Playoff positioning
Area teams battling for sections crowns, postseason spots
Rob Burchianti
The high school basketball season is approaching the midpoint of section play with a few area teams striving for the top spot in the standings and others hoping to earn a berth into the WPIAL playoffs.
The Uniontown and Laurel Highlands boys teams are right on the edge of a postseason spot in Section 1-5A after the Red Raiders’ 71-61 victory at LH on Friday night. The two are tied for fifth place with 2-4 section marks along with Latrobe.
The WPIAL takes the top five teams from sections of eight or more into the postseason and the top four out of sections with seven or fewer teams.
“Both of us are in the playoff race,” Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky said. “We needed this one, these kids knew that. If a win in a big rivalry game like this doesn’t give you some momentum going ahead then I don’t know what would. We want to take the next step and we have three home games (this) week.”
“We still have a chance to make the playoffs,” LH coach John Smith said. “We have to put this behind us. We’ve been playing well. We’ll see where we’re at when we play them again at their place.”
Franklin Regional and Gateway are tied for first place at 5-1 while McKeesport and Penn-Trafford are tied for third place at 4-2. Uniontown hosts Franklin Regional tonight while the Mustangs travel to Penn-Trafford.
There were a pair of unbeaten local teams with big tests up next going into Monday night’s action.
The Jefferson-Morgan boys, at 12-0 overall and 6-0 in Section 3-2A, are tied for first place with Chartiers-Houston. The two meet tonight at J-M.
The Geibel Catholic girls, at 13-0 overall and 6-0 in Section 2-A, were tied for first place with Serra Catholic going into Monday’s game on the Lady Eagles’ floor.
The Rockets and Lady Gators aren’t the only teams making a strong run for a section championship.
The first-place Southmoreland boys (4-0, 7-6), looking to defend their Section 4-3A title, will seek to sweep through the first round of section play Monday night when they host Brownsville.
The Scotties are one game up on Ligonier Valley (3-1) and two games ahead of Waynesburg Central and Charleroi who are both 2-2 and tied for third place. Mount Pleasant is currently on the outside looking it at 1-3 and in fifth place.
Both of Belle Vernon’s squads have a legitimate chance at claiming first place in their respective sections.
The second-place Leopards (4-1, 8-6) trail Elizabeth Forward (5-0, 8-4) by one game in Section 3-4A. The Warriors beat Belle Vernon in their first meeting, 74-69, at EF. The two meet again on the Leopards’ floor on Jan. 27.
The Belle Vernon girls (5-1, 10-3) are in second place behind South Park in Section 3-4A. The Lady Leopards’ lost by one point, 39-38, at home to the Lady Eagles on Dec. 18. Those two meet again at South Park on Jan. 22.
Both of Beth-Center’s teams are in the top half of the standings.
The Bulldogs (3-3, 7-5) are in fourth place in the eight-team Section 3-2A behind J-M, Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry (4-2) but coach Scott Bower isn’t counting his team out of the race for first place.
“We’ve been very competitive with the top teams so I still think we have a chance to fight our way back into the section title race,” Bower said.
B-C’s section losses were 46-29 at Jefferson-Morgan, 55-51 to Fort Cherry and 52-45 to C-H.
The Lady Bulldogs (3-1, 6-7) are tied for second place in Section 3-2A with California, one game ahead of fourth-place Bentworth, but powerful Chartiers-Houston sits in first at 4-0 and 12-2 overall. Even so, B-C and the Lady Trojans are both in strong position to make the playoffs.
The West Greene girls (5-2, 10-3) are alone in third place in the eight-team Section 2-A, two games behind Geibel and Serra and one game in front of Bishop Canevin in the loss column.
Several other local teams have worked their way into postseason contention.
The Waynesburg Central girls (3-2, 10-2), with their talented by youthful roster, are in the thick of things in the seven-team Section 3-3A. The Lady Raiders are tied for third place with Keystone Oaks behind Seton LaSalle (5-0) and McGuffey (4-1). Washington lurks one game back at 2-3. The Lady Raiders beat the Lady Prexies, 51-49, in their first meeting at Waynesburg.
The Connellsville girls (1-3, 5-9) are tied with Hempfield, one game behind third-place Upper St. Clair and Mount Lebanon in the six-team Section 2-6A.
The Uniontown girls (1-3, 8-5) are a half game behind fourth-place Bethel Park and Peters Township (both 2-3) in the seven-team Section 4-5A.
The Mount Pleasant girls (3-3, 6-7) are in fourth place in the eight-team Section 3-4A with Laurel Highlands and Ringgold just one game behind.
The Geibel Catholic boys (2-2, 8-5) are tied with Monessen for third place in the six-team Section 2-A behind Neighborhood Academy (4-0) and Serra Catholic (3-1), one game in front of St. Joseph.
The Frazier boys (2-4, 6-7) are currently tied for fifth place with Greensburg Central Catholic in the eight-team Section 1-2A, one game behind fourth-place Springdale.
The Carmichaels (2-3, 3-7) and West Greene (2-3, 3-8) boys are tied for fifth place in the eight-team Section 3-2A.