Greensburg Central Catholic, Sewickley Academy finally square off in state semis

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, March 20, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Take this crop of boys basketball teams — Greensburg Central Catholic, Jeannette, Northgate, Sewickley Academy and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart — and line them up.

The five WPIAL teams all made the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals. And most of them have played each other at some point this season, regular season and playoffs included.

Jeannette beat OLSH and Sewickley Academy in the WPIAL playoffs. OLSH played GCC and Sewickley Academy in the postseason, and GCC took on Northgate and Jeannette on its run to the state semifinals. But one matchup in this equation has been missing — until now.

GCC (26-3) will finally run into Sewickley Academy (23-5) when the teams play at noon Saturday in the western final at Peters Township.

“The top two seeds in the WPIAL (playoffs),” GCC coach Christian Hyland said. “These are the teams the WPIAL expected to play in the finals.

“It will probably take the first two or three minutes to feel out the other team.”

GCC quickly regained its footing after losing to Union in the WPIAL quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed.

Suddenly, the Centurions are a win away from the state finals in Hershey.

“We watched some games on Sewickley Academy back in December,” GCC senior point guard Braden Riley said. “We thought we might run into them at some point. If we play defense like we’ve been playing, we should be all right. If we play like we can, we feel like nobody in 2A can beat us.”

GCC last made the state semis in 2014 when coach Christian Hyland was the senior point guard. The Centurions haven’t been to the finals since 2011 when Hyland was a freshman.

“We want to win it all,” Riley said. “No team’s done it here. We want to be the one. My brother (Scott) played 10 years ago, and I have watched a lot of (GCC) games. This is the most skilled team we’ve had.”

Coming down from the emotional high of playing archrival Jeannette for a third time this season was the first part of preparation for the next round. GCC topped the Jayhawks, 46-35, in the quarterfinals before 1,500-plus at Norwin. More than 2,500 watched an online stream of the game on the Westmoreland Sports Network.

Fans will continue to follow the Centurions on their quest for state gold. Each GCC player was allotted 10 tickets for the semifinal at AHN Arena.

“We’re excited to keep playing,” Hyland said. “This team has been resilient. The seniors want to win because it’s their last ride.”

Sewickley Academy will present a different challenge to the Centurions with its twin towers, the 6-foot-8 tandem of sophomore Adam Ikamba and freshman Mamadou Kane.

Ikamba is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Kane hails from Congo.

That’s not to downplay the guards. Juniors Caiden Battles and Lucas Grimsley run the offense, while 6-2 senior Nolan Donnelly also can score.

GCC essentially plays five guards, even with 6-5 senior Brady O’Rourke on the floor.

Senior 6-4 forward Ty Rozier might be the only true post player.

“We’ll guard the post more,” O’Rourke said. “I normally guard the their team’s big guy. We’re not scared. We’re going to drive right at them and play fast.”

To simulate Ikamba and Kane, Hyland held two broomsticks with tennis balls on the end and had his players drive at him.

Hyland said he was surprised to see Ikamba and Kane playing so far from the basket on film.

“We have to treat them like every other post players,” Rozier said. “We can’t let them get in our heads.”

Rozier was the last one in the weight room after a practice Wednesday.

“We need to muscle them up,” he said.

Sewickley likes to run disciplined sets while attempting to slow teams down. Jeannette beat the Panthers, 45-25, in the WPIAL semifinals while rarely allowing them to run offense.

“They play with great pace and shoot the ball at an extremely high level,” Sewickley Academy coach Mike Iuzzolino said. “We definitely have contrasting styles, so we will see.”

GCC has been sharp defensively, particularly in state wins over Neshannock and Jeannette. Defending and creating offense off the dribble are staples it will need to get past another WPIAL opponent.

Senior Liam Gallagher has shown his shooting touch, while O’Rourke has been effective getting open and junior Samir Crosby and sophomore A.J. Tarpley have had success getting to the rim.

“We have gotten this far because we have stuck to our identity,” Hyland said. “We’ll tinker with some things a little bit to see what is the best plan to succeed.”

Sewickley Academy last made the state finals in 2017 under longtime coach Win Palmer.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Sewickley Academy