Deer Lakes carries massive momentum into WPIAL playoffs

By: George Guido
Thursday, February 17, 2022 | 5:18 PM

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It’s one thing to enter the WPIAL playoffs with momentum.

The Deer Lakes boys basketball team has taken that notion to another level.

The Lancers (15-5) knocked off previously undefeated North Catholic in the Section 1-4A finale last Friday, then took the measure of Shady Side Academy, a school in the Trib HSSN Class 3A rankings much of the season.

The 74-72 win over North Catholic ended a 39-game section winning streak for the Trojans.

Deer Lakes coach Terence Parham doesn’t hide the team’s lofty goals.

“You know our goal was section champs,” Parham said. “It was a big win for our program. But we expected to win and that’s why, as a staff, we were so extremely hard on them when we didn’t match the effort plays against Burrell and Freeport. I don’t think we lost those games because of skill. I just thought they outhustled us.”

This will be the sixth consecutive season for the Lancers in the WPIAL playoffs, a school record.

Eighth-seeded Deer Lakes will play host to No. 9 Blackhawk, a school that once was a perennial WPIAL title contender but still possesses a respectable program.

“Tradition is huge and our guys looked at OLSH’s record and I told them these guys once had a 112-game section win streak,” Parham said. “Put that in perspective. Some guys lock in for one season, but that’s a lot of games. Right now, you can throw the records out. It’s just about matchups.”

Blackhawk, in the playoffs for the 36th time in the last 40 seasons, enters the game with a 12-9 record, 7-7 in Section 2-3A. Of their seven section losses, the Cougars fell twice to Quaker Valley, Montour and Lincoln Park – three of the top five seeds.

Said Parham: “They have some players who can cause some problems. They’re a blue-collar type of bunch who play hard for their coach. They’re a good rebounding team, and that’s an area where we struggle. We have to limit second-chance opportunities. We’ll have to be ready and locked in.”

The Cougars won nine WPIAL titles from 1986-2008.

One player to watch for Blackhawk in Friday’s 7 p.m. contest is Zach Oliver, who nailed 10 3-pointers in a game against Freedom in December,

Deer Lakes posted a 7-1 nonsection record, losing only to Highlands on the second night of the season.

The winner of Friday’s game will play at top-seeded Quaker Valley at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Deer Lakes opened the playoffs at home last year against Elizabeth-Forward, winning 53-21.

“We want to be known as a good program, not a school that had one or two great seasons. We want to continue the trend so people can look at us as a good program,” Parham said.

The Lancers are led by seniors Armend Karpuzi, who averages 16.7 points per game, and Bryce Robson, who checks in a 15.6 per game.

Deer Lakes is in the playoffs for the 16th time overall.

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