High school boys basketball team of the week for Jan. 27, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Monday, January 27, 2025 | 11:08 PM

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Trib HSSN boys basketball team of the week – Baldwin Highlanders

Coach: Jeff Ackermann (fifth season at Baldwin, 25th overall season as head coach)

Record: 7-1 in Section 3-5A, 16-1 overall

#Earned: The move down in class from 6A to 5A has been near perfect for the 2024 district runner-up Highlanders. Baldwin began the season with a nine-game winning streak and after falling to section foe South Fayette in their first game of the new year, the Highlanders have won seven straight, including going 3-0 this past week. Last week began with a Section 3-5A showdown at home against Peters Township. Following a back-and-forth first half, the Highlanders trailed the Indians by five points after three quarters before outscoring host PT in the fourth 15-6 to secure their spot along with South Fayette atop the section, 61-57. Any thought of an upset by host Trinity on Friday disappeared quickly when the Highlanders came out flying and led 31-12 after one quarter on their way to a convincing win over the Hillers, 88-58. Less than 24 hours later as part of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame Classic, Baldwin won a double overtime thriller over host North Hills, 61-58.

Scoring stars: Baldwin was led in two of its three wins this past week by senior guard and leading scorer Nate Wesling, who is averaging over 20 points per game and just eclipsed the 1,000-point career scoring milestone over the holidays. Wesling scored a total of 62 points with 20 points on Tuesday, 26 more on Friday and 16 points on Saturday. The Highlanders flexed their balanced attack with five players scoring double-digit points in the three wins. Junior guard Max Marzina scored 41 points for the week with 16, 15 and 10, sophomore guard Evan Golvash scored 11 against Peters Township and 19 against Trinity, and senior guard Caden Cherico had a game-high 22 points in the win over North Hills while senior forward Matt Schenk had 10 points in the Tuesday triumph over the Indians.

Last year: In his third year as Baldwin coach in 2023, Jeff Ackermann and the Highlanders enjoyed a winning season, but the campaign was soured with three straight losses to end the regular season and a one-and-done loss in the 6A playoffs to Central Catholic. That taste of success drove Baldwin last season to a third-place finish in Section 2-6A, one game behind Upper St. Clair and two behind section winner Mt. Lebanon. In the postseason, purple power started taking over. In the quarterfinals, Baldwin defeated visiting North Allegheny for the program’s first playoff win in 21 years, 55-49. That set up a semifinal against a Mt. Lebanon team that beat Baldwin twice in the regular season. Before a raucous crowd at Bethel Park, the Highlanders stunned the Blue Devils in a thriller, 54-52. Midnight struck for Baldwin in the WPIAL 6A finals at the Petersen Events Center in the rubber game of their season series with Upper St. Clair as the Panthers rolled past the Highlanders, 64-41. The memorable season ended after a PIAA first-round loss to McDowell with a final record of 18-8.

Remember when: The run to the 2024 WPIAL boys basketball title game a year ago brought back some memories of a dominant Baldwin team from four decades ago. The 1985 Highlanders were 22-0 in the regular season and continued to flex their muscles in the postseason with a first-round win over Chartiers Valley, 74-47, and a victory over Norwin in the quarterfinals, 57-48. Baldwin cruised in the 4A semifinals by crushing Blackhawk, 70-50, to set up a championship game battle against a Latrobe team that had just eliminated defending champion Farrell in the final four. David Siford led the way with 17 points but it was not enough as the Highlanders were upset by the Wildcats, 67-59.

2025 Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Teams of the Week

Week 3 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors

Week 2 – New Castle Red Hurricanes

Week 1 – Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles

Tags: Baldwin