2023 WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball championship breakdown: Peters Township vs. Penn Hills
By:
Thursday, March 2, 2023 | 12:12 AM
WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball final
No. 1 Peters Township vs. No. 2 Penn Hills
9 p.m. Thursday, Petersen Events Center
On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com; Radio: KDKA (1020 AM, 100.1 FM); WJPA (95.3 FM)
WPIAL titles: Penn Hills 5 (2018, ’03, ’00, 1994, ’87), Peters Township 1 (2009)
Peters Township (22-3)
Projected starting lineup
Coach: Joe Urmann
No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.
2, Brendan McCullough, 5-11, sr., G
3, Nate Miller, 5-11, jr., G
14, Cam Mills, 6-1, jr., G
15, Jake Ziegler, 6-4, sr., F
45, Jack Dunbar, 6-2, jr., F
Notable: Peters Township has a 15-game winning streak. … The Indians average 73.1 ppg as the highest-scoring offense in WPIAL 5A. Dunbar is a 18-point scorer and McCullough averages 15. … The Indians reached triple digits in a 105-100 triple-overtime loss to Thomas Jefferson on Jan. 3. Dunbar scored 37. The team hasn’t lost since. … The defense on average allows 56.1 ppg. … This was a breakthrough season for the Indians, who went 8-14 last winter and missed the playoffs. …The team makes its second all-time appearance in a WPIAL championship game after defeating Mt. Lebanon, 60-54, in the 2009 Class 4A final. … Urmann is 36-26 in three seasons. He previously coached Baldwin. … Peters Township is coming off a 62-55 semifinal win over Gateway. Dunbar scored 29 points.
Penn Hills (20-3)
Projected starting lineup
Coach: Chris Giles
No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.
1. Noah Barren, 6-0, sr., G
2. Julian Dugger, 6-3, jr., G/F
3. Daemar Kelly, 6-5, sr., G
5, Robert Thomas, 6-4, jr., G/F
23, Lamire Redman, 6-0, jr., G
Notable: Penn Hills has won 17 of the past 18 games. … The Indians allows the fewest point in WPIAL Class 5A at 44.1 ppg. They held first-round playoff opponent Trinity to 29. … The offense averages 58.9 ppg. … Giles is 53-14 in three seasons as coach. … Kelly and Dugger are both Division I college recruits but in different sports. Kelly is headed to Quinnipiac for basketball. Dugger, a quarterback, lists football offers from Pitt, Howard, Toledo and UMass. … Kelly averages 16 ppg and Barren averages 12. … The Indians are coming off a 67-51 semifinal victory over North Hills. Redman made five 3-pointers in the win.
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Penn Hills, Peters Township
More Basketball
• High school roundup for Dec. 23, 2024: North Catholic boys rally past Seton LaSalle• This week on Trib HSSN for week of Dec. 23, 2024
• High school roundup for Dec. 22, 2024: No. 2 Montour rolls past Lincoln Park
• Fox Chapel withstands Kiski Area’s rally at PPG Paints Arena
• WPIAL girls basketball rankings: Week ending Dec. 22, 2024