A-K Valley PIAA basketball playoff preview capsules for March 10, 2026

By: Bill Hartlep
Monday, March 9, 2026 | 3:49 PM

PIAA basketball playoffs

Boys

Class 4A

Second round

Knoch (23-4) vs. North Catholic (20-6)

7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Plum

District seeds: Knoch 7-1; North Catholic 7-3

Winner plays: Winner of 12-5 Carver E&S (21-6)/2-2 Dallas (20-4) Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Teegan Finucan, Knoch; Jude Rottmann, North Catholic

Layup lines: WPIAL champion Knoch defeated Girard, 46-30, in the PIAA first round Friday. Teegan Finucan had 18 points, Vincent DeFelice added 12, and Derek Lang tallied 10. The Knights used a 12-5 run in the third quarter to pull away as Knoch earned its first state playoff win since 1997. Knoch and North Catholic shared the Section 1-4A title at 11-1. They split the section series, and Knoch beat the Trojans, 70-46, in the WPIAL semifinals. The Knights have won seven straight games. … North Catholic secured a 64-52 win over Sharon on Friday behind 21 points from Jude Rottmann, 16 for Jason Fredericks, 12 by Brandon Pickett and 10 from Jake Olkowski. The Trojans rebounded after losing in the semifinals to defeat Deer Lakes, 70-66, in the third-place game. The Trojans averaged 74.5 ppg this season, the highest in WPIAL Class 4A.

Hickory (21-6) vs. Deer Lakes (13-14)

7:30 p.m. Tuesday at New Castle

District seeds: Hickory 10-3; Deer Lakes 7-4

Winner plays: Winner of 8-1 Obama Academy (17-9)/10-1 Cathedral Prep (25-1) Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Trevor Borowicz, Hickory; Evan Moore, Deer Lakes

Layup lines: District 10 third-place finisher Hickory opened the PIAA tournament by taking down WPIAL runner-up Quaker Valley, 47-43. Trevor Borowicz had 23 points to lead Hickory. The Hornets lost to Cathedral Prep in the District 10 semifinals but rebounded to beat Warren in the third-place game. They finished second to Sharon in the Region 4 regular season standings. Hickory has wins over several WPIAL teams this season, including Union, Beaver Falls, Beaver, Eden Christian Academy, South Allegheny and Trinity, as well as Quaker Valley. … Deer Lakes rolled past Huntingdon, 67-47, in the PIAA first round. Evan Moore poured in 30 points. Collin Rodgers had 15, and Luca Mangieri added 14. The Lancers are in the PIAA playoffs for the third time in four seasons. The Lancers rebounded after back-to-back losses to Quaker Valley and North Catholic in the WPIAL semifinals and the third-place game, respectively. Deer Lakes is looking to return to the PIAA quarterfinals after reaching that point in 2023.

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: Deer Lakes, Knoch