Trailing by one at halftime of the WPIAL Class 4A championship on Thursday, undefeated
Quaker Valley (Leetsdale, Pa.), a team averaging 73 points per game, had been held to 19.
No worries. The halftime message was clear.
"He (
Adou Thiero) just said, ‘We gotta go.'" Quaker Valley head coach Mike Mastroianni told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "When your team is player-driven like that, you know it's a special year."
This season has been historic for Quaker Valley.
Thiero and
Markus Frank, a pair of 6-foot-6 senior 1,000-point scorers, have accomplished something no other tandem in recent WPIAL history has – they both averaged over 24 points per game in the regular season. WPIAL stats were officially kept starting with the 1979-80 season. Only three other duos since then have averaged over 22 points each. Frank averages 28 points while Thiero chips in 24.4. Both players rank among the top 10 scorers in Pennsylvania.
Against Montour in the WPIAL title game, Thiero and Frank scored 40 of the team's 42 points in the second half as the Quakers rallied for a 61-52 win. It was Quaker Valley's first WPIAL title since 1997 and second overall.
The Quakers are just the 24th undefeated team since 1940 to win a WPIAL title. Quaker Valley has posted 20 wins or more in 10 of the last 13 seasons and has qualified for the WPIAL postseason 18 straight years.
Marcus Frank (13) and Adou Thiero (3) celebrate a win along with teammates Wil Dunda (4), Dan Bartels (25) and Jack Gardinier (5).
In addition to Thiero and Frank,
Jack Gardinier and
Wil Dunda are returning senior starters for the Quakers who also get contributions from juniors
Dan Bartels,
Jackson Kerley,
Noah Jordan and
Troy Kozar and sophomore
Joey Coyle.
Last season Thiero averaged 21.8 points. Frank averaged 17.1.
"Adou and Markus have played together for so many years and although Markus may have not received the early attention Adou did, I think it has come to a point where you talk about them as a package," Mastroianni, in his 23rd year at Quaker Valley, told Tribune HSSN. "They are such good friends and know each other well on and off the court."
Thiero, who started as a freshman, has grown seven inches since his sophomore season, including five in the last year. He averages 9.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.2 blocks and has recorded four triple-doubles this season.
Despite playing the WPIAL final with a broken bone and brace on his shooting hand, Thiero had 31 points, 17 rebounds, seven blocks and three assists.
Thiero's father, Almamy, stands 6-9 and played at Memphis and Duquesne. His mom, Mariam, is 6-3 and was selected in the 2006 WNBA draft.
Thiero has visited Indiana. Ohio State and Marquette are in contact. Duquesne offered the day after the win over Montour.
Frank, who entered the starting lineup as a sophomore, averages 9.5 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.2 assists. The forward has not attempted a 3-pointer this season and is shooting 70 percent from the field.
On Feb. 23, Frank set the Quaker Valley single-game scoring record with 45 points in a 66-34 win over Deer Lakes. Seven weeks earlier, Thiero scored 44 points in an 88-34 win over Hopewell to break the previous single-game scoring record of 43 established by Grant Derner in 1980.
"They're the same size, but have different approaches," Mastroianni told the Post-Gazette. "They have different ways of scoring. But I think that's what makes them so good for us because they complement each other very well."
"Honestly, it's an honor to know what we're doing," Frank told the Post-Gazette. "When you think about it, it really is hard to have two averaging 24 or more. You have three other people on the team that you have to share the ball with.
"It's more difficult than you think."
Quaker Valley will begin PIAA state tournament play Tuesday against Hickory.
Adou Thiero attacks the basket.
Photo: John Doucette/Quaker Valley Photos
