2025 PIAA Class 2A boys basketball championship breakdown: Sewickley Academy vs. Linville Hill
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Friday, March 28, 2025 | 11:16 AM
Sewickley Academy’s Lucas Grimsley (right) looks for space to drive against GCC’s Liam Gallagher during the PIAA 2A semifinals on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at Peters Township.
PIAA Class 2A boys basketball final
Sewickley Academy vs. Linville Hill
2 p.m. Friday, Giant Center, Hershey
On the air: NFHS Network
PIAA titles: Sewickley Academy 3 (1997, 2010, 2017), Linville Hill 0
Sewickley Academy (26-2)
Coach: Mike Iuzzolino
Projected starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos.
2, Caiden Battles, 5-8, jr., G
3, Amare Spencer, 6-2, jr., F
4, Lucas Grimsley, 6-2, jr., G
33, Nolan Donnelly, 6-2, sr., F
50, Mamadou Kane, 6-8, fr., C
How they got here: Sewickley Academy defeated Windber, 64-36, in the first round; Lakeview, 56-35, in the second round; Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 42-35, in the quarterfinals; and Greensburg Central Catholic, 52-48, in the semifinals.
Notable: Sewickley Academy qualified for the state playoffs as the third-place team from the WPIAL. … The Panthers had the stingiest defense in the WPIAL allowing only 37.9 points per game. … They average 56.4 points on offense. … Grimsley leads the team in scoring at 10.3 ppg. Grimsley and Kane scored 17 points each in the semifinals. … Six different players have finished a game as the team’s leading scorer. … This is Iuzzolino’s first year as coach. A former NBA player with the Dallas Mavericks, he spent the spent the previous eight seasons on the Robert Morris men’s basketball staff, including three years as associate head coach. … Sewickley Academy makes its fourth appearance in the finals.
Linville Hill (23-5)
Coach: Mike Schatzmann
Projected starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos.
0, Giovanni Sejuste, 6-2, sr., F
1, Drew Tibbins, 5-11, jr., G
11, Jerome Stoltzfus, 6-2, sr., G
22, Derien Peterseim, 6-1, sr., G
32, Stephen Smucker, 6-1, sr., F
How they got here: Linville Hill defeated Marian Catholic, 77-42, in the first round; Constitution, 66-52, in the second round; Old Forge, 75-63, in the quarterfinals; and Northwest, 68-43, in the semifinals.
Notable: Linville Hill qualified for states as the District 3 runner-up. … The private school from near Lancaster is making its first appearance in the state finals. Its girls team also qualified for this year’s finals (Class A). … Linville Hill averages 66.8 points per game and has three scorers averaging double figures: Smucker (14.5 ppg), Sejuste (14.5) and Peterseim (12.5). … Sejuste is the team’s top rebounder at 7.5 rpg. … The Warriors were the No. 1 seed in the District 3 playoffs before losing to York Catholic, 48-46, in the finals. … The team’s defense allows 45.8 points per game. … Linville Hill didn’t have a high school until 2016.
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Sewickley Academy
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