Sewickley-OLSH Round 4 part of Tuesday’s 3 things to watch in high school sports

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, March 19, 2018 | 5:46 PM

These two teams took turns being No. 1 in the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball rankings all season. They were the top two seeds in the district playoffs and met in the 2018 WPIAL championship game. So it's only fitting that Sewickley Academy and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart are the last two teams standing in the west and will battle for the fourth time in this budding rivalry Tuesday with a spot in the PIAA title game at stake.

After facing each other in the 2017 WPIAL title game won by Sewickley Academy, the two teams split their regular-season games, each winning on their home floor. OLSH edged Sewickley Academy, 70-68, behind 19 points from freshman Dante Spadafora. The Panthers closed out the regular season with a 66-61 win as sophomore Isaiah Warfield led the way with 27 points.

In the WPIAL Class 2A title game, Sewickley Academy raced out to a 22-8 first-quarter lead before OLSH continued to chip away before finally catching the Panthers in the fourth quarter. But the defending champs delivered the final punch toward a second straight district crown thanks to 19 points from sophomore Isaiah Smith.

The fourth meeting takes place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Peters Township and can be heard on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

State semifinals

Pine-Richland boys basketball hopes to mare a return trip to Hershey later this week, but first must get past District 12 power Roman Catholic at 6 p.m. at Chambersburg. Greg Shulkosky banked in a 7-foot shot with 2 seconds left to lift Pine-Richland past Allderdice in the state quarterfinals Saturday, 52-50. At the same time, the Cahillites were cruising past Central Bucks West, 75-56. Roman Catholic won back-to-back PIAA 4A championships in 2015 and 2016, beating Allderdice for the state title two years ago.

Two neighboring schools on Route 228 are one win away from jumping on the turnpike and heading east to Hershey. But first, Mars and Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic are both headed to Bald Eagle High School on Tuesday for girls basketball semifinal games.

In Class 5A, Mars will face Archbishop Carroll at 5:30 p.m. It's the first trip to the PIAA Final Four for the Fightin' Planets in 41 years.

In a Class 4A semifinal, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic faces Berks Catholic at 7 p.m. The Trojans won the PIAA Class A state championship two years ago.

Silver and gold

Usually, the winners get the gold and the runners-up settle for silver in a championship scenerio. But in the PIHL Penguins Cup championships, the winner gets both. They receive individual gold medals plus the collective silver cup for the winning team.

The final two high school hockey championships are set for Tuesday at the UPMC Lemeiux Sports Complex in Cranberry. Both will be video streamed live on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

In the Class AA title game at 5:30 p.m., top seed Armstrong battles Cinderella Quaker Valley. While the Quakers have a rich tradition with five Penguins Cup championships, including three straight from 2012-14, QV finished 9-10 during the regular season and pulled off upset wins over Latrobe and Pine-Richland to reach the finals. Armstrong has been dominant with an 18-3 record, including two closes wins over Quaker Valley, 4-2 in October and 5-4 in December.

The Class AAA championship game pits one of the most decorated teams in the PIHL against a team looking for its first Penguins Cup crown. Peters Township won the regular season title with 14-4 record, finishing ahead of second-place Seneca Valley by two games. The Indians are the defending champs and have won six Penguins Cup titles. The two teams split during the regular season, with the Raiders winning in an overtime shootout 3-2 in November while the Indians also won a one-goal game, 2-1, in January.

Don Rebel is a TribLive High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Armstrong, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Mars, North Allegheny, North Catholic, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy