The River Valley Panthers waltzed into their matchup on Friday with two straight wins but they left with three. They had just enough and edged Conemaugh Township out 45-43. The win was all the more spectacular given River Valley's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 298th, while Conemaugh Township is ranked 136th).
It was another big night for Dom Speal, who scored 25 points along with five rebounds and two steals. He continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played.
Despite the defeat, Conemaugh Township saw an underclassman step up: Ethan Matera scored 12 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Matera hasn't dropped below two blocks for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Stephen Stango, who scored eight points along with six steals.
River Valley has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season. As for Conemaugh Township, their loss dropped their record down to 18-4.
River Valley does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Conemaugh Township, they will head out on the road to take on Windber at 7:15 p.m. on Monday. Windber is coming into the match with three straight losses at home, meaning Conemaugh Township will have to defend against a squad hungry for a victory.
