Upper St. Clair wins WPIAL Class 6A boys title
With a five-inch height advantage, there really was only one strategy Upper St. Clair needed to employ to beat Baldwin and capture a WPIAL basketball title.
Get the ball inside to that 6-foot-9 asset. Once the Panthers did that, Tyler Robbins just dominated the Highlanders. The junior big man fired in 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots as USC dispatched the Highlanders, 64-41, in the Class 6A final played March 2 at the Petersen Events Center.
“The game plan was to get it into Tyler and then play off of that,” said USC floor boss Dan Holzer. “When we get it in, he can do some things. We knew that if we got it inside that would open it up for everything else.
“That was the difference,” Holzer continued. “Tyler’s point scoring was huge. That’s why we were able to separate ourselves. He certainly was on top of his game.”
Robbins connected on 9 of 11 of his attempts from the field and 4 of 6 from the line. After scoring the first points of the game, he picked up eight more in the first frame as USC bolted to a 20-13 advantage.
USC led, 30-22, at intermission then outscored the Highlanders, who suffered through an 18 for 58 shooting night, 15-6, in the third stanza. USC’s margin swelled to as many 26 points with just under two minutes to play.
Nathan Richards was the lone Baldwin player in double figures. He finished with 18 points. Nathan Wesling, who had 25 in the semifinal win against Mt. Lebanon, was limited to seven tallies.
Meanwhile, the Panthers shot 56 percent from the field (22 for 39).
Brett Meinert proved a complementary force to Robbins on the outside. The senior guard provided 19 points. He buried three of USC’s four, 3-pointers and connected on 6 of 8 from the charity stripe.
Christian Ito managed eight points and Kaamil Jackson finished with seven tallies.
“When we get the ball inside, then it opens it up for everything else. It frees up our guards,” Holzer said. “We have such a good team as far as balance. They share the ball. They play for once another.”
Ito agreed.
“We don’t have one or two guys. Every one has a role but every one can score. It was T Rob’s day. We were feeding him and he was getting buckets. The plan was to get T Rob the ball and let him score.”
Robbins agreed he played a role in the win but he wasn’t the only reason the Panthers prevailed.
“I think I played pretty well. I just tried to take advantage of the moment,” he said.
“It was a team effort thought. We don’t win a WPIAL championship just by one guy. It’s the whole team.”
The triumph in the WPIAL final was the fourth for the Panthers, under Holzer, and second four seasons. USC has won championships in 1996, 2005, 2021 and 2024.
“Winning never gets old. All the titles are great,” said Holzer. “It’s an exhilarating feeling. I’m so proud of my players.”
USC has won seven games in a row and 10 of the last 11 encounters. With the victory, the Panthers improved to 20-5. They will compete in the first round of the PIAA playoffs on March 9.
“With the way we have been playing, I do think we have a shot at states,” Holzer said.
Ito agreed. “We are playing our best basketball now. At the beginning of the season, we weren’t playing so well. We had to get our act together. We kept working and working and now here we are. For sure, we want to keep on playing. We want to win and try for a state title.”