Aliquippa rolls past Forest Hills in PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, March 15, 2025 | 5:05 PM

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Aliquippa guard Josh Pratt felt comfortable at the start of the PIAA Class 3A boys basketball quarterfinal Saturday against District 6 champion Forest Hills. Collectively, the Quips seemed businesslike in their approach.

Aliquippa turned up the heat defensively from the opening whistle and cruised to a 73-34 win at Armstrong High School. The defending Class 2A champion Quips, who suffered heartbreak when they lost a late lead in the WPIAL final against South Allegheny, will have an opportunity to play the Gladiators next Saturday with a spot in the state title game on the line.

“It’s pure business,” said Pratt, who scored a game-high 27 points. “We’re not playing around no more. We don’t want to lose again as we did at the WPIAL championships. We are taking it seriously. Practice is harder than the game.”

Aliquippa coach Nick Lackovich said the entire program has been dialed in since the loss to South Allegheny. The Quips were prepared for what the Rangers (26-3) had to offer long before the two programs met.

Aliquippa wanted to limit the effectiveness of Forest Hills sophomore Dylan Stohon, who has already scored more than 1,000 points in his career, and fellow post player Brandon Gregorich.

Stohon finished with a team-high 15, but Gregorich was limited to 6.

“They’ve been on our radar for a while now,” Lackovich said. “This wasn’t like one or two days before we came here preparing. We’ve had our eye on them for a while and thought we’d probably meet them.”

This was the Rangers’ first trip to the state quarterfinals, and Forest Hills coach Dominic Vescovi said it was a learning experience.

“We’ve only played two or three teams who are close to them, Johnstown and Bishop Guilfoyle,” Vescovi said. “Hopefully, we can increase the strength of the schedule to prepare to play a team like this.”

Aliquippa put the hammer down early. The Quips relied on their press to force key turnovers in the backcourt. Qa’Lil Goode benefited from one of the early turnovers and hammered in a dunk to give the Quips an 8-2 first-quarter advantage.

Goode finished with 25 points.

“We didn’t handle their pressure like we should have,” Vescovi said.

Aliquippa stretched its lead to 22-6 by the end of the first quarter. The Quips led 41-19 at halftime and never had their lead seriously threatened.

“We stressed that to get off to a fast start,” Lackovich said. “We are more than capable of doing that. They are a good team, and you don’t plan on it like that. It’s a great thing when a plan comes together.”

Beating the Rangers was the next step of Aliquippa’s plan. Another chance to play South Allegheny will allow the Quips an opportunity to erase their most recent disappointment.

“Today was one more part of the journey,” Pratt said. “We’ll be back to work on Monday and Tuesday and ready to play next Saturday.”

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