Defending champion Upper St. Clair rolls past New Castle to claim 5th WPIAL title

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, February 28, 2025 | 10:32 PM

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Upper St. Clair stared down an opponent tied for the most WPIAL championships in district history and didn’t flinch.

The top-seeded Panthers used their height advantage, physical defense and rebounding, plus timely outside shooting to defend their Class 6A boys basketball title Friday night with a 65-43 victory over No. 2 New Castle at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

It was Upper St. Clair’s fifth WPIAL championship, all under coach Danny Holzer.

“It is different because it’s back to back,” Holzer said. “It’s basically the same team — we only lost two kids from last year’s team. All these guys were here last year. They’re all special. It doesn’t get old, but certainly this one was different.”

Upper St. Clair (23-2) became the first team to win back-to-back WPIAL titles in Class 6A since the sport expanded in 2017.

“It’s special because we’ve been playing together since third grade,” said senior Julian Dahlem, while wearing a back-to-back champs T-shirt. “The 10 seniors have been on a team together since third grade; we stuck with it. That’s the most special part about it. To do it twice like no one else has, it’s something special. It will never be forgotten.”

New Castle (21-4) remains tied with Aliquippa for the most WPIAL titles in district history at 14.

The Panthers allowed just 39 points per game this season and kept up that stingy trend in the final, limiting New Castle to 17 of 53 shooting (32.1%), including 7 of 22 from 3-point range.

Upper St. Clair also held a 39-23 rebounding advantage, fueled by the Robbins brothers. Senior Tyler Robbins, a 6-foot-10 Miami (Ohio) recruit, had 12 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Sophomore Ryan Robbins, a 6-7 forward, added nine points, two rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

Niko Gidas had 11 points, and Jake Foster added 10 for the Panthers. Dahlem had eight points and eight assists.

Coaches and players from both teams said it was Upper St. Clair’s outside shooting that proved to be the X-factor as the Panthers converted 8 of 17 from beyond the arc.

“When we shoot well and we can go inside-out, it’s difficult to beat us,” said Holzer, who surpassed 500 career wins this season. “There’s no doubt. We’re a pretty good high school team. I think it all starts with our defense. Our half-court defense is just tremendous.

“We have two levels of defense that are tough to beat when we’re playing together.”

Upper St. Clair finished the first half on a 6-0 run to break a 23-23 tie and didn’t give up the lead. After a Ryan Robbins free throw, Tyler Robbins knocked down a corner 3-pointer off an out-of-bounds play, and Gianni Disora capped the first half with a steal and breakaway layup to give the Panthers a 29-23 lead at halftime.

“If we close that half the right way, we’re potentially going into halftime up one,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. “That was the turning point in the game. For them, the way that they play, once they stretch that lead and get it to nine or 10, now we have to change the way we play.”

USC outscored New Castle 13-6 in the third quarter to pull away. The Red Hurricanes worked the perimeter offensively but shot just 2 of 8 from behind the arc in the quarter and were unable to close the gap.

“We carried that momentum into the locker room and brought it back out with us,” Upper St. Clair’s Tyler Robbins said. “They’re typically a good third quarter team. … We just played well in the third quarter.”

For New Castle, Ralphie Blundo scored 13 points, and Damian Harrison had 11. The Red Hurricanes were in foul trouble for most of the physical game. Qualin Davis, Kyrell Harris and Blundo fouled out.

New Castle also advances to the PIAA tournament and will host District 3 seventh-place finisher Cumberland Valley (21-5) on March 8.

“My job is to get my guys together,” Ralphie Blundo said, “and keep it going as long as we can.”

Upper St. Clair will host District 3 eighth-place finisher William Penn (19-8) in the PIAA tournament first round March 8.

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: New Castle, Upper St. Clair