2025 WPIAL Class A boys basketball championship breakdown: Neighborhood Academy vs. Serra Catholic

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 | 4:03 PM

WPIAL Class A boys basketball championship

No. 1 Neighborhood Academy vs. No. 2 Serra Catholic

5 p.m. Thursday, Petersen Events Center

On the air: Video livestream: NFHS Network

WPIAL titles: Neighborhood Academy 0, Serra Catholic 1 (2008)

Neighborhood Academy (23-1)

Coach: Jordan Marks

Projected starting lineup

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

0, Courtney Wallace, 6-3, sr., G

1, Shamar Simpson, 6-1, sr., G

4, Syncere Nicholson, 5-11, sr., G

10, Derick Hardeman, 6-4, jr., C

11, Kedron Gilmore, 5-9, so., G

How they got here: Neighborhood Academy defeated No. 8 Beaver County Christian, 66-20, in the quarterfinals; and No. 4 Aquinas Academy, 69-35, in the semifinals.

Notable: Neighborhood Academy was the WPIAL runner-up last season. … Wallace, a Yale recruit, averages 22.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.6 assists. … The Bulldogs average 71.7 points per game. … Gilmore (14.5 ppg), Nicholson (13) and Simpson (10) also average double figures. … The team has won 13 in a row since losing to Beaver, 71-70, on Jan. 4. … Founded in 2001, Neighborhood Academy is in Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood. The school joined WPIAL basketball in 2020. … The team has compiled a 76-26 record in five seasons. … Marks previously coached at Sto-Rox and Winchester Thurston. He also held positions on the men’s basketball staffs at Robert Morris and Pitt. … Last year’s WPIAL Class A champion Imani Christian moved up to 6A.

Serra Catholic (21-3)

Coach: AJ Corso

Projected starting lineup

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

0, Mekhi Underwood, 6-2, sr., G

5, Owen Dumbroski, 6-0, sr., G

10, Mark Johnson, 5-9, so., G

21, Brayden Graham, 5-11, so., G

23, Tyler Sapida, 6-3, jr., F

How they got here: Serra Catholic defeated No. 7 Summit Academy, 80-61, in the quarterfinals; and No. 3 Nazareth Prep, 57-45, in the semifinals.

Notable: Serra Catholic lost to Neighborhood Academy twice in section play this winter: 73-44 on Jan. 10 and 84-58 on Feb. 4. … The team’s only other loss came against WPIAL 3A finalist South Allegheny. … The Eagles’ top scorers are Dumbroski (21 ppg), Johnson (10 ppg) and Sapida (9 ppg). … The team averages 69.6 points per game. Its defense allows 50.7 on average. … Corso’s record is 70-48 in five seasons with four playoff appearances. The team finished 4-12 in his first year. He teaches science at Serra Catholic. … Last season, the Eagles lost in the 2A quarterfinals to eventual WPIAL champion Aliquippa. … This is Serra Catholic’s sixth appearance in the WPIAL finals. The team won the title in 2008 in Class A. It also was the Class A runner-up in 1982 and 2009, as well as a Class 2A runner-up in 1991 and 2019.

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: Neighborhood Academy, Serra Catholic