By: Don Rebel


Tuesday, February 25, 2025 | 1:01 AM

The final pieces of the district basketball championship puzzle will be determined Tuesday on the final night of WPIAL semifinals action with boys Class 5A and 3A and girls Class 6A and 2A final four contests.

In the boys Class 5A playoffs, the left side of the tournament went as expected, while on the right side of the bracket … not so much.

It will be the third meeting of the year between the top two teams in Section 4-5A when No. 1 Montour (23-1) is challenged by No. 4 Chartiers Valley (21-3) at Mt. Lebanon at 8 p.m.

The Spartans finished 12-0 in the section, two games ahead of the Colts at 10-2.

Including two playoff victories, Montour has won 17 in a row since suffering its only loss of the year to Countryside, Fla., in a holiday tournament in Tampa.

Senior center Ama Sow has come up big in the postseason for the Spartans. The 6-foot-11 post player has scored a combined 43 points in wins over Franklin Regional and Latrobe.

Since its most recent loss to Allderdice, Chartiers Valley has won six straight.

Senior guard Jayden Davis has scored 37 points this postseason in leading the Colts to wins over Thomas Jefferson and Moon.

Two of the three losses suffered this year by Chartiers Valley have been at the hands of section foe Montour.

In the game at Chartiers Valley in December, the Spartans leaned heavily on Sow, who scored 25 points in the 66-60 victory. Davis led the Cots with 25 points.

In the rematch at Montour in January, the Spartans led early and slowly built on the lead as junior Colton Straight had the hot hand for the Spartans with 29 points in the 78-67 win. Again, Davis could not be stopped for the Colts as he registered 29 points as well.

Very few people had No. 6 Peters Township (17-7) taking on No. 10 Mars (14-10) on their bingo card before the postseason for a semifinals matchup.

The two clash at Moon at 7 p.m. and can be heard on Trib HSSN.

The Indians took care of business in the first round as senior Nick McCullough and junior Dylan Donovan each scored 16 points in a rout of Penn Hills, 63-30.

Peters Township then raised some eyebrows in the quarterfinals by ousting Section 1 champion and No. 3 seed Uniontown, 56-52.

Sophomore Jake Wetzel led the Indians with 18 points.

The Fightin’ Planets finished in fourth place in Section 4-5A but got the postseason ball rolling with a win at No. 7 South Fayette 50-46, as junior forward Ben Detisch scored 19 points for the visitors.

Mars then battled Cinderella Penn-Trafford, fresh off an upset of No. 2 Baldwin in the first round.

The Warriors could not make it two surprises in a row, though, as senior guard Drew Navetta scored 19 points in Mars’ quarterfinal victory over Penn-Trafford, 64-49.

No eyebrows raised

The only full four-round tournament in this season’s boys basketball playoffs to go pretty much as scripted has been the boys Class 3A postseason.

The top four seeds have each picked up two playoffs wins and square off Tuesday for a spot in the finals.

In a clash of section champions, Section 1-3A winner Aliquippa (19-4) will square off with Section 2-3A champion Bishop Canevin (15-9) at Pine-Richland at 8 p.m.

As expected, the Quips have had little resistance in returning to the district semifinals, beating New Brighton and Shady Side Academy by a combined 76 points.

On the flip side, the Crusaders have struggled in two postseason wins. However, junior Drew Allen has risen to the occasion twice, scoring 40 points in BC’s two playoff wins, a two-point victory over Seton LaSalle and a nine-point pull-away triumph over Keystone Oaks.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 South Allegheny (21-3) will battle No. 3 Mohawk (19-5) at North Allegheny at 8 p.m. with audio on Trib HSSN.

The dynamic backcourt duo of senior Cam Epps and junior Drew Cook has led the Section 3 champion Gladiators in the postseason.

Epps scored 24 points in a 29-point victory over Charleroi in the first round while Cook dropped 27 delicious points in the quarterfinal win over Ellwood City by 43 points.

The Section 1 runner-up Warriors have leaned on junior Bobby Fadden in two playoff wins.

The five-sport athlete combined for 49 points in triumphs over Waynesburg and Southmoreland.

Section 2-6A block party

The final four teams in girls Class 6A basketball were the top four finishers in Section 2-6A.

In one of the semifinals, the combatants are tied for fifth and seventh on the all-time WPIAL girls basketball championship list, having combined for 10 district titles.

It will be the third meeting of the year between South Hills rivals when No. 2 Upper St. Clair (17-6) faces No. 6 Mt. Lebanon (14-9) at nearby Bethel Park at 7 p.m.

