Feb 10, 2016 7 min read

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The WPIAL basketball steering committee didn’t do Washington any favors. The Prexies open the Class AA boys basketball playoffs against Laurel, which it defeated in a non-section game last month.

That wasn’t the only surprise.

What about the Jefferson-Morgan girls being seeded sixth, despite losing just one game during the regular season? Section 4-AA in boys received similar treatment with its champion, Brownsville, getting the 11th seed and second-place Charleroi has a preliminary round game for the 13th seed.

Ouch.

Now that the “meeting” is over and the brackets have been released, let’s take a look at every first-round matchup featuring that’s set featuring a local team.

We’ll start with boys basketball

The Vikings shared the Section 3-AAAA title with North Hills and Pine-Richland. They have plenty of size with senior forward Bobby Kiernan (6-2), senior guard Bricen Garner (6-2), a Pitt football recruit, and Luke Nedrow (6-6).

That will pose a problem for the Indians, who have dealt with injuries over the past month. Peters Township does have a high-scoring offense, but its defense has been iffy at times. It will obviously need to find a way to slow down CC and the Indians have the potential to be one of the top offenses in the WPIAL.

Remember: they have wins over Chartiers Valley and Pine-Richland. This is a very deep and talented team.

Prediction: Peters Township pulls off the upset.

WPIAL champion prediction: Latrobe

The Hillers are back in the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2012, when they beat Kittanning and Keystone Oaks. They received one of the more intriguing preliminary round games – a rematch with Mount Pleasant, which Trinity defeated 47-35 last Saturday. The winner earns the 13th seed and the right to play Highlands (18-4).

In that game, the Hillers allowed just one double-digit scorer (Jason Beranek 12 points) and they started fast with a 19-point first quarter. Oh, and Trinity did it without its leading scorer, sophomore guard Joey Koroly.

Prediction: Trinity advances

This is a first-round game last season, when the Ironmen played without then-head coach Drew Schifino and leading scorer, Dom Keyes. Both are gone, but the Ironmen are still big, fast and athletic. They won the Section 4-AAA title, but a recent loss to Uniontown hurt their seeding.

South Fayette is deep and promising, led by junior forward Ryhan Culberson, but the Lions aren’t a great shooting team and they’re very young. They lost to Steel Valley by 11 points in the regular-season opener and own key non-section wins over Vincentian and Seton-La Salle.

Steel Valley has a nice inside-outside game with Kennedy Smith and Ja’Mier Fletcher. The Lions will have to find a way to stop that and force the Ironmen into contested shots from the outside.

Prediction: Steel Valley advances to the quarterfinals.

WPIAL champion prediction: New Castle

Class AA

Both teams finished third in their respective sections, but this should be a game of contrasting styles. The winner earns the 15th seed and the right to play No. 2 Lincoln Park next Wednesday.

The Raiders are incredibly good on offense, led by Darton McIntire, the WPIAL’s leading scorer, but they have also struggled on defense. Shady Side is the opposite, averaging just 58.5 points per game, and like Waynesburg, owns a couple of puzzling losses.

WPIAL champion prediction: Shady Side Academy gets enough stops to win

The Bulldogs finished tied for fourth in Section 4-AA, and the Tigers are the second-place team from 2-AA. The winner gets the 14th seed and will play No. 3 Quaker Valley next Wednesday at Northgate.

I’m not sure what to make of Beth-Center, including it only playing 17 games. The Bulldogs average just 56.3 ppg – the second-fewest of any playoff team in Class AA. They also lost to Carmichaels, which won just two section games, but split with Frazier and Waynesburg.

Prediction: Wilkinsburg, which will close after the school year, wins its final playoff game

The Cougars dropped to a preliminary round game after losing to Serra Catholic last week, and the Bucs are a sneaky team that finished fourth in 3-AA.

The analysis is pretty simple here. Chartiers-Houston must find a way to stop Charleroi 6-9 center John Arnold. I doubt the Bucs can stop him when he’s on the floor, so the goal should be to get him into foul trouble.

The Cougars must play better defense than they did during the regular season and that starts with finding a way to stop Chartiers-Houston junior guard AJ Myers. Stop him and force the Bucs’ role players to make shots.

Prediction: Charleroi wins. Chartiers-Houston just isn’t deep enough. The Cougars will key on Myers and Cam Hanley, and Arnold will have a big game.

The Prexies finished second in Section 3-AA and Spartans second in 1-AA. Wash High defeated Laurel, 76-66, at Burgettstown’s Chuckie Mahoney Classic last month. In that game, Matt Popeck, Nate Swart and Markel Pulliam combined for 59 of the Prexies’ points.

Wash High is at its best when those three are scoring and I don’t think Laurel has what it takes to contain them.

Prediction: Wash High advances to the quarterfinals, where it plays Aliquippa

WPIAL champion prediction: Lincoln Park

Good news came Tuesday night, when Leechburg’s school board decided to allow its athletic programs to compete in the WPIAL playoffs amid hazing allegations.

Monessen head coach Joe Salvino was pleased to hear of the decision. He didn’t want to wait until next Friday to play his first playoff game. That would have been a two-week break from playing a game and eight days between a scrimmage and a game.

This is the first time since 2012 that Monessen is the top seed. The Greyhounds, who have reached the WPIAL champions game in four of the last five years, lost to Beaver Falls in the finals then.

Prediction: Monessen rolls into the quarterfinals

This isn’t where California wanted to be placed – a tough first-round matchup with a possible meeting against Monessen in the quarterfinals.

Union finished third in Section 1-A with close non-section losses to Summit Academy and Avonworth, while the Trojans are trying to reach the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

Union has depth and size, but I don’t think it can handle California’s speed and the Trojans are underrated on defense. They aren’t a great shooting team, but can thrive in transition and need to find a way to get Kass Taylor involved.

Prediction: California advances to face Monessen

The Pioneers are back in the playoffs for the first time since 1993, but they open with perennial power Vincentian Academy, which is inexperienced but is still one of the top offensive teams in Class A.

West Greene will need to get easy points using junior center Craig Weaver (6-8) and junior forward Kolton Rush (6-5), and must play tough defense on the perimeter. Vincentian is very good in half-court sets and is always a very good shooting team.

Though the task is difficult, West Greene does not have a senior and should be a program to watch in 2016-17

Prediction: Vincentian advances.

The Bears, who shared the Section 4-A championship, are fast and athletic. The easiest comparison is Monessen, but Clairton is more of a raw basketball team. Avella is back in the playoffs, despite replacing its head coach right before preseason practices began.

The Eagles are a strong outside shooting team and must be able to handle Clairton’s press.

Prediction: Clairton pulls away for the win

WPIAL champion prediction: Monessen