Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: GCC’s Christian Hyland recalls hectic moments of ’24 playoffs

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 | 11:17 PM

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Christian Hyland did an interview after Monday’s first-round playoff win over Laurel with a special guest in his lap, his pint-sized daughter, Nova.

Well-behaved and quiet, the 11-month-old sat still as her father, the coach of the Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball team, discussed a 67-42 win that moved the top-seeded Centurions (21-2) ahead in the 2A bracket.

They will play No. 8 Union (17-6) at 6 Thursday night in the quarterfinals at Shaler.

This was all new to Nova, Hyland’s pride and joy who was born on the same day — Feb. 27 — as a WPIAL semifinal last year when the Centurions played Northgate at Gateway.

What a day that was nearly one year ago.

Hyland dashed into the gym less than an hour after his wife, Kellie, had Nova — about 18 days earlier than expected. The proud dad left his wife and daughter’s side and raced to Monroeville, arriving shortly after tip-off.

GCC beat Northgate, 60-43, to advance to the finals for the fourth time in school history. It lost to Aliquippa in the title game.

The coach still can’t believe how hectic that day was.

“Oh man … It was just so much to process at the time,” he said. “The main things were obviously her being born and those emotions, and then having to move so quickly to even have a chance to make the game.

“I don’t remember the game much, but just how it felt afterward.”

Hyland remembers it taking a team effort to welcome his first child into the world — and for the Centurions to return to the WPIAL finals.

“Obviously, it was a meaningful game, but I think just how much everyone helped out and cared for us before, during, and after,” he said.

Playing for a cause

Jeannette played with purpose in Monday’s 91-42 win over Brentwood in the WPIAL 2A first round.

Marcie Werner, the district’s school board president, recently was diagnosed with angiosarcoma, a rare form of cancer.

Jeannette coaches, players and fans wore T-shirts that said “Her Fight is Our Fight” to support Werner, who is beginning treatment this week.

The Jayhawks hope to keep winning for Werner.

“We played for her in our hearts,” Jeannette coach and athletic director Adrian Batts said. “We wanted to play with maximum effort. If she’s fighting hard every day for 24 hours, then we can fight for 32 minutes.”

Next round

Penn-Trafford, Latrobe and Southmoreland learned where they will be playing in Friday’s WPIAL quarterfinals.

In 5A, 15th seed Penn-Trafford (14-9) — fresh off its upset of No. 2 Baldwin — will play No. 10 Mars (13-10) at 7 p.m. at Fox Chapel, while No. 9 Latrobe (19-4) takes on No. 1 Montour (22-1) at 8 p.m. at Ringgold.

No. 6 Southmoreland (18-5) will face No. 3 Mohawk (18-5) at 6 p.m. at North Catholic in 3A.

Big scorers

Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette will have to deal with high-scoring players in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.

Third-seeded Jeannette (20-2) plays perennial power Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (18-5) at 6 p.m. at Fox Chapel.

Sophomore 6-3 guard Tiernan McCullough poured in 32 points to pace sixth-seeded OLSH to a 64-37 win over Clairton, which plays in the same section as Jeannette and GCC.

No. 1 GCC (21-2), meantime, will play No. 8 Union (17-6) at 6 p.m. at Shaler.

Union, which has experienced success in Class A in recent years, features smooth left-handed guard Lucas Stanley, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior guard. Stanley scored 36 in Monday’s 70-49 rout of Fort Cherry in the first round.

Stanley, who made 13 of 13 free throws in the win and has more than 1,000 career points, ranks fifth in the WPIAL at 25.2 points per game.

He is the son of Scotties coach Mark Stanley.

Jake Johnson is another quality scorer for OLSH. He averages 16 points.

PIAA playoffs

The WPIAL playoffs also serve as a qualifier for the PIAA tournaments. The state playoffs begin March 7-8.

The number of qualifiers vary by classification. Here is the breakdown: Class 6A – 4; Class 5A – 8; Class 4A – 5; Class 3A – 7; Class 2A – 8; Class A – 4.

The Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette boys have qualified in 2A after first-round wins, while Latrobe and Penn-Trafford clinched spots in 5A.

State playoff seeds will be determined by play-back games, with higher-seeded teams hosting.

One down for ‘Scorp’

Woodland Hills defeated Seneca Valley, 43-32, in the WPIAL 6A quarterfinals on Monday to move into the semifinals.

The win marked the first in the postseason for new coach Steve Scorpion, the former Franklin Regional coach.

The ninth-seeded Wolverines (12-11) have won five straight. They will meet No. 1 Upper St. Clair (20-2) in the semifinals Thursday.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Southmoreland