Senior Rylee Kalocay tallied 22 points to lead the Panthers in the district quarterfinals over Pine-Richland, 43-22.

The Blue Devils were the only road team to win in the girls 6A quarterfinals, beating Section 1 champion Seneca Valley in overtime, 47-45.

Sophomore Cali Green led Lebo with 19 points.

Upper St. Clair swept the regular season series.

In the first game at Mt. Lebanon, a big second quarter proved to be the difference as the Panthers won, 46-37.

Kalocay had a huge game with 31 points for USC while the Blue Devils were led by 13 points from sophomore Elizabeth Twyman.

In the rematch Feb. 6 at Upper St. Clair, the Panthers led 31-15 at the half and never were threatened in an impressive win, 65-35.

Kalocay had 24 points for USC while Lebo was led by Green with nine points.

In the other 6A girls semifinal, No. 4 Canon-McMillan (14-8) goes up against top-seeded Norwin (14-7) at Mt. Lebanon at 6 p.m.

Junior Madison Clair scored 16 points to led the Big Macs past visiting Butler in the quarterfinals, 58-41.

Senior Bella Furno registered 18 points to pace the Knights past North Allegheny in the quarters, 52-30.

Norwin also won the two regular season meetings with Canon-McMillan.

In the game at Norwin in January, both Furno and Clair scored 14 points for their respective teams as the Knights cruised past the Big Macs, 56-40.

The rematch at Canon-McMillan on Feb. 4 was a defensive struggle.

Furno again led the Knights with eight points and sophomore Faye Saunders was the lone player in double-digit scoring with 12 points for the Big Macs as Norwin escaped with the close win, 33-30.

Champions surviving

Both Section 1-2A co-champs, the Section 2-2A winner and the victor of Section 4-2A have all survived the first two rounds and now face off in the Class 2A girls hoops semifinals.

No. 1 Neshannock (22-2) will play No. 4 South Side (19-5) at North Allegheny at 6 p.m. in a game heard here on Trib HSSN.

The Lancers have won 13 straight games, including two postseason victories thanks to the play of Payton Newman.

The sophomore has scored a combined 44 points in playoff triumphs over Apollo-Ridge and Laurel.

The Rams have won 11 consecutive games.

In the opening round, senior Bailey Strnisa scored 13 points in a win over the Ellis School, then it was freshman Ariel Poelcher’s turn in the quarterfinals as she tallied 14 points in a win over Fort Cherry.

In the other 2A semifinal, No. 2 Aliquippa (18-4) battles No. 3 Winchester Thurston (21-3) at Pine-Richland at 6 p.m.

Quips senior Carla Brown, the Trib HSSN Player of the Week, has scored a combined 53 points in playoff wins over Carmichaels and Rochester.

The playoff hot hand for the Bears belongs to senior Sky Sill, who has combined to score 25 points in postseason victories over Burgettstown and Chartiers-Houston.

Consolation Tuesday

There are a handful of district basketball consolation games set for Tuesday with action in boys A, girls 5A and girls 3A.

• There is one game in boys A.

Aquinas Academy (18-6) will take on Nazareth Prep (18-5) at Sewickley Academy at 7:30 p.m. The winner earns the No. 3 seed in the PIAA Class A playoffs and the loser is the No. 4 seed in the PIAA Class A playoffs.

The Crusaders lost both games to the Saints this season by seven and one point.

• There are three games in girls Class 5A.

Mars (15-10) visits Thomas Jefferson (20-5) at 7 p.m. with the winner earning the No. 3 seed and the loser getting the No. 4 seed in the upcoming PIAA 5A state playoffs.

Penn-Trafford (24-1) will host Baldwin (16-9) at 7 p.m. with the winner earning the No. 5 seed and the loser getting the No. 6 seed in the upcoming PIAA 5A state playoffs. The Warriors beat the Highlanders on Dec. 11, 57-46.

Bethel Park (12-13) visits Indiana (18-7) at 7 p.m. with the winner earning the No. 7 seed and the loser getting the No. 8 seed in the upcoming PIAA 5A state playoffs.

• There is one game set for girls Class 3A.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (21-4) will go up against Ellwood City 15-9) at Sewickley Academy at 6 p.m. with the winner earning the No. 3 seed and the loser getting the No. 4 seed in the upcoming PIAA 3A state playoffs.

The Chargers beat the Wolverines twice this season by 28 and 19 points.