second half, and we only missed two.”

Four times in the fourth quarter, the Tigers went to the free-throw line and made one of two.

“We were 10 of 18 from the line,” Palmosina said. “We work on it every day; it’s a point of emphasis for us. Again, miss eight, it’s not that good this time of year.”

Still, Moon had a chance.

Federico hit two free throws with 50 seconds remaining to increase the Chartiers Valley lead to three.

A Brody Bauman bucket with 30 seconds left pulled the Tigers to within one point at 38-37.

The Colts’ Julian Semplice was fouled and hit one of two free throws with 11 seconds left to bump the lead to two points.

With time winding down, Jackson Bauman dribbled left and handed off to younger brother Brody, who fired up a deep 3-point shot that was short, and the Colts had survived.

“We tried to run a play, but we never got organized right from the jump,” Palmosina said of the last possession. “We weren’t set or ready, and we should have executed better. Not thrilled with the look, but we got what we got.”

The loss snaps an eight-game winning streak as Moon falls to 20-4 and will host Hampton in the third-place game Thursday.

Jackson Bauman was the only Tigers player in double-digit scoring with 11 points.

“It’s disappointing. It’s not the goal”, Palmosina said. “The only bright spot we can take out of it is we have states, so there’s more basketball left to be played.”

Chartiers Valley has won seven straight and improves to 22-2. Federico led all scorers with 13 points.

The Colts now prepare to face Thomas Jefferson (23-2) in the Class 5A finals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

“It never makes your job easy, especially when you’re going against a well-coached team,” Dotchin said of the Colts’ experience factor. “It’s always very stressful. I’m just glad we get another opportunity for them to get back to what we set out to do.”

Tags: Chartiers Valley, Moon