Early-season opponents Highlands, Deer Lakes boys now face same task of toppling No. 1s

By: Jerin Steele
Sunday, February 26, 2023 | 5:13 PM

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Highlands and Deer Lakes met the first weekend of the 2022-23 season, and though the Golden Rams ended up pulling away for an 88-74 victory, the final score wasn’t indicative of how tight the game was.

Both coaches, Highlands’ Corey Dotchin and Deer Lakes’ Albie Fletcher, came away with confidence that their opponent that day would be a threat for a WPIAL title in their respective classification.

A few months later, that’s exactly the situation, and to get to Petersen Events Center each will have to knock off a top seed.

Highlands faces No. 1 Lincoln Park in a Class 4A semifinal at 8 p.m. Monday at Fox Chapel.

The Lancers play top-seeded Steel Valley in a Class 3A semifinal also at 8 p.m. Monday at Bethel Park.

“It’s funny, because I think about that (opening weekend) tournament at Highlands a lot,” Fletcher said. “We started the season off with Shaler, Highlands and then played at Freeport, Yough and Hampton. That was our first five and I believe we were ready for the playoffs before Jan. 1, because of the schedule we played. I told the guys we were battle-tested. It’s cool to see both of us where we are. I know a lot of our guys know those kids and play other sports against each other and with each other on AAU teams.”

The Golden Rams got revenge on Hampton after losing twice in the regular season, with a 58-41 win in the quarterfinals Thursday.

In the semifinals, Highlands will be tasked with trying to slow down Lincoln Park’s dynamic duo of Brandin Cummings and Meleek Thomas. Cummings, a junior, is a Pitt commit, and Thomas is a top-10 nationally ranked sophomore by Rivals.com.

“We’re excited that we’re one of those final four teams that have an opportunity, but we also know we have our hands full with Lincoln Park,” Dotchin said. “They’ve played a tremendous schedule. They’ve played teams from Chicago, New York and Philly, and they have one of the best duos in 4A if not all the WPIAL. … We’re looking at film for areas we can use to our advantage. We’ll be ready come Monday.”

The Golden Rams will rely on their experience and depth as they try to pull the upset.

“I think our six-man rotation is just as good as anybody in all the WPIAL,” Dotchin said. “When those six guys are playing together and having each other’s backs, the sky’s the limit for us. We have height, inside scoring, outside scoring, athleticism, speed, experience, good guard play, and we’re physical inside. It’s been our message to the guys since Day One that if we can play together and have the mindset of ‘we over me’ then we’ll be successful. It’ll take a total team effort to take down the No. 1 team.”

The one advantage Deer Lakes has on Highlands when it comes to their semifinal matchup is that they already have played Steel Valley this season. The Lancers hosted the Ironmen during their holiday tournament in December and led by four late, but Steel Valley rallied for a 62-61 win.

They got a good look at Steel Valley standout Makhai Valentine, who finished with 27 points.

Valentine sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift the Ironmen to a 56-54 win over Seton LaSalle Thursday in the quarterfinals.

“He’s an outstanding athlete, and I’m kind of shocked he didn’t get more attention in the recruiting circuit,” Fletcher said. “His attention to elevate on both ends of the floor and his jump shot are amazing. He’s one of the few players I’ve coached against that you can have perfectly guarded, and he elevates over the top for his jump shot.

“If you keep a kid like that in the 30s I think you’ve done a pretty good job. Not only is he a great player, but he’s a really good kid, and I’m happy for all the success he’s had. If you’re going to win (WPIAL’s), you have to beat the best, and I haven’t seen a better one live this year than him.”

Deer Lakes has had two convincing wins in the playoffs, most recently 59-45 over Mohawk in the quarterfinals. The Lancers won the WPIAL Class 2A title in boys soccer, beating Beaver 1-0 in overtime, and there’s some crossover between the soccer and basketball rosters. A win Monday would get them one step closer to two championships in one school year.

“That would be fantastic for our kids,” Fletcher said. “What a legacy they would leave behind if they did that. That would be really cool if they can pull that off.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Deer Lakes, Highlands