Driven by WPIAL finals loss, Aliquippa dominates in PIAA 1st-round win

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, March 8, 2025 | 8:36 PM

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Aliquippa had an entire week to fix what went wrong in the WPIAL finals, which was bad news for Westmont Hilltop.

The same mistakes weren’t made twice.

“We came out today and did all the little things that we didn’t do that made us lose,” said junior Josh Pratt after Aliquippa opened the PIAA Class 3A playoffs Saturday with a 73-40 victory over Westmont Hilltop that ended with the mercy rule.

“We came out and played hard. We pressured the ball well. Last Saturday, we didn’t play that hard. We didn’t trap well.”

This time, Aliquippa’s pressing defense caused tons of trouble. The Quips forced 25 turnovers, including eight in the first quarter alone, letting them run out to an early double-digit lead.

Westmont Hilltop trailed 24-8 after one quarter.

“We preached all week about attacking their traps,” Westmont Hilltop coach Dave Roman said. “We knew they like to trap full court, half court, pretty much everywhere. We wanted to make sure we didn’t give up pick-6s.”

Pratt scored a game-high 23 points on an 11-for-20 shooting day, and Qa’lil Goode added 19 points with a dunk and three 3-pointers. The clock ran steady for the final five minutes under the mercy rule.

Aliquippa (21-5) advances to face District 10 champion Mercer (14-11) in the second round Wednesday at a site and time to be announced. The Quips are trying to win a PIAA Class 3A title after celebrating a 2A championship last year.

Westmont Hilltop (18-7), the third-place team from District 6, surely caught them at a bad time. The Quips were disgruntled over their two-point loss to South Allegheny in the WPIAL finals.

“We don’t want to lose a game,” Pratt said. “We don’t want to have that feeling again. So, we forgot about it and got back to work.”

The Quips scrimmaged Mt. Lebanon, Montour and Northgate since the loss at Petersen Events Center. Against Westmont Hilltop, Aliquippa coach Nick Lackovich said he the team’s energy level was “way up” and they ran the floor much better.

“We really stressed that,” Lackovich said, “because we did a lot of standing around (in the finals). It’s what I call ‘fifth-grade basketball,’ where one kid has the ball and the other four stand around.”

Aliquippa lost 37-35 to South Allegheny despite leading for almost the entire game. The Quips were ahead by four points with less than a minute left yet lost.

“That didn’t sit well,” Lackovich said. “That didn’t sit well in the community. That didn’t sit well everywhere. These guys knew that we had to bounce back.”

Signs hang on the locker room walls inside Aliquippa’s locker room commemorating each of the team’s six PIAA titles. Their 14 WPIAL titles are tied for the most in league history, and the team celebrates each one. But the focus now is on states.

“Absolutely they matter,” Lackovich said of the WPIAL titles. “But at the end of the day … this is what you want. This is what we play for.”

Their defensive pressure kept Westmont Hilltop’s offense uncomfortable, holding the team to quarter scores of 8, 10, 11 and 11 points. The Hilltoppers went 6 for 25 from beyond the 3-point arc and shot 39% overall.

Aliquippa shot 54% from the field.

Westmont Hilltop scored only 10 points over the first 14 minutes. A steal and layup by Pratt gave Aliquippa a 36-10 lead late in the first half.

“I’ve got two guards that are fast and big and long,” Lackovich said. “Most teams haven’t played against guys with the size of Pratt and Goode.”

The two combined for 23 points in the first half, and Aliquippa led 38-18 at the break. The Quips finished the third quarter with consecutive steals, a dunk by Goode and a layup by Pratt to lead by 16 points.

A 3-pointer by Antonio Reddick with 5 minutes left in the fourth pushed the lead past the 30-point threshold needed for the mercy rule. His shot capped an 11-3 run. The Quips led 66-34.

“We knew it was a tall task coming here to Aliquippa with all the tradition,” Roman said. “We’ve played them in the past. They’re a pretty special team. Just athletes at every position and skilled basketball players, too.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Aliquippa