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Adou Thiero seals victory as Quaker Valley edges Montour for WPIAL Class 4A title

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Thursday, March 3, 2022 | 10:43 PM

Adou Thiero endured the pain of a fractured thumb to avoid the hurt of another silver medal.

The Quaker Valley senior made eight free throws in the final 72 seconds and delivered a key late-game block, finishing touches on his dominant double-double as the top-seeded Quakers defeated No. 2 Montour, 61-52, Thursday night in the WPIAL Class 4A final at Petersen Events Center.

Quaker Valley (23-0) was the WPIAL runner-up during Thiero’s freshman season in 2019, which also was the team’s third straight second-place finish. This time, Thiero had 31 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks, senior Markus Frank scored 23, and they left Pitt’s arena wearing the gold medals they always wanted.

“Freshman year, coming out with silver, I was definitely hurt by that,” said Thiero, who played only a little in that 2019 final as a 5-foot-11 freshman. “I know I didn’t play, but I still felt like I had to do something while I’m here.”

Now a powerful 6-6 senior with Division I talent, Thiero scored 22 points in the second half, and Quaker Valley needed almost all of them in a game with 13 lead changes.

This was the third meeting this season between the section foes, and Quaker Valley won all three.

Vason Stevenson led Montour (20-5) with 23 points.

The first half was a low-scoring stalemate, perfect for defensive-minded Montour, which led 20-19 at the break. But Thiero and Frank upped the tempo in the second half. The Quakers’ tandem of 6-6 stars scored 14 points in the first half and 40 in the second.

“We played probably one of our worst first halves, but give Montour credit,” QV coach Mike Mastroianni said. “We talked (at halftime). The reason we are where we are, the locker room was so calm.”

The QV coaches let the players speak at halftime, and Thiero’s words of encouragement resonated most.

“We didn’t raise our voice,” Mastroianni said. “We sat eye level with them and just talked. They were good to go. We’ve been there. We’ve been down before and his voice — you play to your best player — his voice is heard pretty well on this team.”

The Quakers shot 29% from the field before the halftime talk and 54% afterward. Their success matched Thiero’s. After a 2-for-10 start, he went 7 for 13 from the field in the second half.

“When it’s player-driven,” Mastroianni said of the team’s motivation, “you know you have a special year.”

The WPIAL title was Quaker Valley’s second overall and first since 1997, after the Quakers had come close in three consecutive heart-wrenching losses in 2017, ’18 and ’19 — all to New Castle. The title was the third overall for Mastroianni, who won with Quaker Valley in 1997 and with Bethel Park in 2007.

“Obviously, it feels really good,” Mastroianni said. “But with this one more win, I don’t think our program is any different than it was three hours ago. I’m extremely proud of our program.”

Thursday’s game was close throughout, fitting for the two stingiest defenses in WPIAL Class 4A.

The lead changed hands on 10 consecutive baskets in the third quarter before Quaker Valley put together a late 8-0 run, all on layups by Frank to lead 40-33.

“We’re definitely a second-half team,” Frank said. “We came out a little bit slow while getting used to the environment and all of the people around. In the second half, we knew what we had to do.”

The Quakers pushed the lead to nine points early in the fourth before Montour rallied back.

A three-point play by Tyriq Eleam and a 3-pointer by Dante Deltondo had the Spartans within three points with about six minutes left. A put-back basket by Stevenson a minute later cut QV’s lead to 44-43. Stevenson later forced ties at 48 and 50, but Montour never took the lead.

“I think we ran out of gas a little bit,” Montour coach Bill Minear said. “Their pace in the second half got us. If we kept it 40s or low 50s, we had a shot.”

Quaker Valley won both section matchups in the regular season, but Montour came close in the first game, losing, 47-46, on Jan. 7. The Quakers ran away with the rematch, 56-36, on Feb. 1.

Both teams qualify for the state playoffs.

“The season for the big prize starts Sunday,” Minear said.

Thiero took over in Friday’s fourth quarter, driving to the basket and drawing fouls. The Quakers had only a 32-30 edge in points in the paint, but that approach let them go 22 for 34 from the foul line while Montour attempted just six. Thiero alone drew 14 of Montour’s 21 fouls.

The Spartans were outscored 11-2 in the final three minutes.

“You’re guarding them with 6-foot and they’re 6-6. Even if you play great defense, they extend over you,” Minear said. “Adou kept getting to the paint. What can you do? We were in serious foul trouble.”

Thiero, wearing a wrap on the right thumb he fractured in the quarterfinals, made one of two free throws with about three minutes left to take a 51-50 lead. Until then he’d struggled from the line, making just six of his first 12 free throws.

“He’s playing with a broken bone in his hand, but his will and courage is unreal,” Mastroianni said.

Thiero went 8 for 8 from the line down the stretch, including a pair with 72 seconds left and two more at the 50-second mark to lead 55-50. He drew another pair with 32 seconds remaining, and two more with 19 seconds left to lead 59-52.

“That’s him,” Mastroianni said. “We knew at the end, if we get the ball in his hands, he’s finishing those plays.”

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.

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