2022 WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball championship breakdown: Quaker Valley vs. Montour

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, March 3, 2022 | 2:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

No. 1 Quaker Valley vs. No. 2 Montour

9 p.m. Thursday, Petersen Events Center

On the air: Livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com; Radio: 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM

WPIAL titles: Quaker Valley 1 (1997); Montour 2 (2011, ’13)

Quaker Valley (22-0)

Coach: Mike Mastroianni

3, Adou Thiero, 6-6, sr., G

4 Will Dunda, 6-1, sr., G

5, Jack Gardinier, 6-0, sr., G

13, Markus Frank, 6-6, sr., F

25 Dan Bartels, 6-3, jr., F

Notable: Quaker Valley defeated Montour twice in section play this winter, winning 47-46 on Jan. 7 and 56-36 on Feb. 1 … The Quakers reached the finals by defeating No. 8 Deer Lakes, 66-34, in the quarterfinals, and No. 5 Lincoln Park, 74-63, in the semifinals … The win over Lincoln Park was the team’s third this season … Frank averages 28.2 points and 9.8 rebounds. He shoots 70% from the field, scoring mostly in the paint … Thiero averages 24.1 points and 9.5 rebounds. He scored 25 points in the semifinals despite playing with a fractured right thumb … Gardinier averages 8.3 points … This is Quaker Valley’s fourth appearance in the finals in six years. The team finished as WPIAL runner-up in 2017, ’18 and ’19. … The Quakers won their lone title in 1997 with a 57-49 victory over New Brighton in the Class 2A final.

Montour (20-4)

Coach: Bill Minear

3, Vason Stevenson, 6-3, sr., F

4, Dante Deltondo, 6-1, sr., G

5, Tyriq Eleam, 6-4, sr., F

10, Diaun Pinkett, 6-1, sr., G

11, Jake Wolfe, 6-0, so., G

Notable: Montour has three double-digit scorers in Pinkett (14.9 ppg), Stevenson (13.5) and Eleam (10.4) … The Spartans also lean on their defense; they allow 47.9 ppg, best in WPIAL Class 4A but only a tenth better than Quaker Valley (48 ppg) … Montour defeated No. 7 Burrell, 70-50, in the quarterfinals, and No. 3 Belle Vernon, 64-53, in the semifinals. … The Spartans have won 12 of their past 13 games interrupted only by the Feb. 1 loss to Quaker Valley … Montour reached the finals for the first time since winning the 2013 Class 3A title over Chartiers Valley, 47-40 … Minear previously won two WPIAL titles and one state championship in 11 seasons as Sto-Rox’s coach.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Montour, Quaker Valley