Westmoreland PIAA playoff capsule: Belle Vernon vs. Quaker Valley, Friday, March 11, 2022

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, March 10, 2022 | 8:18 PM

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Friday’s game

Boys

Class 4A

Second round

7-4 Belle Vernon (20-4) vs. 7-1 Quaker Valley (24-0)

6 p.m. at North Allegheny

Winner plays: Winner of Fairview (24-2)/Lincoln Park (18-7) Tuesday in quarterfinals

Layup lines: Belle Vernon advanced to the second round for the second time in three years with a 73-51 victory over Obama Academy, the top seed out of the City League. Standout senior guard Devin Whitlock will not play for the second straight game as he serves a school-mandated two-game suspension for an altercation in the handshake line after a WPIAL semifinal loss to Montour. His teammates offset his absence well Tuesday as senior Daniel Gordon scored a career-high 27 points, and sophomore Quinton Martin added 22 points and 13 rebounds. The win was the 700th of Joe Salvino’s career, 639 of which came at Monessen where he coached for 34 years. The Leopards last played Quaker Valley in the 2019-20 WPIAL quarterfinals with Belle Vernon winning 66-61 at Plum. … WPIAL champion Quaker Valley rolled past Hickory in the first round 67-51. Senior 6-foot-6 forward Marcus Frank had 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting to lead the Quakers. Another 6-6 senior, Adou Thiero, added 15 points, and senior guard Wil Dunda made three 3-pointers and chipped in 10 points. Thiero had a dominating performance in the WPIAL final with 31 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks, and Frank scored 23 in a 61-52 win over Montour, the team that knocked Belle Vernon out of the tournament. The Quakers lost in the WPIAL quarterfinals last year to North Catholic so they didn’t make the state tournament. That was their last defeat. They reached the PIAA second round in 2018-19, falling to Bishop McDevitt, 79-47. They were the WPIAL runners-up that season to New Castle. Coach Mike Mastroianni has 551 career wins. He also coached at Bethel Park. His daughter, Meghan, played at Seton Hill. She is the girls head coach at Moon. … Fans must purchase tickets online (piaa.org). Tickets will not be sold at the gate.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Quaker Valley