2026 WPIAL Class 3A boys basketball championship breakdown: South Allegheny vs. Aliquippa

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, February 27, 2026 | 3:01 PM

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No. 8 South Allegheny vs. No. 2 Aliquippa

1 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center

Audio broadcast: Trib HSSN

WPIAL titles: Aliquippa 14 (2024, ‘23, ‘16, ‘15, ‘07, ‘06, ‘04, ‘03, ‘00, 1998, ‘94, ‘88, ‘87, ’49), South Allegheny 1 (2025)

South Allegheny (16-8)

Coach: Tony DiCenzo

Projected starting lineup

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

0, Jake Uher, 6-3, sr., F

1, Fischer Ielase, 5-10, jr., G

2, Drew Cook, 6-1, sr., G

4, Alijah Cook, 6-0, so., G

10, Adam Jackowski, 6-2, sr., F

How they got here: South Allegheny defeated No. 9 Ellwood City, 52-50, in the first round; No. 1 Mohawk, 64-63, in the quarterfinals; and No. 13 Shady Side Academy, 48-43, in the semifinals.

Notable: South Allegheny is the defending WPIAL Class 3A defending champion after beating Aliquippa in the finals last season. … The Gladiators finished third in Section 3 at 7-3. They have won nine of their last 10 games after enduring a five-game losing streak. … Drew Cook, the WPIAL’s leading scorer this season at 27 ppg, is nearing 2,000 career points. He scored 15 points in the semifinal win. … Also in the semifinals, his brother, Alijah Cook, hit five 3-pointers and had 15 points. … South Allegheny reached the PIAA final last season — and defeated Aliquippa in the semifinals — before falling to West Catholic. … Coach Tony DiCenzo has a 189-142 record in 14 seasons.

Aliquippa (17-6)

Coach: Mrryce Smith

Projected starting lineup

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

1, Antonio Reddic, 6-0, sr., G

3, Cleaster Longmire, 5-10, sr., F

4, Camden Evanochko, 5-11, fr., G

5, Qalil Goode, 6-3, sr., G

10, Akiva Woods, 5-10, jr., G

How they got here: Aliquippa beat No. 15 Sto-Rox, 68-48, in the first round; No. 7 Seton LaSalle, 50-33, in the quarterfinals; and No. 3 South Park, 60-38, in the semifinals.

Notable: Aliquippa is tied with Class 6A finalist New Castle for the most district titles in WPIAL history (14). The Quips won Class 2A titles in 2023 and ‘24 along with a state title in 2024. … The Quips are in the championship game for the fourth straight season. … Aliquippa was second in Section 1 at 10-2. The Quips got off to a 6-0 start. … Senior guard Qa’lil Goode scored 21 points in the semifinals. The Quips played without three regular starters — T’Vonn Parchman Jr. and Camden Evanochko were injured and sophomore Anthony Ingram was serving the first of a two-game suspension after being whistled for two technical fouls in the quarterfinals. … Mrryce Smith is in his first season as head coach after he replaced Nick Lackovich, who went 185-41 in eight seasons with four WPIAL titles.

Next up: The winner will open the PIAA playoffs March 7 against the District 9-10 subregional runner-up. The loser will play the District 6 third-place finisher.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Aliquippa, South Allegheny