All-time WPIAL boys basketball championship games No. 2: 2007 West Allegheny upsets Chartiers Valley as No. 16 seed

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, February 26, 2018 | 5:51 PM

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The TribLive High School Sports Network will be counting down the Top 10 boys and girls WPIAL basketball championship games leading up to the 2018 title games March 1-3 at the Petersen Events Center.

TRIBHSSN is the exclusive audio and video home for all 12 WPIAL championship games, which will be broadcasted and video streamed live at TribHSSN.triblive.com.

Here is the ninth installment of a 10-part series ranking the top WPIAL boys basketball championship games in district history.

No. 2: 2007 — WPIAL Class 3A finals: West Allegheny 62, Chartiers Valley 58 (2OT)

Every postseason, media experts debate and predict which teams have a legitimate chance to win it all and which are mere stepping stones for others. But thanks to a Class 3A team in 2007, every team should feel like it has a real chance to go the distance and win it all. West Allegheny has become the poster team for every district team that qualifies for the playoffs.

The 2007 Class 3A title game looked like a bit of a mismatch. Chartiers Valley was two years removed from a WPIAL Quad-A championship. The Colts were the Section 4 champs, 20-4 overall and the No. 3 seed in the 17-team bracket. Meanwhile, West Allegheny ended up in a tie for fourth place with Hopewell in Section 2-3A with a record barely over .500 at 12-11 and needed a win over Montour in the final night of section play just to make the playoffs. The Indians were just a blip on the screen when the playoff brackets were announced as they were pitted against Keystone Oaks in the dreaded “pigtail” game just to earn the No. 16-seed.

West Allegheny routed Keystone Oaks, 70-48, to earn a shot at top-seeded Greensburg Salem. The Golden Lions finished the regular season 23-1. They then finished the season 23-2 as the Indians stunned the Golden Lions, 56-54. The surprises kept coming for West Allegheny as it once again upset No. 9 Montour, 42-39, in the quarterfinals, then upset fifth-seeded Ambridge, 45-41, to earn a stunning trip to the title game.

In the finals, both teams struggled shooting early on and the teams went to the half tied 19-19. The scoring didn't pick up much on either side in the third and fourth quarters. With West Allegheny leading 38-37 with six seconds left in regulation, CV's Brian Castello hit one of two free throws to tie the game as regulation ended.

In the first overtime, the Indians led by two points when Kasey Eckels followed a steal with a layup that put West A up 47-43. Chartiers Valley senior Mike Sherry buried a 3-point shot with 29 seconds left, and a foul away from the ball was called on West Allegheny. Chartiers Valley inbounded the ball and Castello was fouled two seconds later. After missing his first free throw, Castello hit the equalizer to tie the game at 47. Neither team could score as the first overtime came to an end.

The Indians held a 51-50 lead when Derrick Zeroski hit a monster 3-pointer to give West Allegheny a four-point bulge with 1:34 left in the second overtime. Zeroski hit a pair of free throws a minute later that helped seal the win. In fact, the Indians success at the charity stripe was a big part of the final result as they were 8 for 8 in the final minute of the game.

It was West Allegheny's only title on the hardwood. But the victory and postseason run was one for the ages and continues to give every team one important thing every postseason — hope.

Don Rebel is a TribLive High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Chartiers Valley, West Allegheny