2022 PIAA Class A boys basketball championship breakdown: Bishop Canevin vs. St. John Neumann

By: Bill Hartlep
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 | 9:58 PM

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PIAA Class A boys basketball final

Bishop Canevin vs. St. John Neumann

2:30 p.m. Thursday, Giant Center, Hershey

On the air: TV: PCN

PIAA titles: Bishop Canevin 0, St. John Neumann 0

Bishop Canevin (24-4)

Coach: Gino Palmosina

Probable 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: Like St. John Neumann, Bishop Canevin is looking for its first PIAA basketball title. … The Crusaders feature a balanced attack, led by senior 6-foot-6 forward Jalen Gales (16 ppg) and senior guard Kevaughn Price (15.1 ppg). … They reached the PIAA final after a dominant 47-21 victory over District 9 champion Elk County in the semifinals. … 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.

St. John Neumann (26-3)

Coach: Jamie Spencer

Probable starting lineup

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

1, Davion Hill, 6-1, jr., G

2, Hanief Clay, 5-9, sr., PG

3, Naseer Dymeck, 5-8, sr., G

4, Nazier Smith, 5-10, sr., G/F

11, Jerval Weeks-Shuler, 6-0, sr., F

Notable: Davion Hill, a Division I basketball prospect who is also getting college interest as a running back, scored 39 points to lead St. John Neumann past defending state champion Nativity BVM, 82-62, in the PIAA semifinals last week. … Hanief Clay added 15 points, Nazier Smith had 12 and Naseer Dymeck had 10. … Hill, a two-time all-state honoree, averages 26 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while Clay adds 19.9 ppg. … Hill had 31 points and 16 rebounds in a PIAA quarterfinal win over District 3 champion Linville Hill Christian. … SJN averages 72.3 points per game. … The District 4 champion Golden Knights, from the Williamsport area, have won seven straight games since falling to North Penn-Mansfield on Feb. 19.

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.

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