Upper St. Clair attacks York William Penn inside and outside in PIAA 1st-round win

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, March 8, 2025 | 5:42 PM

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Against the Upper St. Clair boys basketball team’s offense, opponents are forced to pick their poison.

They can play zone in an effort to shut down the Panthers’ big men inside, or they can go man to man to defend their talented guards.

On Saturday in a PIAA Class 6A first-round playoff game, District 3 York William Penn tried both.

Neither game plan worked as the Panthers stormed out to a big early lead and cruised into Round 2 of the state playoffs with a convincing win over the Bearcats, 67-30.

“To come out and shoot the ball well was really big,” Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer said. “Knock on wood, we’ve been shooting the ball really well the last part of the season. All of those guys are capable and each one of them can shoot it.”

York William Penn came out in a tight 2-1-2 zone to limit USC’s height advantage with 6-foot-10 senior Tyler Robbins underneath the hoop.

However, the Panthers guards said thank you very much and took advantage of the space behind the arc and started drilling 3-pointers.

Four 3s before the midway point of the opening quarter put Upper St. Clair up 12-4.

Junior Jake Foster hit two 3s while seniors Julian Dahlem and Nico Gidas also connected on outside shots.

“That’s what makes us a really special team. We have multiple guys who can shoot it,” Holzer said. “That’s what makes us tough to guard. It really makes it difficult when we have both the inside and outside game going.”

Following a timeout, the Bearcats switched to a man-to-man defense and the Panthers started to get the ball to Robbins, the Miami (Ohio) commit, underneath. The lead for USC by the end of the first quarter was 21-4.

“Our guys hit a lot of 3s and that helps a lot,” Robbins said. “Jake Foster had a good (game) shooting, Nico Gidas shot it well. Hitting those 3s definitely opens things up inside.”

The icing on the cake near the end of the big opening quarter for Upper St. Clair was a sweet alley-oop slam dunk by Tyler Robbins off a lob by Dahlem to cap off a two-on-one break that erupted the big home crowd.

“Julian kind of got loose like he typically does and just threw it up,” Robbins said. “I will usually just point to let him know to throw it up.”

Tyler wasn’t the only one in the Robbins household to enjoy the 37-point mercy rule rout for USC.

“Little” brother Ryan Robbins enjoyed a big game off the bench for the Panthers.

The 6-7 sophomore just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

“We call him the monster because he plays like that,” Holzer said laughing. “For only a sophomore, he’s confident, he’s big, he’s skilled, and he has good feet and hands for his size, and he’s only going to get better. He’s hard to handle.”

While the Upper St. Clair offense seems to be improving each game, the defense has been dominant all season.

The Bearcats were limited to only 10 first-half points and were 3 of 23 for 13% shooting from the field in the first half.

“Everyone knows we have Tyler there, but our perimeter defenders are athletic, they’re tough, and we work hard on our half-court defense,” Holzer said. “It’s a staple for us. We work hard on it, and the kids know how important it is to us.”

Senior Tyson Smith and junior Jalen Swope each had eight points for the Bearcats, who end their season losing their last four games and finishing 19-10.

Twelve USC players contributed to the scoresheet in the state first-round win led by Tyler Robbins with 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Foster added 11 points for the Panthers.

Upper St. Clair improves to 24-2 and will battle Governor Mifflin (20-8), the No. 3 team from District 3, in the PIAA second round Wednesday.

Tags: Upper St. Clair