Chris Harlan stories, Page 79
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...
Ellwood City earns validation, upsets Avonworth in WPIAL Class 3A playoffs
There was nothing invalid about Monday’s playoff win, a 52-point preliminary-round victory that officially ended Ellwood City’s decade-long postseason drought. But this one sure felt different. Suddenly, Ellwood City is a team on the rise. Brothers Alexander and Joseph Roth combined for 29 points and Steve Antuono Jr. added 12...
PIAA says spring athletes can shed masks outdoors, if physical distancing possible
Spring sports athletes and coaches can shed their masks when outdoors, as long as they maintain 6 feet of physical distance, according to new PIAA guidelines for covid-19. The PIAA board met online Wednesday and approved Return to Competition Guidelines for baseball, softball, track and all other spring sports, the...
Seneca Valley tops Mt. Lebanon without its coach, earns 1st playoff win since ’13
With about 30 seconds until half, Mt. Lebanon decided to hold for the final shot, but Seneca Valley wasn’t in a wait-and-see mood. Connor Lyczek converted a steal near midcourt into a breakaway layup and teammate Caiden Oros followed with a steal and layup seconds later as Seneca Valley played...
WPIAL basketball playoffs to see increase in fans, possibly larger venue for finals
There will be more fans in the stands at WPIAL basketball playoff games this week after Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration Monday raised gathering limits on indoor events. The move won’t impact plans for this weekend’s WPIAL swimming championships, scheduled to be held without spectators, but could bring a larger venue...
Trib HSSN boys basketball rankings: Feb. 28, 2021
Final regular-season rankings Class 6A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Upper St. Clair, 16-1, 1 2. Fox Chapel, 18-2, 2 3. Pine-Richland, 11-5, 4 4. Hempfield, 11-5, 3 5. Penn-Trafford, 12-5, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rk., Team, W-L, Last 1. Chartiers Valley, 19-3, 1 2. New Castle, 17-2, 2...
Trib HSSN girls basketball rankings: Feb. 28, 2021
Final regular-season rankings Class 6A Rk. Team, W-L, Last 1. North Allegheny, 20-1, 1 2. Upper St. Clair, 13-2, 2 3. Mt. Lebanon, 15-3, 3 4. Bethel Park, 14-3, 4 5. Norwin, 11-4, 5 Out: none Class 5A Rk. Team, W-L, Last 1. Trinity, 18-1, 1 2. Chartiers Valley, 19-3,...
Opponents try, and fail, to knock North Allegheny top scorer off his game
North Allegheny’s Connor Chi occasionally gets cross-checked behind the play or hit a little late by an opponent trying to intimidate him on the ice. At maybe 5-foot-8, Chi understands why. “It’s all good,” he said. “It’s part of the game.” Yet, so far this season, that strategy certainly hasn’t...
Upper St. Clair tops Chartiers Valley in battle of No. 1 overall seeds
This would’ve been a scrimmage most years, tucked between the WPIAL pairings meeting and the playoff openers, but Upper St. Clair and Chartiers Valley played Friday night with purpose. Rarely do two No. 1 seeds share a court. “It definitely felt like a playoff environment,” said USC’s Luke Gensler, who...
WPIAL cancels 2 preliminary-round playoff basketball games
The WPIAL on Thursday cancelled two playoff basketball games after the Ambridge girls and Propel Braddock Hills boys withdrew from the postseason. No. 17 seed Ambridge (1-16) was scheduled to visit No. 16 Burrell (8-8) in a preliminary round game Saturday in Class 4A girls. Instead, Burrell advances to face...
WPIAL takes no action against Mt. Lebanon basketball coach for objecting to official
Mt. Lebanon boys basketball coach Joe David testified in a WPIAL hearing Thursday that he was uncomfortable with one of the officials assigned to his game last week, but insisted he never threatened to take his team and leave. The WPIAL questioned coaches, administrators and officials involved in Saturday’s nonsection...
