Rivalry prepares Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair for playoffs
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Michael Pfeuffer (4) gets a hand on the ball and stops Matthew Gaither (23) from driving to the basket. During a key section contest, Upper St. Clair edged Mt. Lebanon, 37-36.
Brody Barber puts up a shot despite the defensive efforts of Matthew Gaither, Julian Dahlem (2) and Christian Ito (11).
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Tanner Donati battles Julian Dahlem for the rebound during Mt. Lebanon’s 37-36 loss to Upper St. Clair.
Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair are prepared for March Madness in the WPIAL because the two basketball rivals have survived the frenzy of February.
In a do-or-die conflict on Feb. 3, USC trumped the Blue Devils, 37-36, and forced a tie for first place in Section 2 of Class 6A.
“That was a playoff game basically,” said USC coach Dan Holzer. “Everything was on the line.
“Whenever these two teams meet, it’s always a great game. A great, great rivalry game,” he emphasized. “It’s as good as it gets and that atmosphere definitely prepares a team for the playoffs ahead.”
Despite the defeat, Lebo coach Joe David agreed.
“The atmosphere is fantastic. A playoff-plus atmosphere,” he added. “Everything is magnified and in a playoff game, where you must win, then being in situations like this helps. It helps a lot.”
Twice this winter, the Blue Devils and Panthers have been in tense battles.
Lebo won the first encounter but it took overcoming a 15-point deficit as well as two overtimes to record a 74-69 triumph at home. USC avenged the loss in similar fashion, surmounting a nine-point deficit at the start of the rematch and finishing off the one-point win with flair. With 16 seconds left, Devin Hall converted a three-point play to seal the victory.
After Lebo missed a pair of last-second shots, the USC students spilled onto the court in celebration. They mixed freely with their rivals , who streamed out of the opposite bleachers.
“Our student body and the support we receive from the community are amazing,” said Holzer. “Our crowds are real good and the fan support is great. I’m proud and appreciative of that. I think it enables us to play well at home. It gives us confidence.”
Because the Blue Devils and the Panthers are among the teams with the best records in the Class 6A, they likely will garner one of the top four seeds in the playoffs and thus secure home-court advantage for the opening round of the tournament.
“It’s a great idea,” said Holzer of the WPIAL’s steering committee’s decision to stick to last year’s format. “It helps everybody and it’s a reward for doing well in your section.”
In the past 10 years, the Panthers have won five championships with the past three being shared with the Blue Devils, who have won the title seven years in a row. Because Lebo lost to Norwin, 58-46, in followup action, USC had a chance to win the section title outright with a win against Baldwin in the season finale Feb. 10.
“Lebo and us have been the top two teams in the South Hills for a while,” Holzer said.
USC won the Class 6A title in 2021 while the Blue Devils won in 2019. They also reached the finals in 2020. Under David, Lebo also won WPIAL championships in 2006 and 2010, reaching the PIAA finals that season as well. USC also captured district crowns with Holzer at the helm in 2005 and 1996.
NC top team
This winter, however, New Castle has dominated Class 6A after having moved up a classification. The Hurricanes reached the WPIAL finals the past two years, winning in 2021. They were Class 5A PIAA runners-up in 2022.
In 2023, the Hurricanes were 18-2 overall and 8-1 in Section 1 before finishing up their regular season over the weekend.
“No question, New Castle is the team to beat. They have been No. 1 the whole year,” Holzer said.
”They shoot the ball well and they play extremely hard, tough team defense. In order to beat them, you can’t turn the ball over and you have to match their shots and guard the three-point line.
”That section has so many good teams. All formidable teams,” Holzer added. “One win then you are in the semifinals but one loss, then you are done.”
The Panthers appeared finished when they fell behind Lebo, 10-1, to start their second meeting. However, they used a familiar recipe to weave back into contention and forge their way to victory.
”We play very unselfish. We share the ball and everyone pulls for one another. That goes a long way,” said Holzer. “We are in it together and we don’t worry about who scores.”
In the triumph, Hall led the uprising, firing in 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. Hall averages 7.8 points per game for the Panthers.
”Devin is a talented player and a very unselfish kid. He is capable of playing like that any time. He’s only a junior so he’s only going to get better,” Holzer said.
In the win, Julian Dahlem fired in seven points while Nick Sukernek supplied eight points, six off a pair of treys. Matt Gaither added six points.
Sukernek is USC’s top scorer with a 12.8 average. Gaither follows with an 11.8 average. He’s also the team’s top rebounder with 92 boards. Christian Ito and Dahlem are averaging 7.8 and 7.4 points respectively. As the team’s point guard, Dahlem averages 5.7 assists a game.
“We are looking forward to the playoffs,” Holzer said. “We think the tournament is wide open. We are a good team when we play well. I’m excited about the post-season because I think we have gotten better as the year as gone on and we continue to improve.”
Lebo, likewise, continues to progress and gain confidence, even after taking a tumble against the Knights. In the loss to Norwin, Michael Pfeuffer tossed in 12 tallies for the Blue Devils, who dropped to 7-2 in the division and 13-7 overall.
“We are playing together and unselfishly,” David said. “We are competing better than we did at the beginning of the season.
“We are looking forward to the playoffs. It’s what we prepare for all year. It will be tough because there will be eight very good teams in the tournament but on any given night anything can happen. It comes down to who makes their free throws and who takes care of the ball.”
Those two things worked against Lebo in its loss to USC. The Blue Devils converted just six of their 13 attempts from the charity stripe. They also committed some untimely mistakes.
Lebo did however get a boost from three, 3 point field goals from Nate Girod. A long-range shot from Brody Barber coupled with a pair of free throws afforded the Blue Devils a two-point leads down the stretch. Girod finished with nine points and Barber pitched in seven.
Lucas Garofoli also added seven markers and Riley Farabaugh has five points.
”We have eight or nine guys that we comfortable with that can light it up and score. We have a different (high) scorer each game and that makes us a better basketball team,” David said. “That makes us hard to defend.”
Defense will determine Lebo’s progress in the playoffs.
”We have guys like Nate that love to compete and are competitors but we need to get better defensively. Our communication can always improve and we have a stable of kids that can rebound. But, you can’t make a run without playing solid defense,” David said.
Note
USC defeated Canon-McMillan, 68-43, to move into sole possession of first place in Section 2 with an 8-1 record. The Panthers were 13-8 heading into their regular-season finale against Baldwin.
In the win over the Big Macs, Sukernek and Gaither fired in 14 and 12 points respectively for USC.