The Quaker Valley Boys Basketball team, which qualified as the seventh and final seed out of the WPIAL, dispensed District 6 Champion Bishop McCort and advanced with a 61-48 victory Saturday night at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. 

McCort, which is located in Johnstown, Cambria County, had the decided home-court advantage. The crowd of 2,400 focused on QV point guard RJ West from the opening tip. West didn’t mind the attention and led the Quakers with 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting from the field.  

“I guess that they thought they could rattle me, but it didn’t change my game.  We played the same way we’ve played every game.” West said.

West had five steals and teamed with fellow senior Jamal Gloster to provide ball pressure that never allowed Bishop McCort to get into their offense.

Quaker Valley got out to a 10-point first-quarter lead, only to see McCort climb back and tie the game a minute before halftime after foul trouble benched the Quakers top rebounder, Burke Moser. 

Nelson Westwood connected on a three-pointer at the first half buzzer, putting the Quakers up by three at the half and recapturing the momentum. Quaker Valley then went on a 13-0 run in the third quarter that put the game out of reach.

Joe Peduto contributed 13 points and six rebounds off the bench and Steve Emch added 12. 

The victory sets up a rematch this Wednesday with Sto-Rox, which knocked the Quakers from the WPIAL playoff by one point.

Moser thinks that the Quakers will be ready.

“We know that we are good enough to beat Sto-Rox.  I think that we all feel like we have unfinished business.”  

The QV Boys Basketball team will play Sto-Rox at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh.