Short-handed Upper St. Clair falls in state semifinals to Reading
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Tuesday, March 23, 2021 | 9:08 PM
Upper St. Clair’s Ethan Dahlem works against Reading’s Lonnie Walker IV during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair’s David Pantelis scores past Reading’s Lonnie Walker IV during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair’s Luke Gensler drives to the basket against Reading’s Khary Mauras during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair’s Luke Banbury shoots over Reading’s Julius Young-Trapp (2) and Jesse Justice during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair’s Ethan Dahlem and Luke Gensler walk from the court after their PIAA Class 6A semifinal against Reading on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair head coach Danny Holzer watches his short-handed team during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal against Reading on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair’s Luke Banbury blocks a shot by Reading’s Gilberto Benz during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair’s Luke Banbury is pressured by Reading’s Jesse Justice during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair’s Porter Rauch scores past Reading’s Julius Young-Trapp during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair’s Devin Hall is pressured by Reading defenders during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair’s Ethan Dahlem drives past Reading’s Jesse Justice during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
Upper St. Clair head coach Danny Holzer talks with his short-handed team during a timeout in their PIAA Class 6A semifinal against Reading on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at Altoona Area High School.
ALTOONA — There was no short-handed win for Upper St. Clair this time, no sequel to the team’s six-man celebration from a few days ago.
But there was no quit either.
Upper St. Clair used seven players Tuesday night — one more than last game — and welcomed back coach Danny Holzer, but the Panthers fell behind early and couldn’t keep pace in a 68-46 loss to District 3 champion Reading in the PIAA Class 6A boys basketball semifinals.
Short-handed. Injured. No practice.
Eventually, that combination caught up with WPIAL champion Upper St. Clair (21-2).
“It definitely got to us here,” said senior Luke Gensler, who played with stitches in his upper lip and a brace on his hurt ankle. “I think if we had a couple of more days to prepare and a couple of more days off, we would get this team. I think if we play them again, we get them.”
That confidence carried them to the state semifinals, but on this night, Reading was just too dominant.
Facing both size and speed, Holzer called the Red Knights the best team they’d played all season.
“If circumstances were normal, I think we would have battled them,” Holzer said. “With our circumstances, it was a major, major uphill climb. But, man, did we fight.”
USC trailed 15-8 after one quarter, 39-25 at half and 54-36 after three. The Panthers tried to keep up with Reading’s hurried pace, but committed 22 turnovers and made only 19 of 47 shots.
Daniel Alcantara led Reading (26-2) with 27 points, and Ruben Rodriguez had 18.
“They were quick,” Gensler said. “We definitely didn’t have the depth to run with them and do our normal stuff.”
Reading advanced to face Archbishop Wood on Saturday night for the state championship at Giant Center in Hershey.
Upper St. Clair was trying to reach the finals for the first time in team history. Instead, they’ll settle for being the best team from Western Pennsylvania.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the way we played tonight. We played with steel,” Holzer said. “We couldn’t play the way we wanted to play. The court was huge. Luke Gensler could barely walk. At the beginning of the game, David Pantelis hurt his ankle and was gutting it out. And Luke Banbury … hasn’t practiced for 10 days and he showed up to play this game. And Ethan Dahlem was a little banged up too.
“But I was going with them,” Holzer added. “We were fighting to the end with those guys.”
The team welcomed back Banbury, one of the players who missed the quarterfinal win. His return meant the Panthers had four of their five usual starters. But besides Banbury, USC rolled with the same six players as last week.
“We battled really well from the beginning of the year right to the end,” Banbury said, “right until this game and the circumstances we were given.”
Banbury had 10 points and Pantelis scored a team-high 17 with three 3-pointers.
The Panthers went 3 for 12 shooting in the first quarter, and missed a number of first-half finishes around the rim. The officials didn’t call many fouls in the paint, allowing the teams to play a physical style. Combined, the teams attempted only 14 free throws with five by USC.
“I definitely felt like they were letting a lot go,” Banbury said. “But at the same time, they’re also letting some stuff go on our side too. You’ve just got to live with it.”
Upper St. Clair’s season was sidetracked three days after the WPIAL finals when someone on the team tested positive for covid-19. The school then required team-wide testing, leaving a number of athletes and coaches unavailable.
The team practiced only once since winning the WPIAL championship.
“We’ve played two state playoff games, and we’ve had one shoot around with six guys,” Gensler said. “It’s definitely hard. I’m proud of everyone on the team for hanging in there, and everyone at home, I’m really proud of them for sticking it out.”
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
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