Alle-Kiski Valley PIAA playoff capsule: Highlands vs. Laurel Highlands, Friday, March 11, 2022

By: Michael Love
Thursday, March 10, 2022 | 8:59 PM

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Friday’s game

Boys

Class 5A

Second round

7-3 Highlands (19-7) vs. 7-1 Laurel Highlands (26-0)

7 p.m. Norwin High School

Coaches: Corey Dotchin, Highlands; Rick Hauger, Laurel Highlands

Winner plays: Winner of 3-3 Hershey (21-6)/7-4 Gateway (16-6)

Layup lines: After a week away from game action following the loss to Laurel Highlands in the WPIAL semifinals, Highlands got back in the win column Tuesday with a dominant 74-46 home victory over City League champion Brashear. The Golden Rams capped their home record at 10-1. Cam Reigard paced Highlands with a career-high 25 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. He came into the game averaging 8.7 points. Jimmy Kunst finished with 21 points. Highlands averages 70 points this season, but it was limited to a season-low 44 in the WPIAL-semifinal loss to Laurel Highlands. The Golden Rams will play in the second round of the state playoffs for the second time in three years … The Mustangs kept rolling after their WPIAL-title win and dispatch of District 3’s Elizabethtown on Tuesday. Three players, led by Joe Chambers with 18, scored in double figures for the state’s No. 1 Class 5A boys team. Keondre DeShields scored 12, and Rodney Gallagher added 11. Laurel Highlands has limited is 26 opponents to an average of 46.5 points. That number drops to 44.6 for their five postseason games … Five of the seven teams from the WPIAL advanced to the second round. That includes Penn Hills, Gateway and New Castle. Laurel Highlands and Highlands is the only matchup in the Class 5A second round featuring teams from the same district.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Highlands, Laurel Highlands