Colton Straight poured in 33 points and the Montour Spartans shook off Tuesday’s semifinal loss to Chartiers Valley to beat Mars, 81-72, Thursday night in the battle for third place in the WPIAL Class 5A Boys Basketball Tournament.
Kaleb Platz and Ama Sow each scored 15 points and AJ Alston added 10 for Montour, which was the tournament’s top seed and had won 17 straight games before falling Tuesday, 47-44.
It was the Spartans’ first loss to a WPIAL team all season.
The Spartans, now 24-2, appeared to be feeling the effects of Tuesday’s loss in the early going Thursday night, as the Planets jumped out to a 19-8 first-quarter lead, thanks in part to Drew Navetta’s eight points.
But Montour found its footing in the second quarter, outscoring Mars 23-16 to cut its halftime deficit to 35-31.
Straight scored eight points in the quarter while Platz and Sow each contributed six.
The Spartans then took control in the third quarter, using a 23-10 advantage to build a 54-45 lead heading into the final eight minutes. Straight went off for 15 points in the quarter and Alston added six.
In the final quarter, the two teams each scored 27 points, and Montour held on for the win.
Montour coach Bill Minear said his team might have had Tuesday’s loss to Chartiers Valley on its collective mind during the first portion of Thursday’s matchup with Mars.
“I felt that we came out to start the game with low energy after that loss,” he said. “Mars can really shoot the (3-pointer) and they executed extremely well early.
“Once we started to make the extra pass and apply more defensive pressure, the momentum changed in our favor.”
Navetta led Mars with 21 points while Will Wilson added 13 points and Austen Wroblewski finished with 10. The Planets connected on 11 3-pointers on the night.
The Spartans will continue their season next week when the PIAA Tournament opens. Montour will open play Friday, March 7, against Milton Hershey, the seventh-place team from District 3. Milton Hershey defeated Spring Grove, 51-45, Thursday night. The time and location will be announced later.
Mohawk 70, Bishop Canevin 64
The third-seeded Warriors went on a 14-8 run in the final four minutes to pull away from the visiting Crusaders in the Class 3A third-place game.
Mohawk improved to 20-6 with the victory while fourth-seeded Bishop Canevin fell to 15-11 with the loss.
Landyn Argiro’s 3-pointer snapped a 56-56 tie for Mohawk with a little over 4 minutes to play, and the Warriors never trailed again.
Bishop Canevin climbed to within a point at 61-60 on Drew Allen’s two free throws with 2:43 to play, but that was as close as the Crusaders would get the rest of the way.
Bishop Canevin, which was led by Lamier Wade’s 29 points, led 22-19 after one quarter and 35-29 at halftime. But Mohawk – paced by Bobby Fadden’s 35 points – pulled to within 50-47 heading into the final quarter.
There, the Warriors outscored the Crusaders 23-14.
Mohawk had the edge in long-distance shooting, hitting on eight 3-pointers while Bishop Canevin had three. Fadden accounted for half of the Warriors’ treys.
Bishop Canevin’s season will continue, as the Crusaders take on the loser of Friday night’s District 6 title game between Forest Hills and Bishop Guilfoyle. Bishop Canevin’s PIAA debut is tentatively set for Saturday, March 8, at a time and location to be determined.
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