Upper St. Clair plants flag on Mount Robbins in PIAA 1st-round win over Cedar Crest

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, March 7, 2026 | 6:37 PM

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Nobody wanted to use the “H” word afterward, but for two quarters of the PIAA Class 6A first-round playoff game between District 7 champion Upper St. Clair and the No. 8 seed out of District 3, Cedar Crest, the WPIAL championship game hangover was legit.

The three-time district champions pounded the ball inside in the second half, and they were rewarded handsomely.

Junior forward Ryan Robbins led the way with 24 points as host Upper St. Clair defeated a scrappy Cedar Crest team Saturday afternoon, 66-52.

“I give Cedar Crest a lot of credit; they came out ready to play,” Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer said. “They were physical, and they did some good things on offense and defense.

“I think we were a little tight at the beginning of the game, and that helped them, but the whole first half was a dogfight. They really made it tough on us.”

Both teams came out aggressive in the half-court defense, forcing turnovers and bad shots.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well,” Holzer said. “So we’ll get some shooting in before Wednesday, for sure.”

Officials let both teams play in the opening quarter, which ended with six total fouls, a combined two free throws attempted and USC leading, 13-12.

Sophomore guard Jemar Pauleus led the Colonials in scoring this season, averaging 17 points per game, but the Panthers defense shut him down, holding him to four free throws in the second quarter.

However, Cedar Crest sophomore Jackson Smith was the shining light in the first half with 12 points on four 3-pointers.

Upper St. Clair scored 14 points in the second half, 12 of them coming from Robbins with four field goals and 4-for-4 shooting from the free-throw line.

“We made a major effort to get the ball to Mount Robbins as much as possible,” Holzer said. “We ran a couple of our power sets to make sure we got it to him for those touches because they had no answers for him. I knew they would wear out and as the game went on, their forwards were worn out.”

While Robbins was doing his thing, there was very little offense coming from the rest of the Panthers.

“I think they came out really ready and played really hard with a lot of energy,” Robbins said. “They were playing well in the first half and we had a slow start. But once we came out in the second half, we got to our game.”

The 6-foot-7 Robbins continued to dominate on the offensive side for USC, scoring nine of his team’s 17 points in the third quarter.

“He’s just an amazing player,” Holzer said of Robbins. “We’re so happy he’s on our team. He just keeps battling because the guy gets hit and fouled almost every play. He got better as the game wore on, too. In the second half, he was unstoppable.”

Meanwhile, shots that were falling in the first half were bouncing out in the second half for Cedar Crest, as it was held to seven points in the third quarter, which ended with USC leading, 44-34.

“In the second half, you could see they were gassed and their shots started coming up short,” Holzer said.

The Panthers’ two seniors helped seal the deal on the first-round win in the fourth quarter as Jake Foster and Luke Marchinsky combined to score 15 of the final 22 USC points.

“Jake wasn’t shooting the ball well, but he was able to make plays,” Holzer said. “We needed him to score in the second half and he did, and Luke has been solid all year. He got in foul trouble in the first half, but in the second half, they both got going. ”

Cedar Crest ends its season with a record of 14-13.

A couple of underclassmen led the Colonials. Pauleus scored 14 points and Smith added 13.

Upper St. Clair improves to 25-1 thanks to the big three of Robbins, Foster scoring 16 and Marchinsky adding 11 points.

The Panthers move on to Round 2 of the PIAA playoffs Wednesday to face the No. 3 seed out of District 3 in Red Lion, which eliminated Seneca Valley on Saturday.

“They can really shoot the ball from 3,” Holzer said of his next opponent. “We will have to do a good job defending the 3-point line. They don’t have a lot of size, so we will have to go inside out with Mount Robbins.”

Tags: Upper St. Clair