Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 30, 2023

By: Don Rebel
Monday, January 30, 2023 | 6:44 PM

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In two weeks, couples will celebrate the mid-February tradition of Valentine’s Day.

For the Steel Valley boys basketball program, they are fortunate every day is Valentine’s day. Who needs candy or flowers when talented senior Makhai Valentine is raining points down on Ironmen opponents?

Valentine dropped 39 points in a Tuesday victory and then produced the third highest-scoring game in WPIAL history when he scored 63 points Friday to lead surging Steel Valley to two more section wins.

The 63 points in a game tied him with Tom Richards of Moon in 1972 for third place on the WPIAL most points in a game list behind only 71 points by Larry Hardesty of Mohawk in 1959 and 64 by Micah Mason of Highlands in 2011.

“I never expected to have a 50-point game and a 60-point game,” Valentine said. “I guess that was just the hand I was dealt.”

On most nights, Valentine is dealt a royal flush. He has become the WPIAL’s king of hearts, averaging 37.5 points a game.

The week began with a battle for second place in Section 2-3A as Steel Valley (7-2, 9-9) hosted Keystone Oaks (6-3, 9-8). Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (7-1, 14-3) leads the section.

Valentine had a game-high 39 points as the Ironmen squeezed out a 71-66 win over the Golden Eagles.

“KO has a very good team if you ask me,” Valentine said. “They play very hard, and they have five kids that can go. I also know their head coach because he’s my English teacher.”

That would be Gary Goga, who teaches at Steel Valley and is in his second year at Keystone Oaks after a long and successful tenure at Peters Township.

After scoring 39 points in the win over Keystone Oaks on Tuesday, Valentine had registered 39 points by halftime of Friday’s section game at Brentwood.

“Cruce (Brookins) had four fouls in the first half, so he kind of left me to do everything on my own.” Valentine recalled with a laugh. “So I had to handle the first half on my own.”

Even a Brentwood double team could not slow down the red-hot Valentine.

“Before a game I always think about, well I was doubled last week, so nothing could change this week,” Valentine said.

For the historic night, Valentine connected on 18 field goals, 12 of which were 3-pointers. He was 15 of 16 from the free-throw line, and he had 16 rebounds and six assists.

Steel Valley won its third straight game, 100-79, over a Brentwood team that was led by Carter Betz, who scored 43 points.

Valentine has a special friendship with Brookins, a fellow senior. In fact, the two agreed on a pact last summer that has helped both the Steel Valley football and basketball teams.

Brookins convinced Valentine to come out for the football team, but Makhai said he would only do so if Cruce came out for the basketball team.

“Playing football was a lot of fun,” Valentine said. “After football practice, I would go straight to basketball, so I was doing both sports at once. It became a little tough, but it was fun winning the (WPIAL) championship.”

The Ironmen have won eight of their last 10 games and are primed for a showdown with defending district and state champion Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at home on Tuesday.

Trib HSSN Players of the Week

Week 3 – Royce Parham, North Hills

Week 2 – Jaydis Kennedy, Geibel Catholic

Week 1 – Joe Roth, Ellwood City

Tags: Steel Valley