HS Boys’ Basketball: Porter pours it in as Tri-Valley races past Pine Grove
Pine Grove's Teagan Schneck-Haines (22) is guarded by Tri-Valley's Trey Porter (3) during a non-league boys' basketball contest Monday evening at at Tri-Valley Jr./Sr. High School. The Dawgs defeated the Cardinals 87-65 (Photo by Eli Doyle).
HEGINS — Sometimes the scoreboard spins so fast it feels like a stopwatch instead of a clock — and Monday evening at Tri-Valley, it might as well have been.
Tri-Valley turned a breakneck first half into a runaway second, rolling past Pine Grove 87-65 in a non-league boys’ basketball showdown at Tri-Valley Jr./Sr. High School, and rebounding dropping Saturday’s non-league matchup to Southern Columbia.
“We had a tough game Saturday night (loss to Southern Columbia 62-42) and tonight, I told the boys ‘you’re going to show me what you’re made of,'” Tri-Valley coach Mike Masser said. “In the first quarter, defensively, we allowed (Pine Grove) too many points. We tighten that up in the second quarter, and then we got into our transition game, which stops the offense and sped up the whole game. I challenged them and I felt they came through and did a great job tonight.”
The Dawgs (7-1) erupted for 52 first-half points and never let the pace slow, turning a tight opening quarter into a decisive separation before halftime.
Pine Grove (3-7) came out firing early. Dane Hannevig buried a 3-pointer with 5:30 left in the first quarter to give the Cardinals an 11-6 lead, setting the tone for a track-meet style opening. But Tri-Valley answered with waves of scoring, closing the quarter nearly even before unleashing its biggest punch in the second.
Trey Porter, a junior, was the engine behind that surge.
The junior poured in 15 of his game-high points in the second quarter alone as the Dawgs ripped off a 14-point run early in the frame and outscored Pine Grove 13-7 over the final three minutes of the half.
By the time the teams reached the locker room, the Dawgs had built a 52-37 advantage — part of a combined 89-point half that had fans jokingly wondering if the PIAA’s soon-to-arrive shot clock had already arrived in Hegins.
Tri-Valley never looked back after intermission. The Dawgs continued to control tempo, spacing the floor and attacking in transition while keeping the Cards from finding sustained rhythm. Porter finished with four 3-pointers, while Braeden Doyle added 17 points and Gavin Klock chipped in 13 off the bench to give Tri-Valley balanced scoring throughout the lineup.
Porter’s 31 points is also a career-high.
Pine Grove showed fight behind Hannevig’s 22 points and solid contributions from Tanner Kolb (10 points) and Teagan Schneck-Haines (nine), but the Cardinals couldn’t keep pace with Tri-Valley’s transitional pursuit and relentless scoring pressure as the margin steadily grew.
Cooper Carl and Kingsley Johnson each chipped in nine points for the Dawgs, while Owen Miller added eight. Tri-Valley finished with three players in double figures and shot 16-for-22 from the free-throw line as a unit, closing the night with the energy it lacked in the opening minutes — fast, aggressive and in full control.
Game Summary
Tri-Valley 87, Pine Grove 65
PINE GROVE (65) — Rizzo 2 1-4 6, Fairell 1 0-2 2, Hannevig 8 3-4 22, Schneck-Haines 4 0-0 9, Herber 0 0-0 0, Felty 4 0-2 9, Kolb 4 1-2 10, Wolff 0 0-0 0, Snyder 1 3-4 5, Witmer 0 0-0 0, Shanahan 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 8-18 65.
TRI-VALLEY (87) — Carl 3 3-3 9, Miller 2 3-4 8, Porter 11 5-8 31, Johnson 4 1-2 9, Doyle 7 2-3 17, Klock 5 2-2 13, C. Troutman. 0 0-0 0, T. Troutman 0 0-0 0, Olmos 0 0-0 0, Kaslavage 0 0-0 0. Totals 32 16-22 87.
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
| PG (3-7) | 23 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 65 |
| TV (7-1) | 22 | 30 | 15 | 20 | 87 |
