Tim McConnell had seen enough. The Chartiers Valley coach blew his whistle and abruptly stopped practice Monday after watching his Colts' shooting display.
Then he pronounced them fit for the playoffs.
As soon as the whistle sounded for their WPIAL Class AAAA first-round game against Central Catholic, the Colts picked up where they left off.
Chartiers Valley went 24 of 41 from the field (59 percent), including 13 of 21 from beyond the arc, in a 70-57 victory over Central Tuesday at Steel Valley.
"We shot phenomenally in practice," McConnell said. "I told them, 'If we shoot anything like this in the playoffs, we can play with anybody.' We were on fire and it carried over. That's some tough stuff to defend when you're shooting like that."
Brian Hindt was the catalyst, scoring 15 of his game-high 21 points from 3-point range. The 6-foot-4 junior swingman was 8 of 10 from the field and 5 of 6 on 3-pointers. His first three shots were all treys, and they all swished cleanly through the net as the Colts (17-8) jumped out to a 21-12 first-quarter lead.
"We really needed to start off hot to set the game tone," Hindt said. "We're really shooting good right now. If we can keep shooting like this, we can win the tournament. It's going to be tough."
Hindt wasn't the only Chartiers Valley player to catch fire from 3-point land. Sophomore Steve Profeta made four 3s and scored 20 points and senior Jerry Harness added three 3s and 12 points.
"If you want to help on someone, we can kick it out," Hindt said. "Everyone can shoot on our team."
Central Catholic (14-10), on the other hand, shot a dismal 40 percent (19 of 48) from the field and made only 2 of 13 treys. The Vikings were led by senior Jacob Barker (20 points) and junior Ross Watson, who scored 13 before fouling out with 1:01 left.
Once the Colts got the lead, they also took control of the game. Hindt had the hot hand, despite early foul trouble. Although he is averaging in double figures scoring, Hindt got off to a slow start this season, his first as a starter.
"In the beginning, he was a disappointment," McConnell said. "We knew he could play like this, but he wasn't doing it on a consistent basis."
Hindt was a seldom-used freshman on Chartiers Valley's 2001 WPIAL championship team, and sees similarities between that group and this one. This time, he's playing a key role for the Colts.
"It was tough because I knew I wasn't playing to my potential," Hindt said of his slow start. "I'm getting a lot more confidence."
At one point, Chartiers Valley looked like a longshot to make the postseason. Now, the Colts advance to the WPIAL quarterfinals, where they will play the winner of tonight's Penn Hills-Indiana game. They also clinched a spot in the PIAA playoffs.
"This season has been very, very fun," McConnell said. "We've had our ups and downs. That's our theme: It's been fun, but we're nowhere near done."
