Shaler boys take over 4th quarter, pull away vs. Franklin Regional in WPIAL 5A 1st round

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 | 10:36 PM

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Franklin Regional led the entire third quarter and was primed to close out Shaler with a strong fourth.

But when the final quarter started, the Panthers quickly realized the Titans wanted to win, too.

Ninth-seeded Shaler roared back and flattened the No. 8 Panthers in the final eight minutes, scoring 24 points to their five on the way to a 65-50 victory in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball playoffs Tuesday night in Murrysville.

A back-and-forth playoff opener made a sharp turn and suddenly became one-sided as the Titans took control.

“You can’t score five points in the fourth quarter and expect to win,” Franklin Regional coach Jesse Reed said. “Shaler’s defense was really good in the second half. We had seven turnovers in the fourth and couldn’t get stops. It’s hard to explain what happened.”

Senior guard Jordan Epps scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth for Shaler (14-9), which advances to play No. 1 Chartiers Valley (20-2) in Friday’s quarterfinals.

The Titans missed the playoffs last year after reaching the WPIAL semifinals and playing Franklin Regional two years ago.

Franklin Regional’s season is finished at 13-9.

“A bunch of the seniors got together and said, this is win or go home,” said Epps, the son of former Hempfield girls coach Aaron Epps. “We knew we had to go out and get it done.”

Down 45-41, Shaler opened the fourth with a 12-2 run to set the tone for its decisive finish.

Epps’ layup put the Titans ahead 49-47, their first lead since 26-25 at halftime. Senior Deron Nixon scored off a steal, and, after a basket by Panthers sophomore Oliver Leven, senior Zac London finished off a feed from sophomore Trey Kostorick and it was 57-49 with 2:25 to play.

The Titans made 8 of 9 free throws the rest of the way and finished 12 of 13 in the fourth quarter.

Franklin Regional had two field goals in the fourth.

A sticky 3-2 zone in the first half by Shaler gave way to pressing man-to-man defense after halftime.

“Our defense was better in the second half,” said Shaler second-year coach Brandon Sensor, who earned his first playoff win leading the Titans. “We were helping more, and Jordan turned it up. We executed at both ends. It was like a roller coaster for awhile.”

Kostorick finished with 18 points, 11 in the first half, and Nixon had 14.

Epps made 8 of 10 free throws.

“It was by committee for them,” Reed said. “Epps turned us over and got into transition.”

Junior Webber Rankin led Franklin Regional with 23 points — all 10 of his team’s points in the first quarter — and sophomore Alec Masten had 11.

Shaler led 14-10 after the first quarter and held the lead for the entire second quarter, going ahead 24-16 on a short jumper by senior Brayden Page.

The Panthers ended the half with an 11-2 run to get within one at the break.

In the third, junior Anthony Mitchell hit two 3-pointers, the second to give the Panthers a 35-32 edge.

Kostorick’s 3 tied it 37-37 before Rankin’s three-point play and a 3 from Masten made it 43-39.

Masten’s floater in the lane had Franklin Regional looking at a 45-41 lead after three.

Mitchell finished with nine points. The Panthers made six 3s.

Franklin Regional beat Shaler twice in the postseason two years ago — the WPIAL semifinals and the PIAA quarterfinals — so the Titans gained a measure of revenge.

“I was a sophomore on that team, but that still gave us more motivation,” Epps said.

The Titans held Franklin Regional junior Logan Walter to three points.

“We knew (No.) 11 was their guy,” Sensor said. “We did a good job on him.”

Sensor will get to coach against his former players at Chartiers Valley. He went 88-46 in six seasons coaching the Colts, reaching the WPIAL 5A finals in 2021.

He also coached Cape Coral (Fla.) for three years.

“I coached the seniors there now when they were sophomores,” Sensor said. “I love those kids. It should be fun.”

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Shaler