Peters Township wins double-overtime thriller
CANONSBURG – The Peters Township boys basketball team came into Tuesday night’s contest at Canon-McMillan riding a two-game winning streak as the Indians look not only to return to the WPIAL playoffs, but challenge section leaders Chartiers Valley and Baldwin.
The Indians had a fight on their hands from the Big Macs, but the Indians played well to the final whistle and earned a hard-fought 87-81 double-overtime Section 4-AAAA victory.
And the Indians needed every bit of that extra time.
“We had a lot of guys step up in double overtime,” said PT head coach Gary Goga. “Nick (Valentic) made some shots, we had some guys knock down free throws and we rebounded when we had to. I will take it.”
Peters Township (5-2, 10-3) led almost wire to wire in regulation, but C-M’s R.J. Bell converted down a pair of free throws with 1:30 left to tie the score at 58-58. The Indians grabbed the lead on a Kelson Marisa three-pointer, his third of the game, but Big Macs point guard Britton Beachy forced overtime at 62-62 by making a runner with three seconds leftin regulation.
Beachy led all scorers with 30 points.
Bell made two more free throws in the first overtime to give C-M a 66-64 lead – their first lead since 4-3. The Big Macs would stretch that lead to as many as five points, but they let the Indians back into the game by missing seven free throws in the two overtime periods.
“When it is late in the game things are magnified,” said Canon-McMillan head coach Rick Bell. “We had chances; we just didn’t convert. This is now four overtime losses in section play. I loved our fight and we showed a lot of heart. We just have to keep getting a little bit better. Hopefully, we can start turning some of these close losses into wins.”
The Big Macs’ inability to hit from the free-throw line left the door open for Valentic and the Indians.
Valentic finished the game with 22 points, but none were more important than his layup at the buzzer that tied the game at 72-72 and sent it to double overtime.
In the second overtime, Valentic took over, making a three-pointer to give the Indians the lead. He made two more field goals in the second overtime to increase the PT lead. Valentic scored seven points in the secodn extra session and had nine of his 22 in the overtimes.
“I needed to make a play in overtime,” Valentic said. “We ran the same play we ran earlier and this time I was able to get to the rim. I was feeling it a little bit in double overtime.”
It wasn’t just Valentic, though, as PT got sparks from several players, including Mike Cortese, who led the Indians with 23 points. He made five of PT’s 13 three-pointers on the night.
PThe Indians showed balanced scoring as eight players found their way into the scoring column.
Clayton Yates was in double figures with 12 points. The Indians also received scoring from their bench as Ethan Young chipped in with 12, including making four clutch free throws in the second overtime. The PT bench outscored Canon-Mac’s 17-2.
The Indians also made their free throws. While C-M converted just 17 of 29 attempts, PT finished 18 of 20 from the line.
“We have a bunch of guys who can get the job done,” Goga said. “We have confidence in all of them. They stuck together. You need guys to step up, and you need wins like this, if you want to do good things. We were fortunate to win.”
Carson Miller (25 points) and Bell (18) had big games for the Big Macs.
The game had an exciting back-and-forth pace and was well-played.
The Indians took control by relying on the three-point shot, making four in the first quarter to take a 16-14 edge.
The Indians, however, couldn’t pull away as the Big Macs kept it a two-possession game for most of the first half.
PT finally got some separation, closing the final 2:30 of the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 36-27 lead into the locker room. But C-M struck early in the second half, going on an 11-2 run to make it a one-possession game, where it stayed for most of the way.
“Play to the final buzzer,” Goga said. “That was the message tonight. Play to that final whistle sounds. They left the door open and we had to step up.”