Devon Prep’s John Doogan defends Valley View’s Noah Symuleski during the PIAA Class 4A second round playoff basketball game at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Noah Symuleski controls the ball during the PIAA Class 4A second round playoff basketball game at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Cash Roe takes a free throw shot during the PIAA Class 4A second round playoff basketball game at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Devon Prep’s Jaden Craft defends Valley View’s Cash Roe during the PIAA Class 4A second round playoff basketball game at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s head coach Mike Kurpis and his bench react to the referee’s call during the PIAA Class 4A second round playoff basketball game at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View’s Jagger Roe (4) and Valley View’s Noah Symuleski (10) high five their teammates as the return to the bench in the fourth quarter of the PIAA Class 4A second round playoff basketball game at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Devon Prep’s Jaden Craft slides past Valley View’s Michael Muto in pursuit of the ball during the PIAA Class 4A second round playoff basketball game at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Valley View cheerleaders perform during the PIAA Class 4A second round playoff basketball game at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Devon Prep’s John Doogan defends Valley View’s Noah Symuleski during the PIAA Class 4A second round playoff basketball game at William Allen High School in Allentown on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
ALLENTOWN — For the second consecutive year, Devon Prep brought an end to Valley View’s season.
John Doogan scored 22 points to lead the Tide to a 61-41 victory over the Cougars on Tuesday night in a PIAA Class 4A boys basketball second-round game at William Allen High School.
Cooper Fairlamb totaled 14 points, five assists and three steals for District 12 No. 4 seed Devon Prep (7-18). The two-time defending state champions advance to Friday’s quarterfinals against District 2 champion Scranton Prep, which was a 57-42 winner in its second-round game against Salisbury.
Cash Roe scored 18 points for Valley View (20-7), the No. 3 team from District 2. Noah Symuleski grabbed 10 rebounds.
Last year, Valley View lost to Devon Prep in the state semifinals.
On Tuesday, the Cougars ultimately couldn’t stem the Tide’s pressure.
They did early. They were able to take advantage of Devon Prep’s aggressiveness for some easy baskets and open a nine-point lead in the second quarter.
“I thought the guys really came out and executed our game plan,” Valley View coach Mike Kurpis said. “We knew they were going to come out and pressure. That’s how they typically how they get things going. I thought we handled it well, made the right pass, the extra pass and finished. That had us out to a strong start.”
Leading, 13-12, Cash Roe got behind the press twice to score consecutive baskets. After a putback by Jaden Craft for Devon Prep, Symuleski scored off an assist from Aiden Plotken. Cash Roe hit two free throws and Brady Bachman had a basket to make it 23-14 with 4:03 left in the second.
“They were doing a really good job in the beginning. When we were flying all over the place, they were getting guys behind us,” said Devon Prep coach Jason Fisher, a former University of Scranton standout. “They were cutting and getting guys underneath our defense. We left the paint wide open and they made great plays.”
Doogan scored off a spin-and-drive for the Tide and Symuleski hit a foul shot for a 24-16 Valley View lead. But Devon Prep closed the half on an 11-2 run to claim the lead.
Another layup by Doogan started the run. Fairlamb then sandwiched a basket and a 3-pointer around a basket by Michael Muto to cut the deficit to 26-23 with 1:30 left.
Then, Devon Prep switched to a 1-3-1 defense that caused two Valley View turnovers that led a pair of baskets by Fairlamb in the final 41 seconds to give the Tide a 27-26 halftime lead.
“They went to that 1-3-1 and we had turnovers which led to baskets that flipped our momentum,” Kurpis said. “We should have been up four and we came in down one. That switch just kind of put our guys in a bad frame of mind.”
Things went from bad to worse in the third quarter for Valley View. The Cougars committed seven turnovers and missed their first four shots in the opening 5½ minutes, enabling Devon Prep to score start with a 12-1 run and extend its advantage to 39-27 with 2:54 left. Valley View did not hit its first field goal in the quarter until Cash Roe scored with 1:32 left.
“We went to that 1-3-1 at the end of the second quarter. It slowed them up a little bit and changed our mentality a little bit,” Fisher said. “We came out in the second half and I told the guys we had to protect the paint. If they make threes, we’ll adjust. We pressured the ball and took away the paint. We took away those cuts and we forced turnovers in the second half. That kind of was the difference.”
Valley View finished with 17 turnovers, 11 of which came after halftime.
Devon Prep led after three quarters, 46-33, then finished off the victory in the fourth.
“Their momentum just carried over into the second half,” Kurpis said. “They’re an excellent team, so well-coached. Even though it’s new kids from last year’s team, that program has three state titles in the last four years. You could tell that carries on year after year and their guys all know how to play the right way.”
Although disappointed by the loss, Kurpis said this season was more than what he expected.
“With what we replaced, I’m pleased,” he said. “It’s never easy when you go down and I knew this would be a tall task for our guys.”