Heart. Effort. Desire.

One, or all, of the aforementioned qualities typically goes a long way in determining how successful a team is going to be.Though this season hasn't always gone according to plan for Pleasant Valley, the Bears haven't quit.That fact was evidenced in Tuesday night's Eastern Pennsylvania Conference game against East Stroudsburg South, where Pleasant Valley kept its poise, maintained its composure, and held on for a 54-53 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference victory."You've got to bring it. Nobody is going to feel sorry for you," said Bears' head coach Matt Gould. "We tell them all the time that, 'You have to work.'"And it's the younger guys that, throughout the season, have brought it. And you can't ask for anything else."Pleasant Valley (3-14, 1-12) has taken its lumps in the rugged EPC this year, but has continued to make strides throughout the season and its win over the Cavaliers served as a prime example of just how far the team has come.After suffering a 44-24 setback not even one week ago where they trailed 20-4 at halftime, the Bears led, albeit not by wide margins, after every quarter in their rematch with the Cavaliers."I give them credit. They came out and they played a lot harder than we did, and their effort translated into a victory," said East Stroudsburg South coach Shawn Munford. "I thought we were running in quicksand a little bit. I didn't think that our guys showed up prepared, and as a result, it showed on the scoreboard."They just played a lot harder than we did. They made some shots, and they're varsity players just like we are. They didn't have it at our gym, but they had it tonight. It was a dogfight and they came out victorious."After leading just 29-28 at the half and 40-38 following the third quarter, Pleasant Valley went on a run to open the final frame, matching its largest advantage of the night at 45-38 following a three by Chris Barker (10 points).Much like they did during the first 24 minutes, the Cavaliers (7-12, 3-10) had an answer.Greg Eck, who didn't play in the first meeting, weaved his way through the Bears' defense to end the scoring drought and bring it back to a five-point game. At 45-40. The sophomore, who scored nine of his 16 points in the second half, later drilled a three to cut the Cavaliers' deficit to 47-45 with just over three and a half minutes to play.East Stroudsburg South rallied to make it a two point game on three separate occasions and twice cut its deficit to one point before tying the score at 49-49 on a Devin Lopez free throw with 1:30 to play in the game.But this time, it was the Bears that countered.Lucas Schaffner (nine points) nailed two free throws with just over a minute to play to put Pleasant Valley back in front, 51-49. The senior sealed it with what proved to be a critical foul shot that gave the Bears a 54-51 advantage with 11.2 seconds to play.ES South's Wayne Davy (game-high 19 points) scored on a put back with one tenth of a second to play to set the final tally."It was a team effort. It was a team win," Gould said. "I can't say enough about these guys."QUICK BURST… Pleasant Valley opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run, going up 37-30 on Alex Gerolimatos' second three of the period. Gerolimatos finished with a team-high 16 points and four threes, three of which came in the third.CLUTCH… Elijah Munford, who scored 15 points for the Bears, was 6-for-6 from the foul line. The sophomore also hit both of his free throws with under a minute to play in the fourth quarter to put PV up 53-49.ES SOUTHLopez 0-4-8-4, Eck 6-2-2-16, Bradley 0-0-0-0, Toleno 1-0-0-2, Murphy 0-0-0-0, Duncan 2-3-4-8, Burns 1-1-2-3, Kross 0-0-0-0, Davy 6-7-9-19, Webster 0-1-2-1. TOTALS: 16-18-28-53.PLEAS. VY.Smaltz 1-2-2-4, Aulder 0-0-0-0, Barker 4-0-3-10, Richardson 0-0-0-0, Munford 4-6-6-15, Howard 0-0-2-0, Schaffner 3-3-4-9, Gerolimatos 6-0-1-16, Pandolfo 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-11-18-54.ES South 14 14 10 15 - 53Pleas. Vy. 16 13 11 14 - 54Three-pointers: ES South - Eck 2, Duncan 1. Pleasant Valley - Gerolimatos 4, Barker 2, Munford 1.