Pine Valley’s Jon Sheldon goes up for a layup during Monday’s Section VI Class D boys basketball semifinal against Forestville at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Jon Sheldon was the best player on the court for Monday’s first Section VI Class D boys basketball semifinal at Jamestown Community College.

When teams combine to shoot 33% from the floor and turn the ball over 58 times, usually the team with the best player has the edge.

Pine Valley showed it was deserving of the No. 1 seed in the section with a 62-32 victory over No. 4 Forestville inside the Physical Education Complex.

Sheldon led the way for the Panthers, who led 33-17 at halftime, scoring 23 of his game-high 29 points in the final two quarters.

Pine Valley will take on No. 2 Clymer in Friday’s 6 p.m. final back at JCC. The teams split a pair of nonleague regular-season matchups with Clymer winning in overtime on a buzzer-beater to open the year Dec. 1 and Pine Valley winning Jan. 13.

“I think when we are playing our best ball, I don’t think anybody can beat us,” Pine Valley head coach Bobby Slisz said postgame. “(Clymer is) a good team, they’re a quality team. When I look in our room I say we’re the best.”

The Panthers left little doubt they would be playing Friday with a 17-4 first quarter Monday. Miles Volk led the way with 9 of his 13 points in the period. The Hornets made just one field goal and turned the ball over 13 times, which led to nine points for Pine Valley.

Forestville’s Will Duliba hit a 3-pointer at the 6:35 mark of the second quarter and Jacob Anders followed with an 8-0 run of his own to make it 21-14, but then the Panthers closed the quarter on a 12-3 run to lead by 16 at the break.

“I do my calculations at the beginning of the year as far as where we project, where do we hope to be? It went exactly as we expected,” Slisz said. “Getting here is half the battle, but you have to make sure everybody stays healthy and you are beating the teams you should beat.”

Pine Valley then opened the third quarter on a 16-0 run that lasted until the Hornets’ Max Tenamore hit a pair of free throws with 1:38 left in the period, but by then it was far too little too late for Forestville.

“They are a fantastic group. They are among the hardest-working groups I’ve ever had. They are a joy to coach, they constantly get better, they constantly ask questions, they are constantly putting in the extra work. They are basketball junkies,” Slisz said of his team. “I love them to death and I feel very good going into Friday.”

For the game, the Hornets shot 10 of 43 from the field and turned the ball over 32 times.

Pine Valley turned it over 26 times itself, but 10 of those came in the fourth quarter when the Panthers went deep into their bench as they rested starters in preparation for Friday’s sectional final.

“We only had one guy from the team two years ago that was here,” Slisz said. “Getting the guys on the court to see the court, to get ready for the Friday game is huge.”

NOTES: Sheldon had nine rebounds and five steals; Nick Seabolt had five assists and four steals; Volk had 14 rebounds; and Trent Ivett had 10 rebounds for Pine Valley, which shot 26 of 66 from the field, including 5 of 20 from 3-point range. … Anders finished with 13 points to lead Forestville, which went 5 of 20 from 3-point range.

FORESTVILLE (32)

Tenamore 1 4 6, Anders 5 0 13, Barrett 0 1 1, Waterman 2 0 5, Connolly 0 0 0, Duliba 1 0 3, Rebmann 1 2 4, Spengler 0 0 0. Totals 10 7 32.

PINE VALLEY (62)

Bradigan 0 0 0, Elliott 0 0 0, Slade 3 0 6, Ivett 1 0 2, JaSheldon 2 0 4, Meurant 0 0 0, Seabolt 3 1 8, JoSheldon 11 3 29, Volk 6 1 13, White 0 0 0, Bell 0 0 0, Jackson 0 0 0, Kenna 0 0 0. Totals 26 5 62.

3-point goals–Anders 3, Waterman, Duliba, Seabolt, JoSheldon 4.

Forestville 4 13 8 7 — 32

Pine Valley 17 16 16 13 — 62