The big scoreboard at either end of the Ambridge High School Field House was not used and the bleachers on one side of the court were pushed back against the wall.

The fans were noisy but there weren't many of them.

Two of the officials who worked the contest wore shorts and contact that normally would have drawn whistles during WPIAL regular-season games were ignored.

Players had matching jerseys with numbers on them, but that was as far as matching uniforms would go.

And the game clock at the scorers' table ran continuously for each half, stopping only for time outs and the occasional free-throw attempt.

It was a typical summer league basketball game except for two things: Tim McConnell's intensity and the fact it was the championship contest of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club's Class AAAA/AAA division.

McConnell's Chartiers Valley Colts defeated the North Allegheny Tigers, 53-47, in the second game of the title doubleheader played a week ago at Ambridge. Quaker Valley edged Rochester, 51-48, in the Class AA/A division final.

While some high school boys' coaches take a laid-back approach to summer league games, McConnell was as fiery as if the WPIAL title was on the line.

That's not a knock against McConnell, one of the WPIAL's best and most successful coaches. That's just the way he is.

"We're in it to win and my intensity is the same and [the players'] should be, and if I get lackadaisical, they'll be that way, too," McConnell said. "Anytime we put a uniform on and go play, we are trying to get better and we go out to win."

With senior-to-be T.J. McConnell, the coach's son, leading the way, the Colts were able to stave off a late North Allegheny surge. T.J. McConnell, who has verbally committed to Duquesne University, scored 27 points and earned MVP honors. He was spectacular at times, although he did miss a couple of free throws, but his play wasn't what pleased his father the most.

"The guys who we have coming back have played hard and shown they want to be winners," Tim McConnell said. "I know some teams don't have the players [in the summer] and have people on vacations, but you have to go with it."

He uses summer league games as a jumping off point for the high school varsity season. McConnell said winning in the summer helps build confidence that should carry over to the school year.

Chartiers Valley finished 11-0 in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club's summer session. The Colts have also participated in a couple other summer leagues and have won most of the time.

"We've probably played 40-to-50 games," Tim McConnell said. "We're doing OK and I want them to feel like winners."

Another Chartiers Valley player who displayed flashes in the final was Wayne Capers, who played for the Colts last year as a freshman.

"It's not surprising that Wayne has gotten much better," McConnell said. "That's the enjoyable thing [about the summer]. The players are showing progress, getting better."

With summer leagues drawing to a close, McConnell said his players will focus more on individual instruction -- shooting and ballhanding -- the rest of this month, then they'll take August off.

"We'll get back at it in September," he said. "But playing in a physical game like the one we played is good. We got the ball taken off of us and we had some turnovers at the beginning and then we settled down.

"Playing good competition in the summer is going to help us in the long run."