Chartiers Valley boys basketball looks forward to promising future

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, March 26, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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In the first three years as head coach of the Chartiers Valley boys basketball program, Brandon Sensor started with a bang with 18 wins and a semifinals berth.

The Colts improved in the next two years, winning 19 games and reaching the semifinals again in 2020 and collecting 22 wins and reaching the WPIAL championship game last season.

Chartiers Valley took a step back this season with a tough start, success in the middle and then a rough finish.

First off, there was the start. The Colts began the season trotting out of the gates, losing their first seven games.

“I think there were many factors,” Sensor said. “First off, I have to do a better job all around. It starts with me. Second, we played some really good teams, most of which made it to the final four in their class in the WPIAL playoffs. A lot of new guys playing big roles, guys who did not have much varsity experience. And we were all still learning a lot. We fought hard and had leads in a lot of those games and kept some close.”

The fight started to pay off when Section 2-5A play began Jan. 7. The Colts won their first three section games and won seven of nine games in the month of January.

“I think by that point we really just started to play together a little bit more on offense and defense,” Sensor said. “To play 5A varsity basketball, it takes an extreme amount of effort for 32 minutes, especially on the defensive side of the ball, if you want to be successful. That’s something we battled off and on all year, but during that stretch, I thought we were showing some of it.”

However, when the calendar flipped from January to February, the struggles returned.

Chartiers Valley (8-15) finished the season losing six of its last seven games, including a 72-57 defeat at the hands of Penn Hills in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff game.

“That was a tough stretch,” Sensor admitted. “We had some injuries to a couple guys who were not playing at 100%. We weren’t generating great shots on offense and that hurt our defense. I really think we lost confidence defensively and really struggled during the end of the season. We still fought and did some good things along the way though.”

While the program is undergoing some growing pains, they have a fabulous freshman to build around.

Jayden Davis started his scholastic career with a bang. He was one of the top scorers in the district, averaging over 26 points per game.

“Jayden did some great things,” Sensor said. “He’s an exciting kid to watch and coach. He showed that he can score with the best of them and also at times on defense, he can take over a game. We relied on him a lot as a freshman. I think he learned a lot throughout the year, started to share the ball and make the right play more as the season went on. I’m excited to see him mature as a leader and basketball player and keep getting better.”

While thrilled with Davis, Sensor pointed out three juniors and a sophomore who helped the Colts finish tied for third place, one game out of second.

“Joey Zajicek did a very good job shooting the ball and on the defensive end,” Sensor said. “He’s a great teammate who truly cares about the team. Brendan Cruz is a guy that really does a lot of the dirty work. He’s going to guard the best player on the other team, box out and dive on the floor. He’s a tough kid willing to do anything for his team. He also began to get more confidence late in the year.

“Drew Sleva had his ups and downs, but gained a ton of experience. He showed flashes of doing some really good things on both ends of the court. He’s another good leader and teammate. Rudy Morris started to get some minutes later in the season, and he did really well with them.”

That youth combined with experience has Senor excited about taking a big step forward next season after a step back in 2022.

“I’m excited to work with this group for the next year,” he said. “We return four guys who started this season, three of which will be seniors who have great leadership qualities. The other who has shown he’s one of the best players in the area, plus another guy who played a lot of minutes as a sophomore and did well. Our JV guys gained a ton of experience and a lot of them will be juniors ready to compete for varsity time, and our incoming freshman class is probably the best we’ve had since I’ve been at Chartiers Valley.”

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