CRANBERRY TWP — All was going according to plan for Grove City ... except putting the ball in the basket in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles hit just three of 21 shots in the final eight minutes and Quaker Valley went on a key 9-0 run in the quarter to defeat Grove City, 54-48, in their PIAA Class 4A boys basketball tournament game Friday night at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School.

“I thought we played harder than they did tonight,” Eagles coach Jeff Loughry said. “They turned up their defensive intensity in the second half.

“We knew they would do that and it made a difference for them.”

The Quakers (24-1) trailed by 32-27 at halftime, but allowed only 16 points in the second half. Grove City sank 13 of 21 shots in the first half — including three treys — but only six of 29 shots in the second half.

“We didn't change anything defensively, not really,” Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni said. “We just played harder in the second half.

“I thought Grove City played well all night and we didn't look like we came out ready to play.”

The lead changed hands seven times. Grove City's biggest lead was 28-20, thanks to consecutive steals and lay-ups by Logan Lutz, midway through the second quarter.

The Eagles (18-8) last had the lead at 43-41, courtesy of a Martin Beatty trey 14 seconds into the final quarter. But Grove City did not score again until Beatty stuck back an offensive rebound with 58 seconds left.

By then, Quaker Valley had built a 50-41 lead.

“They wanted to run a lot more in this game and we did a good job of preventing that,” Loughry said. “They wanted to play this game in the 70s or 80s.

“We gave ourselves a chance by keeping it in the 50s. We were within a couple of possessions in the final minute,”

Ryan Stowers, a 6-foot-5 junior forward, scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half for the Quakers. He scored all nine of Quaker Valley's points during their 9-0 run in the fourth quarter.

Stowers and Danny Conlan average more than 16 points per game. Conlan was held to seven points.

Stowers hit a pair of treys in the third quarter on consecutive possessions, turning a two-point deficit into a four-point lead.

“He's done that type of thing a lot for us this year,” Mastroianni said. “Ryan is a clutch shooter that way.”

Rick Guss had eight points, seven rebounds and six assists for Quaker Valley. Coletrane Washington had 12 points.

“I thought Kade Persinger, a sophomore, did a great job defending Coletrane,” Loughry said. “He kept him in check.

“They have such a big team. Even when you guard well, they can shoot right over you. We had 5-10 and 5-9 guys guarding 6-5 and 6-4 guys. That makes it tough.”

Quaker Valley's starting five included three 6-5 players, one 6-3 and a 6-8 center. Yet Grove City had a 27-24 rebounding edge.

“That doesn't surprise me. Our effort tonight was tremendous,” Loughrty said.

Isaac Thrasher paced the Eagles with 15 points. Beatty had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Lutz 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Brayden Martin had four assists.

Quaker Valley will face Hickory — a 92-52 winner over Belle Vernon — in the next round. Hickory picked up its first PIAA playoff win since 1995.

GROVE CITY 48

Isaac Thrasher 6-10 0-0 15, Marcos Cintron 1-4 0-0 3, Martin Beatty 4-12 2-2 12, Logan Lutz 5-11 0-2 10, Brayden Martin 2-9 0-0 4, Kade Persinger 1-4 2-4 4. Totals: 19-50 4-8 48.

QUAKER VALLEY 54

Danny Conlan 2-5 3-4 7, Rick Guss 2-6 4-4 8, Ryan Stowers 8-8 3-3 22, Coletrane Washington 6-16 0-0 12, Alex Skowron 1-1 2-2 4, Jackson Zernich 0-1 1-3 1. Totals: 19-37 13-16 54.

Grove City 16 16 8 8 — 48

Quaker Valley16 11 14 13 — 54

3-point goals: Thrasher 3, Cintron, Beattv 2; Stowers 3