A-K Valley basketball playoff capsules: Games for Wednesday, March 3, 2021

By: Greg Macafee
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 | 3:29 PM

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Here’s a look at Wednesday’s WPIAL basketball playoff games involving A-K Valley teams:

Boys

First round

Class 5A

15-Plum (9-5) at 2-New Castle (17-2)

6 p.m. Wednesday

Coaches: Mark Marino, Plum; Ralph Blundo, New Castle

Winner plays: Winner of 10-Latrobe (7-6) at 7-Thomas Jefferson (18-4), noon Saturday

About Plum: The Mustangs secured their first playoff victory since 2015-16 with a 57-53 win over West Allegheny on Saturday. They’ve won five straight games since a 53-50 loss to No. 4 Highlands on Feb. 12. They’ve allowed an average of 44.6 points during a five-game winning streak while also scoring 51.4 points.

About New Castle: The Red Hurricanes are looking for their fourth WPIAL championship in five years. After a loss to No. 1 Chartiers Valley on Feb. 12, they’ve won four straight games. They’ve also averaged 73.6 points this season, which is the third-highest in the WPIAL.

13-Trinity (9-8) at Highlands (13-5)

6 p.m. Wednesday

Coaches: Tim Tessmer, Trinity; Tyler Stoczynski, Highlands

Winner plays: Winner of 12-Franklin Regional (8-7) at 5-Mars (14-3), noon Saturday

About Trinity: With their 70-47 win over Kiski Area, the Hillers earned their first playoff victory since 2017 when they made a run to the WPIAL semifinals. Mike Dunn scored 37 points. Their 70-point performance was their second-highest scoring effort of the season.

About Highlands: The Golden Rams are looking for their second straight WPIAL championship after winning Class 4A last season. After winning 10 of their first 11 games, the Golden Rams have lost four of their past seven, including losses to defending WPIAL Class 5A champ Laurel Highlands, defending WPIAL Class 2A champion Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Allderdice.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Highlands, New Castle, Plum, Trinity