Latrobe boys use size to claw past Franklin Regional in must-win game

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, January 30, 2026 | 10:56 PM

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Latrobe had a contest at halftime called “Can the Cats” where children tried to throw small, rubber cats into a trash can.

When the second half got underway, Latrobe’s boys basketball team canned Franklin Regional.

Latrobe looked like a team playing with desperation, using a dogged defensive effort and its patented size to pull past visiting Franklin Regional, 58-43, in a Section 1-5A game Friday night.

Latrobe (7-11, 5-7), in must-win mode to make a run at a WPIAL playoff spot, outscored Franklin Regional (11-7, 7-5) by 29-12 in the second half, limiting the Panthers to four field goals after the break.

“It’s do or die, that’s how we looked at it,” said Latrobe’s Ian DeCerb, who scored 12 points. “Our ball pressure fueled us. We didn’t make it easy for them to get shots and played with physicality.”

It was a case of Latrobe’s scoring runs blanketing the Panthers’ uncharacteristic droughts. And more point-preventing frontcourt size taking the upper hand.

Rob Young, the Wildcats’ 6-foot-7 center who was dominant in a 63-55 win at Franklin Regional earlier in the season (16 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks), finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Sawyer Butina added a quiet 10 for the Wildcats, who had lost three of four coming in and likely will need to win its last two section games to have a chance at the postseason.

They are in fifth place in a section that suddenly looks pretty muddy in the middle.

“We’ve had some heartbreaking circumstances this season, and we joke that we invented ways to lose,” Latrobe 24th-year coach Brad Wetzel said. “Now, destiny is in our hands.”

Wetzel was eager to see how his team would respond after a deflating and controversial 45-43 loss to Penn-Trafford at the buzzer Wednesday.

“They came out on the other side with resiliency,” Wetzel said. “They showed up Thursday ready to go. We started out a little sluggish tonight, but about the middle of the second quarter they started finding themselves. It’s almost liberating for them. They just wanted to come out and play well together.”

Franklin Regional coach Jesse Reed also was intrigued — along with perplexed — to see how his team would handle a 51-36 loss to Laurel Highlands.

“They reacted well, and we didn’t,” Reed said of the teams’ scenarios. “We’re not playing up to our potential. We’re not competing at a level where need to compete. I don’t know what is going on. I wish I had the answers.”

Franklin Regional fell into third place and still has work to do to secure one of the top four spots in the section.

The Panthers looked primed to avoid a sweep against the Wildcats, running out to a 27-17 lead early in the second quarter on the strength of six 3-pointers and a hot first quarter by Webber Rankin (eight points).

But Latrobe went on a 10-0 run to tie it at 27-27 before the Panthers pulled into halftime leading by 31-29.

Colin Holt scored to put the Panthers in front 35-32 early in the third. But Latrobe answered with a 12-0 run and took a 47-38 lead to the fourth.

Alex Amond made a layup off a bounce pass from Young, Butina drove in for two and Young made back-to-back putbacks.

Oliver Leven’s 3 to open the fourth cut the Wildcats’ advantage to 47-41, but Latrobe scored the next 11 points to finish the job.

Butina touched off to Young for a hammering slam dunk to make it 53-41. Amond then fed DeCerb for an easy layup.

“We had five guys laser-focused,” Wetzel said. “We got to our traps and pressures. We can’t press like we used to. We have been waiting for that breakthrough moment. I wanted them to stay on the gas.”

Rankin battled foul trouble and a tough night at the foul line — 1 for 8 — and finished with 13 points.

Holt added 12. Neither player scored in the fourth.

Daniel Mosiello finished with nine on three 3s.

Dom Scarton had eight points for Latrobe, and Amond had seven.

Latrobe made 13 of 20 free throws.

The Wildcats will play Bishop Guilfoyle at 7:30 p.m. Saturday across the highway at the Shootout at Saint Vincent.

The event features nine games over two days.

Franklin Regional plays North Allegheny in the same event at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Latrobe