Chris Harlan stories, Page 79
Short-handed Upper St. Clair wins PIAA quarterfinal with 6 players, volunteer coachVideo
Screenwriters might not turn the “Upper St. Clair Six” into a movie, but their improbable story has every element for a covid-era drama about high school basketball. Only six players were available after team-wide covid-19 testing and they asked a 20-year-old volunteer coach to lead them, yet somehow the short-handed...
New Castle loses late lead, falls to Cathedral Prep in overtime
For New Castle, the fourth quarter ticked away too slowly and overtime went by too fast. The Red Hurricanes lost a seven-point lead late in regulation, and in overtime saw their potential tying basket waved off after the buzzer Friday night as Erie’s Cathedral Prep won 52-50 in the PIAA...
Winning basketball titles runs in Lincoln Park freshman Brandin Cummings’ family
Comparisons to older brother Nelly are harder to shake than any lockdown defender, and Lincoln Park freshman Brandin Cummings just added another item in common. “Different personality. Different length. Different kind of player,” coach Mike Bariski said. “But here’s the similarity: Both were really good as freshmen.” And both won...
Dan DeRose makes ‘tough decision,’ resigns as North Allegheny boys basketball coach
Calling it “a very tough decision,” Dan DeRose resigned Wednesday night after one season as boys basketball coach at North Allegheny. “I really need to step back and evaluate some things,” he said, “because I’m going through some personal and some family issues that I need to deal with.” DeRose...
Covid-19 concerns won’t keep Upper St. Clair boys out of PIAA basketball playoffs
Upper St. Clair’s boys basketball team has at least six healthy players, so the Panthers will compete Saturday in the PIAA playoffs as scheduled. The school was awaiting results from team-wide covid-19 tests after a case was discovered Sunday, two days after Upper St. Clair won the WPIAL Class 6A...
Lincoln Park tops North Catholic, avenges last season’s WPIAL championship loss
Dakari Bradford never forgot the emotions he saw in Lincoln Park’s locker room last winter, especially the sadness from the seniors playing their final WPIAL championship. “It was a heart-breaker,” he said. To keep that from happening again, the senior scored nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter...
Upper St. Clair boys basketball quarantines after covid case, state playoffs in question
Three days after winning a WPIAL title, Upper St. Clair’s boys basketball season could be in jeopardy. The team shut down activities after learning Sunday of a covid-19 case, USC athletic director Kevin Deitrick said. The Panthers are scheduled to face either Altoona or Erie in the state playoffs Saturday....
WPIAL notebook: League won’t face financial loss from winter sports
The WPIAL lost around $28,000 by holding its swimming championships with no spectators, but the league expects to break even once all winter sport revenues are counted. “There won’t be a financial windfall and there won’t be a financial deficit,” WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman told the WPIAL board Monday....
WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball championship breakdown: North Catholic vs. Lincoln Park
WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball championship No. 5 North Catholic vs. No. 2 Lincoln Park 8 p.m. Monday at North Allegheny On the air: 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM; TribHSSN.TribLive.com (video stream) Winner plays: Lincoln Park or North Catholic will host District 9 champion Clearfield on Friday in the...
New Castle tops Chartiers Valley for record 14th WPIAL basketball title
New Castle’s Sheldon Cox wasn’t the senior who had everyone’s attention entering Saturday night. But by the time Cox threw down two dunks in the final seconds, all eyes were on him and his record-setting Red Hurricanes. Cox scored 19 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and...
WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball championship breakdown: Chartiers Valley vs. New Castle
WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball championship No. 1 Chartiers Valley vs. No. 2 New Castle 8 p.m. Saturday at North Allegheny On the air: TribHSSN.TribLive.com (video stream) Winner plays: District 8, 9 or 10 champion in PIAA quarterfinals, March 19 How they got here: Chartiers Valley defeated No. 17 McKeesport,...
Upper St. Clair tops Pine-Richland, celebrates 1st WPIAL title since ’05Video
There were moments when Danny Holzer could’ve worried in the fourth quarter, probably should’ve been worried, but Upper St. Clair’s longtime coach insists he wasn’t. “I felt really good because of our seniors,” Holzer said. “I could just sense we were going to win this game.” With five seniors in...
WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball championship breakdown: Upper St. Clair vs. Pine-Richland
WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball championship No. 1 Upper St. Clair vs. No. 6 Pine-Richland 8 p.m. Friday at Peters Township On the air: TribHSSN.TribLive.com (video stream) Winner plays: District 6, 8 or 10 champion in PIAA quarterfinals, March 20 How they got here: Upper St. Clair defeated No. 17...
