Upper St. Clair holds on to beat Seneca Valley
Upper St. Clair players Devin Hall (back), Julian Dahlem (with ball) and Cody Marn (1) celebrate after edging Seneca Valley, 45-43, in a WPIAL Class 6A playoff game. Dahlem led the Panthers with 14 points, including the game-winning free throws with 39.4 seconds to play.
Devin Hall (3) battles Seneca Valley defenders Connor Oros (back) and Esheza Okponobi (15) for the basketball during Upper St. Clair's 45-43 win. Hall scored six points in the victory.
Juliam Dahlem (3) goes up for a layup during Upper St. Clair's 45-43 win against Seneca Valley in the WPIAL Class 6A boys' basketball playoffs. Dahlem finished with 14 points.
Upper St. Clair advanced to the the semifinals of the WPIAL Class 6A boys’ basketball playoffs, but the Panthers earned the berth the hard way.
They squandered a 31-14 halftime advantage as well as a 41-23 third-quarter edge, missed three free throws down the stretch, but held on to beat Seneca Valley, 45-43.
Julian Dahlem led the Panthers with 14 points. His five points coupled with a 3-pointer from Christian Wieczenski staked USC to an 8-0 lead.
Dahlem tacked on two more buckets, both layups, in the second stanza as USC’s lead swelled to 17 points by intermission.
The Panthers were also sparked by sharpshooting from the outside. They buried six, 3-pointers in the first half and two more in the third quarter as their lead ballooned to 18 points.
Nick Sukernek and Matt Gaither had a pair of long-range shots each while Peja Strobl contributed another. Strobl scored half of his eight points in the first frame.
The final frame saw the Raiders rebound, taking advantage of six Panther turnovers in the final eight minutes. USC did not score any baskets in the fourth quarter and its first two points were registered on a pair of free throws from Chistian Ito with 3:13 to play.
Three-pointers from Andrew Roy and Tyler Pepin highlighted SV’s comeback as did six points, four on free throws, by Luke Lawson. He finished with 14 points while Aiden Lyczek followed with 10 tallies.
Dahlem scored USC’s only other points in the fourth frame. With 39.4 remaining, he cashed in on a pair of free throws, which proved to be the winning points.
In those final seconds, USC missed three throws, and with two seconds left to play SV gained possession. A desperation shot by the Raiders fell way short and off the mark.
With the win, USC improved to 15-8 overall and advanced to play Central Catholic (13-9), an overtime winner, 80-75, against Baldwin. The semifinal contest, set for Feb. 28 at a site and time to be determined, will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2010.