Defense wins the day for Upper St. Clair in Class 6A semifinal victory over Seneca Valley

By: Josh Rizzo
Monday, February 23, 2026 | 11:10 PM

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The Upper St. Clair boys basketball team punched its ticket back to the WPIAL Class 6A championship game in a way that properly fits the program’s culture.

The Panthers leaned on their defense and held Seneca Valley scoreless for nearly six minutes to open the game during their 42-35 semifinal victory Monday at North Hills Middle School. Upper St. Clair also did it out of necessity.

The Panthers’ offense was poor in the first half, only scoring 15 points. Despite shutting down the Raiders for a long stretch to open the game, USC only led by six points.

“We weren’t making shots,” Panthers coach Danny Holzer said. “We weren’t turning the ball over. We were getting the shots we wanted, but we weren’t making them. As a result, you’re going to stay close. Fortunately, I think we have one of the best defenses in the WPIAL, and that wins the day.”

Top-seeded USC (23-1) will attempt to three-peat as WPIAL champion when it faces off in a matchup with No. 2 New Castle at 9 p.m. Friday at the Petersen Events Center. Panthers 6-foot-7 center Ryan Robbins led the team with 15 points against the Raiders.

He said he is excited to have a heavyweight matchup with New Castle.

“We know we’re going to have to come in and compete,” Robbins said. “They aren’t going to come in soft. They are going to compete too. We’re looking forward to it.”

Seneca Valley (14-10) did everything it could to compete with USC. After the Panthers’ dominant defensive start, the Raiders were able to tie the game with back-to-back 3-pointers.

Jaxon Householder made Seneca Valley’s first basket with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left in the first quarter. Ryan Priester followed with another one to even up the game.

Raiders coach Kevin Trost said he thought Seneca Valley would feel more comfortable as the game wore on. The Raiders aren’t as experienced with playing at this stage of the playoffs.

“I was glad early when we weren’t scoring, they were still able to defend,” Trost said. “They didn’t run away from us. I knew once we settled down, I thought we could battle them. That’s how it came to fruition.”

USC only led by one, 15-14, at the half. The Panthers opened the second half with a key stretch that brought them some separation.

USC went on an 8-0 run in the first two minutes of the second half, capped by a 3-pointer from Jacob Cimarolli that rattled inside the cylinder, popping out briefly before falling back through. Jake Foster, who scored 12 points, also made a 3-pointer and Robbins made a layup to stretch the lead to 23-14.

“They are so good defensively that an 8-0 run is more like a 15-0 run,” Trost said. “We needed to keep it a little more manageable. A team like that can play from ahead late in the game. They can pull the ball out and dictate tempo.”

Owen Congdon led Seneca Valley with 17 points. He made three 3-pointers during the fourth quarter to help the Raiders keep things tight. Seneca Valley got the lead down as few as four points, but couldn’t find a way to trip up USC.

Robbins said he was proud of how the Panthers pulled away in the second half.

“We went into the locker room at halftime knowing that we couldn’t really make a shot,” Robbins said. “Coming in the second half, we came in with confidence and that sparked us.”

Tags: Seneca Valley, Upper St. Clair