Westmoreland County high school basketball preview capsules for Feb. 12, 2026

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026 | 11:01 AM

Boys

Class 5A

Preliminary round

Mars (9-13) at Latrobe (9-12)

7 p.m. Thursday

Winner plays: At 2-Thomas Jefferson (20-2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in first round

Players to watch: Austin Wroblewski, Mars; Ian DeCerb, Latrobe

Layup lines: Mars, a returning semifinalist, tied for fourth in Section 4 behind Chartiers Valley, Lincoln Park and Moon. The Fightin’ Planets average 60.9 points and allow 60.4. They already have a victory at Latrobe this season, winning 63-59 on Dec. 9. Wroblewski had a game-high 23 points. Mars, which has lost five in a row, took Lincoln Park to double overtime. … Latrobe, which boasts one of the biggest frontcourts in the WPIAL, made the quarterfinals last year as a No. 9 seed and made the second round of the PIAA tournament. DeCerb and Andy Tatsch are key returnees from that team. At 6-foot-8, forward Rob Young is a force at times. Latrobe has won three of its last four games.

Class 2A

Preliminary round

Greensburg Central Catholic (6-16) at Union (9-13)

7 p.m. Thursday

Winner plays: At 2-Sewickley Academy (21-0) at 7:30 p.m. Monday in first round

Players to watch: Luke Semelka, GCC; Landon Eckert, Union

Layup lines: GCC is in rebuilding mode after graduation and departures of players and coaches set the program up for a hard reset. The Centurions went 26-4 and made the PIAA semifinals before falling to Sewickley Academy last year. Semelka and James Botti are the only returning players with varsity minutes. They have tried to mesh with a young group that includes Tommy Dlugos, a budding freshman. … Union upset then-No. 1 seed GCC in last season’s WPIAL quarters 44-42. The Scotties took fifth in Section 4, which had co-champions in OLSH and Neshannock. They have won four of their last seven games. They beat another Westmoreland County team, Monessen, 67-56. Both teams have new coaches. Darren Berkley replaced longtime Scotties coach Mark Stanley.

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

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Latrobe, Mars, Union