FOXBURG, Pa. (EYT/D9) — If there is a formula for the A-C Valley boys basketball team to win games, this is it.
Utilizing its two big men inside, Jay Clover and Zah Levins, and playing the inside-outside game efficiently, the Falcons dominated the glass and sprinted away from visiting Keystone, 68-46, on Monday night.
(Pictured above, A-C Valley senior Jay Clover)
“This is what I want to see every night,” said first-year A-C Valley coach Jess Quinn. “If we can take this blueprint and move it forward when we play some really talented teams like Karns City or Redbank or Clarion, I think we have the blueprint for success.”
That blueprint starts with Clover and Levins.
Clover scored 26 points to go with 18 rebounds. Levins added 19 points and 15 boards for A-C Valley, which limited Keystone to just two offensive rebounds in the entire game.
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
That negated the Panthers’ hot shooting in the first three-plus quarters, which kept them in the game.
When they eluded them in the fourth, A-C Valley was able to turn a narrow four-point lead into a 26-10 advantage over the final 10 minutes.
“In this day and age, it’s a lot about transition and shooting the ball from the outside, which Keystone is very good at,” Quinn said. “But we said if we could control that and work our game inside, then outside, we would definitely have the advantage and it worked out for us tonight.”
A-C Valley also shot well from the outside with Brody Dittman and Joe Rapp each adding nine points.
With Clover and Levins grabbing rebounds and triggering the transition, the Falcons were difficult to stop.
(Keystone coach Greg Heath talks with his team during a timeout in a loss to A-C Valley on Monday night)
“We talk about all the time, ‘What do you bring to the team?’” Quinn said. “In Jay’s game, it’s offensive and defensive rebounds. (Levins, too). They get rebounds and get everything started and we’re starting to really understand that and believe in it as a team.”
Keystone, though, hung around for much of the game thanks to the shooting from its guards.
Freshman Eli Nellis scored 15 points to lead the Panthers. Drew Keth and another freshman, Dom Corcetti, each scored 13.
It helped Keystone close to 40-36 with about two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but A-C Valley shot that lead back to 10 quickly at 50-40 by the end of the frame.
The Panthers scored the final 12 points of the game, all on layups.
“We said (up by 10) in the fourth quarter that we have to score on layups. Nothing else,” Quinn said. “They did a really nice job.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
