Trib HSSN boys basketball player of the week for Feb. 22, 2026

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, February 22, 2026 | 9:20 PM

Trib HSSN boys basketball player of the week – Evan Moore

School – Deer Lakes

Class – Junior

Height – 6-foot-3

Position – Forward

#Earned – On the heels of back-to-back WPIAL boys basketball championships in 2023 and 2024, some would feel that a fourth-place finish in 2026 would be considered a disappointment.

Deer Lakes would disagree.

Against a tough nonsection schedule and a strong Section 1-4A, in which three of the four teams reached the semifinals, the Lancers held their own to finish the regular season at 10-12.

In a 14-team playoff field in Class 4A, Deer Lakes was the No. 13 seed. Again, that didn’t bother the Lancers one bit.

“We didn’t care where they put us because we knew we could play with anybody in that bracket,” Deer Lakes junior forward Evan Moore said.

Three games later, those words ring true thanks in large part to the play of Moore.

In the first round, Moore scored 22 points as the Lancers hit the road and upset No. 4 Derry, 57-46.

In the quarterfinals, Deer Lakes was matched up with No. 5 Hopewell, a hot team that had won eight of its last nine games.

However, Moore and the Lancers stayed in stunner mode, slicing and dicing the Vikings’ zone defense to win and advance, 71-59.

Moore was sensational, hitting 14 of his 16 shots from the field and finishing with 33 points.

On Saturday, Deer Lakes looked for its biggest surprise as it took aim at top-seeded Quaker Valley.

After falling behind by eight in the opening quarter, the Lancers fought back in the second quarter to take the lead. The game was close throughout before the Quakers held on to win 44-42.

Again, Moore led the Lancers with 15 points.

Having already clinched a PIAA berth, Deer Lakes will take on North Catholic on Wednesday for the No. 3 seed out of the WPIAL.

Moore is two points shy of 500 points scored this season and is in the top 12 in scoring in the WPIAL with an average of 22.6 points per game.

Evan has an older brother, Nate, who was part of the Lancers’ back-to-back title runs. Nate Moore is a redshirt freshman basketball player at Pitt-Johnstown.

Evan Moore is a wide receiver and defensive back for the Deer Lakes football team.

He plans to wait to see what kind of offers he gets before he decides on which sports to play at the next level.

Like most students his age, he enjoys hanging out with his friends and playing video games. They also like to play Texas hold’em.

Moore likes gym class, where he plays goalie during his class’s water polo matches.

2026 Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Players of the Week

Week 5 – Deng Mu, Brentwood

Week 4 – Aaron Webb, Indiana

Week 3 – Liam Sheely, Mt. Lebanon

Week 2 – Nick Trklja, Thomas Jefferson

Week 1 – Nathan Schanbacher, North Hills

Tags: Deer Lakes