WPIAL Class A boys basketball championship breakdown: Bishop Canevin vs. Rochester
WPIAL Class A boys basketball championship No. 1 Bishop Canevin vs. No. 2 Rochester 8 p.m. Friday at North Allegheny On the air: TribHSSN.TribLive.com (video stream) Winner plays: District 6 or 10 champion in PIAA quarterfinals, March 19 How they got here: Bishop Canevin received a first-round bye; defeated No....
Lincoln Park bests Midland’s streak with 6th consecutive WPIAL finals appearance
Blue and gold banners hang in Lincoln Park’s gym to celebrate the great Midland teams from past decades but the new-era Leopards just one-upped their old-school counterparts. No. 2 seed Lincoln Park is headed to the WPIAL finals for the sixth consecutive season after defeating No. 3 Montour, 65-62, in...
New Castle tops Laurel Highlands, reaches 7th WPIAL finals in 10 years
Six times in the past decade already, New Castle had reached the WPIAL finals behind a frenzied press defense that’s become a hallmark of the program. But against Laurel Highlands and its sophomore star, one win away from another finals appearance, the Red Hurricanes lowered the pressure. “Unless Mookie Blaylock...
Allderdice boys excluded from City League basketball finals but season isn’t over
The City League boys basketball championship will move forward without Allderdice but the team’s season isn’t over. Hours before tipoff, Pittsburgh Public Schools announced Wednesday that its athletic committee voted 10-3-1 to have Carrick and Brashear meet in the championship game as planned. Allderdice was forced to forfeit its semifinal...
Upper St. Clair finally solves Butler, earns 1st WPIAL finals appearance since ’05
Upper St. Clair lost twice to Butler in last year’s basketball playoffs, heart-wrenching losses that senior Luke Banbury recalls a little differently than his USC teammates. He was relegated to a spectator role. “I remember sitting there feeling helpless,” said Banbury, who was ineligible for the playoffs under PIAA transfer...
Owen DeGregorio makes 7 3-pointers as North Catholic returns to WPIAL semifinalsVideo
North Catholic’s Owen DeGregorio took advantage of Monday’s mild weather to put up some shots with his dad on their outdoor hoop. “Maybe I’ve got to do that before every game,” said the senior, who made seven 3-pointers a few hours later as No. 5 seed North Catholic defeated No....
4 WPIAL players withdraw from Big 33 Football Classic
Four WPIAL football players picked for the Big 33 Football Classic won’t take part because of college obligations, organizers for the high school all-star game announced. Peters Township teammates Donovan McMillon and Corban Hondru were both replaced on Pennsylvania’s roster, along with Elizabeth Forward’s Chase Whatton and Canon-McMillan’s Connor McMahon....
Mars scores 24 consecutive points in WPIAL 5A quarterfinal win over Trinity
Zac Schlegel and his Mars teammates were reluctant to see the second quarter clock reach zeroes Saturday. Those eight minutes went by like a blur. “That was the funnest quarter I’ve ever played,” Schlegel said. “Everybody was hitting shots.” Everybody wearing white, at least. For Trinity, the second quarter surely...
North Allegheny, Peters Township will host WPIAL basketball championships
North Allegheny and Peters Township, two of the area’s larger high school gyms, are expected to host all 12 WPIAL basketball championship games. The finals are March 12, 13 and 15. The WPIAL already revealed the schedule for the first two nights of championship games with two contests per day...
Union confusion leads Imani Christian basketball team on ride to wrong school
Sixty miles separate the Union Area High School near New Castle from Union High School in Rimersburg, but the districts with matching names continue to cause trouble for bus drivers. For the second time in four years, a WPIAL basketball team ended up at the wrong one. This time, the...
Devin Carney’s buzzer-beating 3 lifts Butler past Penn-Trafford in OT
Ten times Butler’s Devin Carney had taken a shot from behind the arc Friday night and nine of them had missed. In fact, a potential winner at the end of regulation bounced hard off the rim. “One thing about my crew,” Butler coach Matt Clement said, “is they put the...
After exploring college options, WPIAL to keep basketball finals in high school gyms
With gathering limits increased statewide, the WPIAL looked into renting a college venue for its basketball championships, but decided to use high school gyms as originally planned. Petersen Events Center had hosted the championship games since 2015, but Pitt isn’t allowing outside groups to rent its facilities because of covid-19...
