Charleroi ends playoff losing streak
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
Charleroi’s Will Wagner couldn’t have asked for a better game on his birthday.
The Cougars sharpshooter finished with a game-high 29 points on his home floor as No. 10 Charleroi advanced to the first round of the WPIAL playoffs with a 61-44 win over No. 15 Steel Valley.
Wagner not only celebrated his birthday, but he gave his head coach the best gift, an end to a 24-year playoff losing streak for the Cougars.
Charleroi’s last playoff win came in 1997. Ironically, it was against Steel Valley, 46-44. The star for the Cougars that season, Bill Wagner, Will’s dad.
“I got a text from Rick Puskar talking about getting the monkey off my back,” Cougars coach Bill Wiltz said with a laugh. “Monkey nothing, it was more like a gorilla.”
The Cougars (12-5) now advance to face No. 7 Beaver Falls Thursday.
“The start for us was huge,” Wiltz said. “We couldn’t have started any better and we figured if we could get them to think this was the same-old, same-old, we knew we would be in good shape. That’s exactly what I think happened.”
Charleroi hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter and used an 11-3 run to build an 11-point lead with just over a minute to go in the frame.
Jay Burt completed a three-point play and Matt Marrone scored on a putback in the waning seconds to make it 19-13 Cougars after one.
Zach Usher hit two treys in the quarter, Gavin Theys added one and Wagner hit one, for Charleroi.
“As much as Will did for us, everyone has to contribute,” Wiltz said. “You have to respect Usher, Theys, (Jake) Caruso and (Ben) Shields. Even if they’re not scoring, they’re all being productive.”
In the second quarter, the Cougars started off with an 8-0 run to make it 27-13. Wagner scored all eight.
“You couldn’t ask for anything else on your birthday,” Wiltz said. “He was really feeling it in the second.”
That may have been an understatement because Wagner scored every single Cougars’ point in the frame, nailing a 3-pointer with a minute remaining to make the score 34-22 at the half. Wagner outscored the Ironmen, 15-9.
While Wagner was scoring, the Cougars got outstanding contributions from everyone on the floor in the second.
Theys took a charge, his second of the game. Usher was stout defensively on Valentine, Caruso had a couple of steals and Shields played big on the boards.
“Steel Valley was really hard to get a read on,” Wiltz said. “They only played five games. Yes, they’re 0-5, but they played some really good teams and I know the kind of players they have. They’re a good team.
“I didn’t see any teams play them in a zone. We like to play a soft matchup, but I wasn’t quite sure what we were going to do. So we winged it.”
Caruso got hot from three-point range in the third, hitting a pair as the two teams exchanged baskets throughout the eight minutes. But three of the Cougars’ baskets came from behind the arc to keep a firm grip on the lead, 47-32.
Burt, who led the Ironmen (0-6) with 17 points, opened the scoring in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 13.
But the Cougars were quick to respond with Usher and Wagner combining to hit 3 of 4 from the line and Theys adding another 3-pointer. It was part of an 8-1 run to give the Cougars a 20-point lead, their largest of the night.
Valentine, who finished with 11 points for Steel Valley, hit two late 3-pointers and Burt added a three-point play. The Ironmen never got closer than 13 in the fourth.
“It was great to be able to get this one here at home and in front of a good crowd,” Wiltz said. “It felt like a true home-court advantage. I’m really impressed with the way we played. We had three really great practices coming in. This group has just following us blindly. They do anything we ask and they’re really fun to coach. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Cougars will tip off at Beaver Falls at 6 p.m. Thursday.
