Defending champion South Allegheny gets ‘hot at the right time,’ rallies past Shady Side Academy

By: Liam Belan
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 | 12:18 AM

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When South Allegheny and Shady Side Academy met for the second time this season, a 20-point win for the Gladiators, few would’ve expected the teams to meet again in the postseason.

But No. 8 South Allegheny and No. 13 Shady Side Academy both defied the odds with two playoff wins to set up a final showdown Tuesday night with a ticket to the Petersen Events Center on the line.

They say it’s hard to beat a team three times, and that proved true for South Allegheny, but the defending WPIAL Class 3A champions prevailed in a 48-43 result to set up a championship rematch with Aliquippa at 1 p.m. Saturday.

After leading 19-12 in an ugly first half, Shady Side Academy went ahead 30-26 after three behind 17 points from Cam Mallory at that point.

From there, SA tapped into its championship pedigree and clawed its way ahead for a gutsy win.

“After the year they had last year and the year we’ve had this year with newer, inexperienced guys, we grew as the season went on and now we’re hot at the right time,” South Allegheny coach Tony DiCenzo said. “We’re winning important games at the most important time in the season. That’s why we’re going to play for the championship on Saturday.”

It’s been an up-and-down season for SA, but there’s no better time for an upswing.

On Jan. 8, the Gladiators (16-8) dropped a double overtime result against South Park as they sustained their fifth-straight loss. That night, DiCenzo said that his group wasn’t yet where it needed to be in order to match last year’s postseason success.

Since then, South Allegheny is 9-1 with its only loss to fellow WPIAL semifinalist South Park. The Gladiators came from behind to end their regular season with a 68-62 win over Seton LaSalle and won their first two playoff games — including a victory over top-seeded Mohawk — by a combined three points.

“I think we’ve just gained the experience that we were lacking at the beginning,” DiCenzo said. “We had three or four guys that had little to no experience last year, and it took three quarters of the season for them to find their appropriate roles, and credit to them. We got the people where we need them, and people have stepped up in important moments for us and made key plays.”

Another important aspect of SA’s Cinderella run has been the re-emergence of Jake Uher following an early season injury. He’s been crucial down the stretch and added eight points in Tuesday night’s win behind 15 from Drew Cook and 14 more in a key performance from Fischer Ielase.

Cam Mallory (30 points) did the majority of the scoring for the Bulldogs (10-15), who will now play South Park on Thursday to claim the WPIAL’s third seed in the PIAA bracket. With a win, the Bulldogs will play the runner-up from District 5 or District 8. If SSA loses, it will play the No. 2 seed from District 6.

Coach Jim Dudas was unavailable for comment after the game.

The Gladiators connected on every shot in the first quarter minus a half-court heave at the buzzer as they pushed out to a 15-9 lead.

Drew Cook found Adam Jackowski for the opening points on a layup before BJ Mallory fired back with a triple in the corner. Ielase quickly had a response from beyond the arc and Alijah Cook nailed another 3 to put the Gladiators ahead 8-3 before Cam Mallory opened his account.

He made a layup that preceded a strong take from Uher and a runner from Ielase that was good. But he then added the final four Shady Side Academy points of the first quarter with a finish at the rim and a putback.

Ielase connected from deep one more time before the buzzer to put South Allegheny in front 15-9 after one.

Shady Side Academy was methodical with its possessions throughout the game, and that made for an extremely slow and uneventful second quarter that saw just seven points.

Paul Benec got on the board three minutes into the quarter with a 3-pointer, but Drew Cook eventually scored his first four points of the contest. He made a pull-up from the free-throw line halfway through the quarter and added a putback with 1:30 left in the first half to put his Gladiators ahead 19-12 at the break.

Things got interesting in the third when Cam Mallory came up with 11 of his points to push his team ahead of South Allegheny.

It took 2:17 for second-half points, but it was Cam Mallory that got on the board with a layup before he had the next putback to cut down the Shady Side Academy deficit.

Uher then came up with South Allegheny’s first points of the second half after three minutes of play, but SSA’s leading scorer came back with five points on two strong takes to the hoop.

Alijah Cook had the next two points with a jump shot before Cam Mallory and Willis Price-Wheeler gave the Bulldogs their first lead since early in the first. Drew Cook responded with a triple, but Alex Demchak countered that with a triple of his own and BJ Mallory finished at the rim to suddenly put Shady Side Academy up 30-26 after three.

Cam Mallory scored three of the first five points in the fourth quarter to push his team ahead by five at 33-28. He had 13 more points in the fourth quarter to tally 24 second-half points and over 75% of his squad’s offense in the final two quarters.

But it was the Gladiators who struck next with a vital 12-0 run that decided the game.

Their rally coincided with Cam Mallory receiving his fourth foul with 6:10 left to play as he had to sit out. SA’s run began with a free throw from Drew Cook before a lay-in from Uher and a jumper from Alijah Cook that tied it up with 4:27 to play. With the momentum on their side, Ielase made a layup as the Bulldogs had fully committed to bleeding the clock with their star player on the bench. Both Alijah Cook and Ielase’s makes came off turnovers as SSA hoped to shave more time off the clock.

The Bulldogs finally had a chance to stop the bleeding and get on the board as Demchak was sent to the free-throw line when Smaj Reason fouled him and put his opponents in the double bonus. But he missed both shots in a crucial stretch as South Allegheny missed two attempts at the rim on the other end before Reason managed to convert the putback for his only two important points.

From there, both sides went to their hot hands as it was Drew Cook and Ielase that saw the win out from the charity stripe while Cam Mallory continued to put pressure on them.

“We play this game in practice. It’s called ‘Win the Game,’” Cook said. “They put us up by two, and if we miss a free throw, they get two points. We do that every practice, and it prepares us for the big moments and the free throws. If we don’t make them, we end up running, so nobody wants to do that and everyone focuses on making the foul shots.”

The penalty would’ve been more severe than just running if the Gladiators didn’t convert from the line, but the older Cook and Ielase combined to go 11 for 14 on their free throws to earn the win while Cam Mallory poured in 10 more points in between.

Now, South Allegheny will hope to repeat as WPIAL champions in a rematch against No. 2 Aliquippa, which won 68-30 over South Park on Tuesday.

Tags: Shady Side Academy, South Allegheny