The Herald, Sharon, Pa: Winter sports '97-'98

Published Saturday, March 14, 1998

PIAA PLAYOFFS
OT heartbreak
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Tigers fall to Chartiers in triple-overtime
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MOST SUCCESSFUL SEASON SINCE 1985 COMES TO AN END
By Jeff Greenburg
Herald Assistant Sports Editor

MIDLAND, Pa. _ Emotion. Most are well aware it can be found in the exhilirating highs and excruciating lows that so often accompany a high school basketball playoff game.

But to find real emotion, one generally needs to venture into a lockerroom after a game, for that that is where the thrill of victory or heartbreak of defeat are more easily identified.

Such was the case for the Sharon Tigers following a 67-63 triple-overtime loss to Chartiers Valley Friday evening in a PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal matchup before a jam-packed Midland High School Gymnasium.

And so as the program's most successful season in 13 years came to an untimely end, the bowed heads and flowing tears of the Sharon players and coaches said it all.

``It was a heck of an effort,'' said Sharon coach Gary Revale, his voice cracking and tears welling up in his eyes. ``All season, it was a heck of an effort. Two years ago when I got here this was a joke. This effort, especially of these three seniors (Marty Barnett, Earl Chapman and Bobby Roberson), will hopefully start laying a foundation for this thing. We came down here with 13 men tonight. And these were the 13 guys who had enough guts to stick around and try to restore some pride and tradition here. And I've got total respect for these kids for doing that.''

The heartpounding contest wasn't decided until a pair of free throws from Chartiers Valley's Mike Colbert with two seconds remaining in the third overtime. Colbert finished with 34 points, leaving him at 1,989 for his career.

But before those freebies, some 1,800 fans were treated to the game of a lifetime.

``After the game, I grabbed Marty (Barnett) _ he was the only one I could find _ and told him that this was the best basketball game I've ever been involved with,'' said Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell. ``And I've been involved with good games both as a player and a coach, and it was a shame that either team had to go away a loser tonight. I feel for those kids. They played their hearts and guts out, but somebody had to lose. And I'm just glad it was us that came up on the winning end.''

That didn't come easy, however.

A Chapman three with 2:46 left in the fourth quarter had given Sharon a 48-46 lead, its first since midway through the second quarter (17-15), but a pair of Travis Verzich free throws with 2:12 remaining tied the game at 48 and that's where the score remained until the end of regulation.

The first overtime found Sharon ahead 53-52 with 2:06 left after another Chapman bucket, this one a deuce, but free throws from Jason Brown and Colbert pushed the 2-time WPIAL champion Colts (24-7) back in front 55-53 at the 18-second mark, setting up the first of a pair of heroic Tiger efforts.

That came in the form of a Barnett basket from the baseline with one tick on the clock, which sent the contest into a second overtime. Barnett finished with a team-high 22 points.

The next big play for the Tigers (22-7), who were looking to advance to the state's Final Four for the first time since the 1956-57 state championship team, was reserved for Jeff Valentino. His 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in the second overtime _ his only basket of the game _ knotted the score at 62, sending it to the third extra frame.

But the Tigers could muster only one free throw in the frame, while Colbert capped his spectacular evening with 5-of-6 shooting at the charity stripe to hand his team the victory.

With Sharon trailing 64-63 and approximately 50 seconds left, Chapman had an opportunity to put the Tigers in front at the free throw line, but couldn't connect on a pair of attempts. Barnett then had a chance with about 3 seconds remaining to tie the contest at 65, but his runner in the lane amid heavy traffic missed the mark.

``Chartiers Valley is a very good team,'' Revale said. ``They're well- coached and they did what they had to do. They executed very well and they handled the pressure well. We needed to catch a break and we didn't get the one or two maybe that we needed. We just came up a play or two short.''

Princeton-bound Ahmed El Nokali finished with 16 points, but more importantly was assigned to defend Valentino, who finished with only 4 points, none of which came in regulation.

``We just knew he was a scorer,'' McConnell said of Valentino. ``And we knew we had to shut him down.''

Chapman had a monster game for the Tigers, collecting 18 points and 18 rebounds; Roberson snared 9 rebounds; Bear Shimrack had 7 points and 5 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter; and Valentino grabbed 7 boards and dished out 4 assists.

A 9-0 first-quarter run gave Sharon a short-lived 13-10 lead at the end of the first frame, before the Tigers were forced to settle for ties _ 24-24, 38-38 and 48-48 at the end of each of the next three quarters of regulation.

Notes: Chartiers Valley will face South Park, a 61-55 winner over Blackhawk, in the Western Finals on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. ...Tiger players were whistled for a pair of technicals _ one for an apparent taunting, the other for apparently saying something to an official _ in the second half. ... Sharon finished 17 of 28 (61 percent) at the free throw line, while CV was 20-for- 35 (57 percent).

PIAA Class AAA Quarterfinals

SHARON _ Barnett 7-7-8-22; Valentino 1-1-5-4; Shimrack 3-1-2-7; Chapman 6-4-7-18; Roberson 2-0-1-4; Odem 1-4-5-6; Phillips 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals:  Chapman 2, Valentino 1, Barnett 1. Totals: 21-17-28-63.    
CHARTIERS VALLEY _ Colbert 9-13-16-34; El Nokali 5-4-11-16; Albert 1-0-0-2; Verzich 3-2-4-10;  Brown 2-1-2-5; Morgan 0-0-0-0; Rodriguez 0-0-2-0. 3-pt. goals: Colbert 3, El Nokali 2, Verzich 2. Totals:  20-20-35-67. 
SHARON ..............13  24  38  48  55  62  63
CH. VALLEY.......... 10  24  28  48  55  62  67

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Updated March 16, 1998
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