South Allegheny stuns 2-time defending champion Aliquippa to win 1st WPIAL title

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, March 1, 2025 | 2:26 PM

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Josh Jackowski wanted to roll the dice. The rest of the South Allegheny boys basketball team came to a similar conclusion.

When the Gladiators pressed, they were able to force a bad pass from Aliquippa’s Marques Council. Jackowski picked up the loose ball and scored on a layup with 29 seconds remaining to propel South Allegheny to a 37-35 win in the WPIAL Class 2A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.

It was the first district title in the history of the school, which was formed in 1966.

“The first thing out of the timeout, the coaches were like, ‘What do we want to do?’” Jackowski said. “Gamble or foul? We wanted to gamble. I saw my teammates go trap in the corner. I sagged off a little bit and waited for him to make a mistake.”

Jackowski’s on-the-spot moment helped complete a stunning comeback in the final minute. Aliquippa, the two-time defending WPIAL champions, led 35-31 when Qa’lil Goode made a layup with 43 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, Drew Cook was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and made all of his free throws to cut the lead to one. South Allegheny coach Anthony DiCenzo said the Gladiators were in a good position to take a risk.

“I believe at that time we still had a foul to give, so we knew we could be a little bit aggressive in attempting to steal the ball,” DiCenzo said.

The Quips had the ball with 9 seconds remaining and a chance to win the game. However, Josh Pratt was stripped of the ball and it went out of bounds as the clock expired.

Aliquippa (20-5) was successful with most of its gameplan. The Quips held South Allegheny, which averages 66.7 points per game, well below its scoring average. The Gladiators only shot 13.3% (2 of 15) from the 3-point line.

Aliquippa held Cook to 10 points. The Quips couldn’t find the knockout punch on offense. Aliquippa only made one 3-pointer.

“We had the game and we let it go,” Lackovich said. “If you would have told me coming in that we held Cook to however many points he had, I would have taken that all day long.”

South Allegheny guard Cameron Epps said he knew if shots weren’t dropping, he would have to turn the pressure up defensively. Epps scored a team-high 11 points, but was 1 of 9 from the 3-point line and 5 of 15 from the field.

South Allegheny (23-3) missed its first six 3-point attempts. Aliquippa ended up taking a 21-18 lead into halftime. The Quips were in the lead for more than 27 minutes of the game.

“Coming out of halftime, (coach) pulled me over to the side and told me I still needed to be locked in on the defensive end,” Epps said. “If my shot’s not falling, I have a tendency to be a little lackadaisical.”

Pratt led Aliquippa with 18 points. No other Quip scored in double figures.

South Allegheny didn’t let its early disappointments prevent them from rallying in the second half. Jackowski’s gamble came up big.

That allowed the Gladiators an opportunity to win their first title.

“I’ve blessed the past six or seven years with unbelievable talent,” DiCenzo said. “Even in those early years, I knew the plan was appropriate. I knew we had to wait until we got these guys and it all came to fruition. It’s surreal right now.”

Tags: Aliquippa, South Allegheny