Upper St. Clair fends off Seneca Valley comeback bid in Class 6A quarterfinal win

By: Don Rebel
Friday, February 24, 2023 | 11:12 PM

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Upper St. Clair shot lights out in the first half to build up a big lead, and then nearly stopped shooting in the fourth quarter as Seneca Valley rallied.

The Panthers had two defensive stops in the end and held on to edge the Raiders, 45-43, in the WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball quarterfinals Friday night.

No. 2-seeded Upper St. Clair (14-8) advances to the semifinals Tuesday to face No. 3 Central Catholic.

It looked like the Panthers would cruise to the final four when they jumped out to a big lead after the first quarter, 17-4.

There was no sign of rust after a two-week layoff for USC, which hit on 6 of 12 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point land.

“After two weeks of not participating in a competitive game, you just don’t know what to expect,” Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer said. “Our kids were really locked in. We had two good weeks of practices. We were very confident we could shoot the ball, especially here.”

Sophomore Julian Dahlem scored eight of his team-high 14 points in the opening quarter.

Another part of the Panthers’ success in the opening quarter was their defense. Seneca Valley was limited to only four field goal attempts because the Raiders turned the ball over eight times.

“That’s something we did a great job of,” Holzer said. “Julian Dahlem and Nick Sukernek kind of spearheaded that. We call it spying the ball, and they were able to get after their ball handlers and get some steals. We thought we could pressure them and hurt them with our pressure.”

Upper St. Clair increased its lead to 31-14 by halftime.

Not much changed in the third quarter as Upper St. Clair slowed the game down and led by 18 points after three quarters.

However, the game changed drastically in the fourth quarter.

While Upper St. Clair continued to try to play keep away with the basketball instead of looking to score, Seneca Valley ramped up pressure and started forcing the Panthers to turn the ball over.

Meanwhile, the Seneca Valley offense took advantage of its dominance on the glass by turning second and third chances into points.

“We really prepared for (rebounding) the last two weeks since we found out we were going to play Seneca Valley,” Holzer said. “Their size and watching their films, I was like, ‘My gosh, how are we going to get a rebound?’ We made our focal point Luke Lawson.”

Lawson, in his final game in a Raiders uniform, scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the second half.

USC took only six shots in the fourth quarter and didn’t make any of them. All four of its fourth-quarter points came from the free-throw line.

“We’re not trying to hold the ball, per se. We just wanted to get good shots,” Holzer said of his team’s final-quarter malaise. “Our kids got a little tentative and maybe I need to do a better job with the message. We wanted to be patient, but we got real passive.

“We found a way to hold on and win.”

Seneca Valley lost its final three games of the season and finished 9-13.

Upper St. Clair won the Section 2-6A title and is one win away from playing for a second district championship in three years.

Holzer said he likes his team and how it’s playing as February gets ready to become March.

“When we won the WPIAL championship, the seniors were sophomores and they were a part of it,” he said. “There might not have been a lot of game experience, but they experienced what it takes.”

Tags: Seneca Valley, Upper St. Clair