Wilkerson’s Hot Hand Helps Colts Gallop To Road Win Over USC

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The reigning WPIAL champion Chartiers Valley Colts used a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter to earn an important road victory at Upper St. Clair on Wednesday night, 49-41. In a tight ball game throughout, the Colts trailed entirely in the first half and led only briefly in the third quarter before a tide-turning run to open the fourth period. The run was sparked by junior Ross Wilkerson who scored the first six points of the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 18 points. Wilkerson tallied 10 of his 18 points in the fourth and was named the Quad-A Sports Player of the Game.

This pre-holiday Section 4-AAAA battle between perennial title contenders brought plenty of cheer to those in attendance. The Upper St. Clair faithful watched the home standing Panthers take a 26-22 lead into halftime thanks in large part to the play of Doug Wagner. The USC senior forward netted 12 points in the first half before leaving the game with 50 seconds left in the second quarter with an apparent ankle injury.

Despite Wagner’s absence in the second half, senior guard Andrew Wheeler kept the Panthers afloat with a 17-point performance. Wheeler had only two points at intermission, but caught fire in the third quarter with three 3-pointers.

Upper St. Clair led 37-34 to start the fourth quarter but Chartiers Valley managed to slow down Wheeler in the final stanza, and with Wilkerson’s heroics, rally for a 49-41 win. Along with Wilkerson, senior Eddie Flohr tallied 13 points and junior Caleb Zavicek posted 10 points.

Chartiers Valley heads into the holiday break in a first-place tie atop Section 4 with Baldwin, both sitting at 3-0. The Colts are 7-2 overall. Upper St. Clair slips to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in section play.

(File photo by Kristen Gore.)

Mt. Lebanon vs. Bethel Park Game Summary

SCORE BY QUARTERS1st2nd3rd4thFINAL
Mt. Lebanon141341142
Bethel Park159111550