After semifinal celebration for the ages, Greensburg Central Catholic eyes program’s 1st WPIAL title

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, February 29, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Water splashed around the locker room and puddled on the floor at Gateway on Tuesday night as Christian Hyland walked into a dousing after a semifinal victory over Northgate.

The fifth-year boys basketball coach of Greensburg Central Catholic had nowhere to go as streams from players’ water bottles soaked him, and screams of joy drowned out the sound.

Hyland and his wife, Kellie, celebrated the birth of their first child, their daughter Nova, who was born less than an hour from tip-off. Hyland also saw his team gain a berth into its second WPIAL championship game in four years.

Players chanted Nova’s name after the … well … baby shower.

“This is the best day of my life,” Hyland told the team. “We’re going to the Pete, and I have a baby girl.”

Hyland couldn’t imagine a more fulfilling day, although he’d like to find out what a championship feels like.

He is 0 for 3 in the finals, losing twice as a player and once as a coach in 2021.

“We didn’t want to just get through (to the finals),” Hyland said. “We want to win.”

No. 2 seed GCC (23-2) will take on No. 1 and defending champion Aliquippa (20-5) for the Class 2A title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Petersen Events Center.

Imagine the celebration, the stories to tell Nova, if GCC can finish the deal and win the program’s first WPIAL title.

“It would be huge,” senior guard Tyree Turner said. “Everyone wants to leave a legacy as a senior. We have a chance to do that. Me, Franco, even (Cam Petrunak and Anthony Semelka), we all can play a part in the first one. No senior pranks, we want to be remembered for a championship.”

This team craves the first-to-do-it label after advancing to its fourth WPIAL final. Hyland was a player in 2011 and ’14 when the Centurions finished as a runner-up.

“It’s something no one has ever done,” the former point guard said.

The drive to be the first also motivates senior forward Franco Alvarez.

“Our biggest strength is that we have versatility in all five starters,” Alvarez said. “This is the most confident we’ve been. We’re getting better and better, and we jelling and meshing. We’ve been playing together for so long, we want to out with a bang. It would be the sweetest deal to win it.”

Turner pointed out that GCC has never played at the “Pete,” and he’s right. The Centurions lost to powerhouse Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in 2021, but that game was played at Peters Township.

The two other finals trips were to Duquesne’s A.J. Palumbo Center.

A second-half push from Northgate may have given GCC a glimpse of what to expect from the Quips, who have won 13 WPIAL titles. Several of their standout football players also are key players on the basketball court. And they’re proven winners with a pedigree unmatched by many WPIAL schools.

“Northgate has good athleticism, but Aliquippa takes it to a different extreme,” Hyland said. “They try to get up and pressure. Play in your face.”

Turner had 13 in the second quarter in last year’s 61-36 loss to the Quips in the semifinals.

Turner was a 150-pound freshman when he last played in the finals. Now, he’s a 6-foot, 192-pound force for the Centurions.

“Northgate was telling us we weren’t tough enough,” Turner said. “We have to take that personally against Aliquippa and show we are tough enough. Aliquippa runs 2A.”

Turner and Alvarez are 1,000-point scorers.

Alvarez has a front-row seat to what he believes could be a fateful title run.

“I think about scoring my 1,000th point on senior night and making it to the finals,” Alvarez said. “It’s like the stars aligned. It’s almost storybook.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C.