South Allegheny sparks another late rally, stuns Aliquippa again in PIAA semifinal

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, March 22, 2025 | 5:17 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

Aliquippa surely felt some déjà vu.

South Allegheny’s Josh Jackowski stole the ball and threw down a tie-breaking dunk with 90 seconds left Saturday as the Gladiators pulled off yet another stunning rally.

Just like in the WPIAL finals, the Quips lost a late lead in the fourth quarter. South Allegheny scored the final five points this time to defeat Aliquippa, 36-31, in a PIAA Class 3A semifinal at Canon-McMillan.

The Gladiators trailed for nearly the entire game.

“It’s a carbon copy of last time,” South Allegheny coach Tony DiCenzo said. “We made big plays down the stretch in important moments and we’re moving on.”

South Allegheny (27-3) advances to the state finals for the first time. The Gladiators play Philadelphia’s West Catholic (13-14) in the PIAA Class 3A championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Giant Center in Hershey.

This Gladiators lineup continues to make history on the heels of winning their first WPIAL title a few weeks ago.

“Coming down to the wire, you have to make those big plays,” said South Allegheny senior Cam Epps, who scored a team-high 16 points with five 3-pointers. “Our coaches say that the last three minutes is what it takes to win the game.”

Jackowski scored 10 points.

Their next opponent, West Catholic, defeated Holy Cross, 58-57, with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the other state semifinal Saturday. The Philadelphia Catholic League team won the 2023 state title over Deer Lakes.

“We’ve committed a lot of firsts for this school district this year,” DiCenzo said. “It’s really special. We’re in the throes of it still. Later on, when it’s over, we’ll reflect back and probably realize how much more special it was. But right now, we’re focused on winning another title.”

Aliquippa (23-6) played Saturday without leading scorer Josh Pratt, who injured an ankle in practice. He was on the bench with crutches and a protective boot on his injured foot.

Qa’lil Goode led the Quips with 12 points.

Pratt’s absence was obvious in the fourth quarter when Aliquippa scored only five points.

“You’re taking 25 points out of our lineup right from the start,” Aliquippa coach Nick Lackovich said. “It hurts us more offensively than anything.”

Aliquippa still jumped out to an early lead behind its defense, led 20-15 at halftime and was ahead by nine points late in the third quarter.

But that lead dwindled.

Epps closed the third with consecutive 3-pointers, big shots that helped South Allegheny outscore Aliquippa 19-5 over the game’s final 10 minutes. Epps made another 3 in the fourth. The finish was reminiscent of the WPIAL finals three weeks earlier, when the Gladiators rallied for a 37-35 victory.

Of the two, Lackovich said this loss felt worse.

“We had a bigger lead,” he said. “We waited until the fourth quarter and then got away from what we did for the first three. … We got caught up in taking bad shots. We missed some layups and free throws. The game kind of played out the same way as the first one.”

Jackowski provided the late-game heroics this time. The 6-foot-4 senior forward may be overshadowed by South Allegheny’s “Big Two” of Epps and junior Drew Cook, who each average more than 18 points per game.

“I don’t care as long as we get that gold,” said Jackowski, who hit two of the fourth quarter’s biggest shots.

With 2:45 left, Jackowski made a 3-pointer from the corner that gave South Allegheny a 31-29 lead. It was the Gladiators’ first lead of the game, but it was short-lived. Aliquippa’s Marques Council answered with tying layup five second later.

Tied with 1:30 left, Jackowski struck again.

He stole an Aliquippa pass near the top of the key, raced down court and finished a two-handed dunk for a 33-31 lead that South Allegheny never lost. Aliquippa didn’t score again. Cook made one free throw, and Epps converted a pair with 21 seconds left.

“I was telling him under my breath to just lay it in, but I knew he was going for it,” DiCenzo said. “He made a huge 3 in the corner a couple of possessions before that. For him to run through that pass, tip it to himself and then go dunk on the other end is a pretty emphatic exclamation point.”

Once he made the steal, Jackowski’s mind was set.

“As soon as I got it, I said, ‘I’m wide open. I’m going to go up and get one,’” Jackowski said. “I haven’t dunked since our first state playoff game. I needed one.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Aliquippa, South Allegheny