2022 WPIAL Class A boys basketball championship breakdown: Bishop Canevin vs. Union
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Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | 6:57 PM
Bishop Canevin’s Jaden Gales drives to the basket to score against North Catholic on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, at Bishop Canevin High School.
Bishop Canevin’s Jaden Gales celebrates with Kevaughn Price after scoring against North Catholic on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, at Bishop Canevin High School.
Bishop Canevin’s Kevaughn Price scores against North Catholic on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, at Bishop Canevin High School.
WPIAL Class A boys basketball championship
No. 1 Bishop Canevin vs. No. 3 Union
5 p.m. Thursday, Petersen Events Center
On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL titles: Bishop Canevin 1; Union 1
Bishop Canevin (19-4)
Coach: Gino Palmosina
Projected starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.
3, Amari Evans, 6-3, fr., G
10, Kai Spears, 6-2, sr., G
11, R.J. Sledge, 5-8, fr., G
15, Jaden Gales, 6-6, sr., F
32, Kevaughn Price, 6-2, sr. G
Notable: The senior-laden Crusaders have cruised into the WPIAL finals after a 66-34 win over No. 8 Rochester in the quarterfinals and 71-36 triumph over No. 4 Geibel in Saturday’s semifinals. … Senior 6-foot-6 forward Jaden Gales (17.1 ppg) and senior guard Kevaughn Price (15.1 ppg) lead the Crusaders’ scoring. Among 10 seniors on the roster, Price (14), Gales (11) and guard Kai Spears (16) spearheaded the semifinal win. … Four starters returned from last year’s title team — Gales, Price, senior guard Jhamil Fife and junior guard Shea Champine. … Bishop Canevin played a challenging nonsection schedule that included wins over Belle Vernon and Greensburg Central Catholic, along with competitive losses to Penn Hills, Central Catholic, Butler and Fox Chapel. … The Crusaders won their first WPIAL boys basketball championship in 2021 but had to forfeit their PIAA quarterfinal minutes before tipoff because of covid-19 issues.
Union (22-2)
Coach: Mark Stanley
Projected starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.
5, Matt Stanley, 5-10, jr., G
11, Cam Taylor, 5-11, jr., G
20, Kaden Fisher, 6-3, jr., F
33, Peyton Lombardi, 6-1, jr., G
44, Mark Stanley, 6-0, jr., G/F
Notable: Union lost to Bishop Canevin in the 2020 quarterfinals (40-39) and 2021 semifinals (68-46). The Section 1 champion Scotties reached the finals this season behind a 74-44 win over No. 6 Leechburg and a 66-54 win over No. 2 Imani Christian. … They have been led by junior guard Matt Stanley (18.4 ppg) and junior forward Mark Stanley, twin sons of the head coach who both averaged better than 20 points last season. Matt tallied 36 points in Saturday’s semifinal win. … Union allows just 41.1 points per game, the lowest average in Class A. That statistic will be challenged by Bishop Canevin, which has scored 75.4 points per game, the highest total in the classification. … The Scotties’ lost to Vincentian Academy in their most recent trip to the finals, in 2018. … They have won 15 of their past 16 with the lone blemish being a 54-46 loss to Kennedy Catholic. … Union won the 2003 WPIAL title.
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: Bishop Canevin, Union
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