2023 WPIAL Class A boys basketball championship breakdown: Imani Christian vs. Union

By:
Wednesday, March 1, 2023 | 10:34 PM


WPIAL Class A boys basketball final

No. 1 Imani Christian vs. No. 2 Union

5 p.m. Thursday, Petersen Events Center

Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com

WPIAL titles: Imani Christian 0, Union 1 (2003)

Imani Christian (17-6)

Projected starting lineup

Coach: Omar Foster

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

1, R.J. Sledge, 5-11, so., G

4, Avery Wesley, 6-0, jr., G

5, Dame Givner, 6-1, so., G

12, Alier Maluk, 6-11, so., C

30, Virgil Hall, 6-9, jr., F

Notable: These teams met in a WPIAL semifinal last season and Union won 66-54. … Imani is the second-smallest basketball-playing school in the WPIAL (29 boys in grades 9-11), but fields the league’s tallest lineup. … Maluk is a major-college recruit with offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Auburn, LSU, N.C. State, Ohio State, Oregon, Seton Hall and Texas A&M. Rivals.com ranks him the 16th-best sophomore prospect in the country. … The Saints have the highest-scoring offense in WPIAL Class A (69.9 ppg) with four double-digits scorers: Givner (15.9), Maluk (15.2) and Hall (12.7) and Sledge (10.5) … Imani’s regular-season schedule included a five-point win over WPIAL 6A finalist Central Catholic and a three-point loss to 4A finalist Lincoln Park. … Imani’s defense allows 53.1 ppg. … The team is coming off a 75-57 semifinal win over Geibel Catholic. … The Saints were WPIAL runners-up in 2017.

Union (22-2)

Projected starting lineup

Coach: Mark Stanley

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

5, Matthew Stanley, 5-11, sr., G

11, Cam Taylor, 5-11, sr., G

20, Kaden Fisher, 6-4, sr., G/F

33, Peyton Lombardo, 6-1, sr., G/F

35, Brennen Porter, 6-2, sr., G/F

Notable: Union is trying to win a WPIAL boys basketball title after celebrating a football title in the fall and a baseball title last spring. … The Scotties are in the basketball finals for the second straight year after losing to Bishop Canevin, 58-45, in 2022. … Matthew Stanley (15 ppg) and Lombardo (10) are Union’s top scorers. … This is Mark Stanley’s second stint as Union’s coach. His teams are 146-67 over the past nine seasons. Overall, he has coached 16 seasons at his alma mater and won a WPIAL title in 2003. He also coached three seasons at New Castle. … Three of Stanley’s sons are on the roster (Matthew, Mark and Lucas). … Union’s defense allows the fewest points among WPIAL Class A playoff qualifiers (42.5 ppg). The offense ranks third best at 67.6 ppg. … Union is coming off an 80-58 win over Carlynton.

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: ,

More High School Basketball

New coach looks to carry on Mt. Pleasant girls basketball tradition of toughness
Mt. Pleasant boys to embark on ‘refocusing year’ after starters graduate
Plum girls planning to think fast, play fast to help replace graduated top scorer
After struggles last season, Plum boys basketball ‘hungry to succeed’
Monessen girls basketball team sets sail under Schmidt