Trib HSSN boys basketball team of the week for March 16, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, March 16, 2025 | 7:44 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Trib HSSN boys basketball teams of the week – Upper St. Clair Panthers

Coaches – Danny Holzer (30th season)

Records – 13-1 and champions in Section 2-6A, 26-2 overall

#Earned – A year ago, Upper St. Clair followed up a WPIAL championship with a narrow win at home over Central Dauphin in the first round by four points and a victory over District 6 champion State College in the second round by 20 points. However, the Panthers’ season ended with a quarterfinal loss to Central York, 71-60. Well, this Panthers team can say it improved from a year ago thanks to success this past week. USC hasn’t just won in the playoffs, the Panthers dominated their way to district gold with wins by 22, 20 and 22 points, then they blew out York William Penn in the PIAA first round, 67-30. In the state second round Wednesday, Governor Mifflin tried to hold the ball and slow the game down, but USC was able to get an early lead and cruised to a 50-38 victory over the Mustangs. Up next, a dog fight was expected against District 10 champion McDowell and a dog fight it was. The Panthers uncharacteristically fell behind early and trailed after one quarter, 15-6. However, USC outscored the Trojans in the second quarter by the same point total, 15-6, to tie the game at halftime, 21-21. The game remained tied at the end of regulation at 47. Only six points were scored in the first overtime, but the last two points were scored with authority right before the buzzer and were the difference as Upper St. Clair edged McDowell in a state playoff thriller, 51-49.

Scoring stars – There are many ways the Panthers can beat teams. They can go down with their big guys underneath, with 6-foot-10 Miami (Ohio) commit Tyler Robbins, “little” brother Ryan (6-7) and senior Kaamil Jackson (6-6), or they can hound you with their guard play on both ends of the floor, made up of starters Julian Dahlem, Jake Foster and Nico Gidas, along with bench help from Gianni DiSora and Luke Marchinsky, among others. Against Governor Mifflin, the junior Foster led the way with 22 points while Tyler Robbins added 12 points. In the quarterfinal win over McDowell, the senior Gidas scored 22 and Tyler Robbins had 14. However, the winning bucket was a team effort. Jackson delivered a big block of a layup attempt in a tied game, then Dahlem got the fast-break going as he fed the ball to Tyler Robbins who quickly found DiSora who was trying to get it to Gidas in the corner for a winning 3-pointer, but the pass from DiSora was picked out of the air by a streaking Robbins down the middle of the paint and he slammed home the game-winner for total team basket that moved the Panthers into the PIAA final four.

Last year – The Upper St. Clair boys basketball team won the WPIAL open tournament held in 2021, but because of the covid-19 after-effects, the district championship games were played at high school gyms. USC knocked off Pine-Richland in the 6A finals played at Peters Township. Three years later, the Panthers got the chance to dance at the Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. Following a second-place finish in Section 2-6A, Upper St. Clair defeated Butler (78-71), Central Catholic (61-46) and Baldwin (64-41) to win district gold for the fourth time. It added a fifth crown this spring. After going 2-1 in the state playoffs, USC finished with a record of 22-6.

Remember when – What a special year this has been for longtime Upper St. Clair boys basketball coach Danny Holzer, who added USC athletic director to his title a few years back. Winding down his 30th season as Panthers head coach, Holzer joined an elite group of WPIAL boys basketball coaches by winning his 500th career game earlier this season in a victory over Norwin. He has since added 22 more wins to his resume. In winning his and the program’s fifth WPIAL boys hoops title, USC also became the first school to win back-to-back Class 6A championships. The Panthers’ first district title came in Holzer’s first season as bench boss in 1996 when they knocked off Franklin Regional, 60-53. Now the team is two wins away from capturing a first PIAA boys basketball championship.

2025 Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Teams of the Week

Week 10 – Latrobe Wildcats

Week 9 – Belle Vernon Leopards

Week 8 – Union Scotties

Week 7 – Knoch Knights

Week 6 – Woodland Hills Wolverines

Week 5 – Jeannette Jayhawks

Week 4 – Baldwin Highlanders

Week 3 – Elizabeth Forward Warriors

Week 2 – New Castle Red Hurricanes

Week 1 – Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles

Tags: Upper St. Clair