Tyler Robbins, Upper St. Clair fight off McDowell in overtime, move on to PIAA semifinals

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, March 15, 2025 | 5:25 PM

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Nothing came easy for Upper St. Clair or senior Tyler Robbins, who was roughed up by McDowell’s defense for four quarters and nearly all of overtime.

One dunk relieved all their frustration.

Tied in the final seconds of overtime, Kaamil Jackson blocked a shot at one end of the court, Robbins finished a fast break with a dunk at the other and Upper St. Clair celebrated a 51-49 victory over Erie McDowell in a PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal Saturday at Slippery Rock.

McDowell had 1.2 seconds to answer, but a shot from beyond half court missed.

USC coach Danny Holzer called it the perfect ending for his team, even if the game-winning pass to Robbins wasn’t actually intended for the 6-foot-10 forward but rather a teammate.

“It was so apropos that we ended the game with a Tyler Robbins dunk,” Holzer said. “I feel like he got beat up the entire game. It was a physical, physical battle … and Tyler kept fighting and fighting and fighting.

”To get an easy dunk at the end like that, he deserved it.”

Robbins finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. He scored all four of Upper St. Clair’s overtime points.

“It was definitely frustrating,” said Robbins, admitting that he might’ve lost his cool a couple of times. “I was struggling offensively the whole game, getting beat up. But we won, so that’s all that matters.”

Niko Gidas scored a team-high 17 points with five 3-pointers.

Upper St. Clair (26-2) advances to face Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic in a PIAA semifinal March 22 at a site and time to be announced. Roman Catholic (24-5), the third-place team from District 12, defeated Coatesville, 52-42, on Saturday.

McDowell (23-5) was the District 10 champion.

Here’s a full look at Upper St. Clair’s game-winning play. Kaamil Jackson makes the block. Julian Dahlem gets the rebound. Gianni Disora makes the assist. Tyler Robbins delivers the last-second dunk for a 51-49 win pic.twitter.com/DrsRrOZ95c

— Chris Harlan (@CHarlan_Trib) March 15, 2025

This is Upper St. Clair’s second trip to the state semifinals, joining a 2021 appearance. The Panthers lost in the quarterfinals last season.

“We needed to clear this hurdle,” Holzer said. “This team had so much desire to do that. Today’s effort, under the circumstance, was amazing.”

Blayze Myers led McDowell with 17 points and Stephon Porter had 11. The Trojans had nobody taller than 6-3 on their roster, so they tried to match USC’s size with strength.

The teams combined for only six points in overtime.

“District 10 basketball is gritty and defensive,” McDowell coach Kevin O’Conner said. “Our guys emptied the tank today. I want tip my cap to the officials. They let us play basketball. I know both sides were a little, whatever, but you’ve got to credit the officials.”

Upper St. Clair had a chance to win in regulation but a rushed buzzer-beater by Jake Foster missed in the fourth quarter left the score tied at 47.

The teams traded baskets to start overtime.

Robbins scored on a putback with 2:20 remaining, and McDowell’s Porter answered with a tying layup with 1:04 left. The teams went 3 for 11 shooting in OT. Tied 49-49 with less than 30 seconds remaining in overtime, McDowell decided to hold for the last shot.

With about 12 seconds left, Porter drove into the lane and passed to Myers, who was cutting toward the basket. Jackson blocked Myers’ layup, and USC’s Julian Dahlem got the rebound.

Dahlem passed to Robbins, who passed to Gianni Disora, who passed back to Robbins for the dunk. It was like clockwork, except Disora was trying to pass to Gidas, who was open in the corner.

“I saw Niko Gidas in the corner jumping up and down,” Disora said. “He’s our best shooter, so I know he’s going to knock it down. … T-Rob intercepted it, slammed it down and we won.”

Regardless of intent, the pass was successful.

“KJ made a great play with the block. That was the play of the game,” Robbins said. “Jules gets the rebound. He’s a great rebounder for a guard. He pushes the court, finds me, I find Gi, and Gi finds me. All credit goes to Disora.”

Upper St. Clair had fallen behind early and trailed 15-6 after one quarter. The teams were tied 21-21 at the half after the Panthers won the second quarter 15-6. Three 3-pointers by Gidas in the third let Upper St. Clair enter the fourth with a 38-33 lead.

McDowell slowly closed the gap.

A putback basket by McDowell’s Leo Finazzo forced a 45-45 tie with 2:30 remaining in the fourth. USC’s Ryan Robbins answered with a layup about 20 seconds later to retake the lead. But the last points of regulation belonged to McDowell, a tying layup by Porter with 1:09 left.

Upper St. Clair held the ball for the final 50 seconds of regulation without breaking the tie.

The game was tense throughout, and Holzer drew a second-quarter technical for slapping the scorer’s table. He said it was only the third technical of his career.

“I understand the referee had to do that,” he said. “I get it. But it was a very emotional game.”

Holzer was dancing in the locker room with his players afterward.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “We’re on a two-year run and the kids have been phenomenal. We were ranked No. 1 in the preseason and here we are going to the semifinals. We haven’t skipped a beat.”

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: Upper St. Clair