PIAA boys basketball playoff capsule: Deer Lakes vs. Sharon

By: Doug Gulasy
Friday, March 15, 2019 | 8:00 PM

PIAA basketball playoffs

Saturday’s game

Class 3A

Quarterfinals

Deer Lakes (18-7) vs. Sharon (23-4)

1 p.m. at Slippery Rock

Winner plays: Lincoln Park (24-4) or Richland (22-6) on Tuesday in the semifinals.

Coaches: Terence Parham, Deer Lakes; Zach Sarver, Sharon

How they got here: Deer Lakes: beat District 6 third-place team Forest Hills, 50-46, in the second round Wednesday after beating District 9 champion Brookville, 56-52, in overtime in the first round; Sharon: Beat WPIAL fifth-place team Beaver Falls, 57-52, in the second round after beating WPIAL seventh-place team Washington, 63-49, in the first round.

Players to watch: Jared Colton, Deer Lakes (sr., G); Ethan Porterfield, Sharon (sr., F)

About Deer Lakes: With every PIAA victory, the Lancers make school history. They appeared in the state tournament just once before this season and had no victories. Now they have two in less than a week. Colton scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter to help Deer Lakes rally for the win over Forest Hills. Brad Perrotte, the Lancers’ leading scorer this season, had 16 in the second round. Junior Jack Hollibaugh added 12. The Lancers are 9-2 in games determined by single digits, including both PIAA victories.

About Sharon: The Tigers, who won the District 10 championship, face a WPIAL opponent for the third consecutive game. Sharon made it to the PIAA Class 4A title game last season, falling to Imhotep Charter. The program has a pair of state championships (1930, 1957) and also beat Deer Lakes in the 1985 PIAA postseason — the Lancers’ only other appearance in the state playoffs. The 6-foot-8 Porterfield, an IUP recruit, has more than 1,500 career points, most in school history, and averages more than 20 points per game.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Doug at 412-388-5830, dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Deer Lakes