Westmoreland WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules for Tuesday’s games

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, February 26, 2018 | 6:54 PM

WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules

Boys

Class 5A

No. 3 Franklin Regional (18-4) vs. No. 2 Highlands (18-4)

8 p.m. Tuesday at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of No. 1 Mars (19-4) and No. 5 Trinity (20-4) at 9 p.m. Friday in WPIAL championship at Petersen Events Center.

Coaches: Steve Scorpion, Franklin Regional; Tyler Stoczynski, Highlands.

Players to watch: Mike Bartolacci, 6-4, Sr., G, Franklin Regional; Romello Freeman, 6-1, Sr., F, Highlands.

Layup lines: Franklin Regional advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1997 with a head-turning, 28-26 win over No. 6 Moon in the quarters. The game was not a slow-down meant to bring out the shot-clock proponents. The teams just did not shoot well. Neither made a field goal in the fourth quarter. … The senior-led Panthers won their first section title since 2008. … Franklin Regional made the WPIAL finals in 1996 and '97 but came up empty both times. It defeated Hempfield in the '97 semis. … First-year coach Steve Scorpion, a former standout at Franklin Regional, did not make the playoffs as a player. … This is the rubber match of a sometimes heated Section 3 rivalry. Both meetings were double-digit games. Franklin Regional won 70-46 in Murrysville, and Highlands won 87-68 in Natrona Heights. In the second meeting, the teams exchanged late technicals and the coaches had a charged exchange. … Athletic Highlands, known for often putting on a show with its dunks, dispatched West Allegheny in the quarters, 66-58, after leading by 21 in the third quarter. Johnny Crise had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Shawn Erceg added 15 points and Freeman scored 13. … Highlands made the finals three years ago and lost to Beaver Falls, 56-45. The Golden Rams edged New Castle, 79-76, in the semis that year. … The only other time Franklin Regionl and Highlands met in the playoffs was in 1984. Highlands won that first-round game 52-43.

Class 2A

No. 3 Jeannette (19-3) vs. No. 2 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (21-2)

8 p.m. Tuesday at Peters Township

Winner plays: Winner of No. 5 Chartiers-Houston (19-5) and No. 1 Sewickley Academy (19-5) at 5 p.m. Friday in the championship at Petersen Events Center.

Coaches: Adrian Batts, Jeannette; Mike Gonzalez, OLSH.

Players to watch: Robert Kennedy, 6-0, Sr., G, Jeannette; Donovan Johnson, 6-6, So. G-F, OLSH.

Layup lines: Jeannette returned from a first-round bye to win a thrilling quarterfinal over No. 6 Shenango, 74-69. The Jayhawks, in the semifinals for the third time in four years, led by 18 and had to hold off the long-bombing Wildcats, who made 11 3-pointers. Jeannette, however, made 10. Kennedy had 20 points, junior Anthony Johnson added 19 and Tre Cunningham had 16, including four 3s. … Jeannette lost to Sewickley Academy, 80-51, in last year's quarerfinals. It also lost to the Panthers, 69-68, in the 2015-16 semifinals. … The Jayhawks' last trip to the finals was in 2015 when they lost to Monessen, 73-57. … Johnson averages 21 points (8 rebounds and 6 assists), Cunningham 18 points and Kennedy 13 points. … Junior forward Marcus Barnes won't play for the Jayhawks. He has to sit out after receiving two technical fouls in the previous game. … OLSH, Section 3 co-champion with top-seeded Sewickley Academy, is seeking a return trip to the WPIAL title game. The Chargers lost to Sewickley Academy, 71-60, last year. … OLSH held a five-point lead over Springdale in the quarterfinals Friday before rolling to a 73-46 win. Junior guard Austin Wrigley had 18 points, freshman guard Dante Spadafora added 13, and Johnson and junior Daren DiMichele had 11 apiece. Spadafora is the nephew of former champion boxer Paul Spadafora. Johnson (18 ppg) is the brother of Cam Johnson, the former Pitt swingman who transferred to North Carolina. DiMichele averages 16 points. … OLSH averages a WPIAL-best 77.7 points.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Highlands, Jeannette, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart