Upper St. Clair gambles on tournament play in building team unity
Upper St. Clair rolled the dice on its season by traveling to Las Vegas to participate in the Tarkanian Classic during its December winter break. Come the end of February on the New Year, the Panthers hope to come up aces in boys basketball.
“Like all these trips, it’s about bonding,” said USC coach Dan Holzer. “Players get to know each other better. They learn about each other as individuals. Spending time around one another is always a positive and build camaraderie.
“On the court, we also get to know what we need to work on and that revealed itself. Playing in the tournament was like being on an AAU team with four games in four days. It’s mentally tough but we fought through it. I think we grew as a team.”
The Panthers exhibited their development when they opened Class 6A Section 2 play with an impressive win over Hempfield, 87-32. USC sported a balanced attack led by Nick Sukernek’s 15 tallies followed by 12 and 10 tallies from Christian Ito and Matthew Gaither.
Prior to the triumph, the Panthers have been up and down winning a game then losing two. They were 6-5 heading into their Jan. 6 contest at Norwin.
In Las Vegas, USC posted a 2-2 record. The Panthers beat Nevada squads from Sierra Vista, 69-56 and Cimarron, 47-39, but succumbed to California’s Vanden, 81-69, and Utah’s Layton Christian Academy, 78-46.
“We faced two terrific teams that gave us great competition and two teams that were similar to us that we beat. So I was pleased with that,” said Holzer.
Holzer was also delighted with how well-organized the trip was and praised the booster club and parents.
“They did a great job,” he said. “It was successful on and off the court.”
In addition to watching some of the top teams in the country compete, the Panthers watched UNLV practice and they also toured the campus. They visited and toured Allegiant Stadium. The domed facility in Paradise, is home to the NFL Las Vegas Raiders and the site of the Las Vegas Bowl and Vegas Kickoff Classic. The team also visited the popular malls along the strip.
“It was an amazing trip,” Holzer said. “We learned a lot about ourselves and our team and we are looking forward to the rest of the season. I think we have the potential to be good as the year progresses. I like my team and I love my kids.
“We are a mixture of young and old and when we shoot well, we can play with anybody. If we don’t, then we struggle. That’s why we are 6-5.”
The Panthers take their 50-50 changes on the road Jan. 10 when they face arch rival Mt. Lebanon at 7:30 p.m.
“We look forward to that game not just because its two neighborhood rivals that respect each other going at it but always because of the pride we both have in being two of the top teams in the South Hills not to mention two of the top programs in Western Pennsylvania.”
Under Holzer, the Panthers have won three WPIAL titles, with the last coming in 2021.
Under Joe David, Lebo has captured three championships (2006, 2010 and 2019) and were district runners-up in 2020. They were PIAA runners-up in 2010. The Blue Devils have also For example, the Blue Devils have reached the WPIAL semifinals five years in a row and have captured six section banners in a row.
Lebo, like the Panthers, opened section action with a triumph after successful holiday journeys to Hilton Head, S.C. and Parkersburg, W.Va.
The Blue Devils edged Baldwin, 46-44, in their league opener.
Michael Pfeuffer (14), Bordy Barber (12) and Lucas Garofoli (10) led a balanced attack for Lebo.
During their trip to South Carolina, the Blue Devils dispatched Nebraska’s Fremont, 48-42, and Tennessee’s Westview, 42-37. Also in the Seahawks Classic, they lost to Boyd Anderson from Florida, 50-45.
In the Parkersburg South Tournament, Lebo split decisions; beating Nansemond-Suffolk Academy from Virginia, 88-50, and falling to Gaston Day School from North Carolina, 66-61.