A-K Valley basketball playoff capsules: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020
By:
Friday, February 14, 2020 | 6:11 PM
Boys
Class 2A
First round
No. 4 Springdale (19-3) vs. No. 13 Sewickley Academy (7-12)
2:30 p.m. Saturday at Shaler
Winner plays: No. 5 Laurel (14-8) vs. No. 12 Winchester Thurston (10-10) Friday in the quarterfinals
Coaches: Aaron Epps, Springdale; Win Palmer, Sewickley Academy
Points scored/allowed: Springdale, 64.3/53.8; Sewickley Academy, 48.1/53.3
Players to watch: Demitri Fritch, Springdale (jr., G/F); Max Belt, Sewickley Academy (jr., G)
About Springdale: The Dynamos captured their first section championship since 1993 after only suffering one loss in section play. They earned big victories over Sto-Rox, Greensburg Central Catholic and swept rival Riverview. They started off the season undefeated before losing their 11th game to Shady Side Academy. Springdale is looking for its first title since 1989.
About Sewickley Academy: The Panthers won back-to-back WPIAL titles in 2017-18. This season, they’ve earned wins over Serra Catholic, Laurel and South Side. They’ve lost their last three games coming into the playoffs, including a 40-point blowout by No. 1 seed Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
Class A
First round
No. 8 Leechburg (15-5) vs. No. 9 Geibel Catholic (14-8)
1 p.m. Saturday at Thomas Jefferson
Winner plays: No. 1 Vincentian Academy (18-4) Thursday in the quarterfinals
Coaches: Damian Davies, Leechburg; Don Porter, Geibel Catholic
Points scored/allowed: Leechburg, 70.6/54.9; Geibel Catholic, 67.0/60.3
Players to watch: Dylan Cook, Leechburg (jr., G); Enzo Fetsko, Geibel Catholic (sr., G)
About Leechburg: The Blue Devils are in search of their first WPIAL title since 2007, and they are in the playoffs for a school-record fifth straight year. Damian Davies is back at the helm of the team and has them running on all cylinders late in the season. They’ve won seven of their last eight games, beating Imani Christian (88-76) and Clairton (85-40) during that stretch. They also scored 103 points against Aquinas on Jan. 21.
About Geibel Catholic: The Gators have four different players scoring in double digits and have secured wins over Riverview and Aquinas. Like Leechburg, the Gators scored 103 points on Aquinas in a 103-99 high-scoring battle. They finished as the No. 3 seed in Section 2-A behind Bishop Canevin and Monessen.
Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Tags: Geibel, Leechburg, Sewickley Academy, Springdale
More Basketball
• Trib HSSN 2024-25 WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball preseason breakdown• Defending WPIAL champion Shady Side Academy girls ready for ‘new journey’
• New coach looks to carry on Mt. Pleasant girls basketball tradition of toughness
• Monessen girls basketball team sets sail under Schmidt
• With additions to roster, Leechburg boys hungry to turn program around