Ryan Robbins may be known around Upper St. Clair as Tyler’s little brother, but there was nothing small about the 6-foot-7 sophomore’s game on Friday night.
Upper St. Clair was off to a slow start until Robbins scored a season-high 22 points off the bench. With him and his 6-10 brother on the court together, the top-ranked Panthers capitalized on their height advantage to defeat No. 3 Central Catholic, 57-43, at Alumni Hall in Oakland.
Upper St. Clair was held scoreless until midway through the first quarter, when Robbins entered and made three straight baskets in a 63-second span.
“They don’t have enough people to guard both of us,” Ryan Robbins said. “If they’re guarding one of us heavily, they can’t guard the other.”
Central Catholic’s defensive focus was clearly on slowing down his Miami (Ohio)-bound older brother, who was held scoreless in the first half. Yet Ryan Robbins scored 16 points before the break, and USC overcame its sluggish start to lead 23-20 at halftime.
Ryan Robbins is a capable contributor off the bench, but this time he carried the offense.
“I don’t know how we were up three at halftime,” Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer said. “We had 12 turnovers in the first half. We weren’t playing well. Tyler didn’t score a point. The reason was Ryan Robbins.”
In all, Ryan Robbins made 10 of his 12 shots, most from within a few feet of the rim. He scored back-to-back baskets in the paint midway into the second quarter to flip a two-point deficit into a 21-19 lead that USC never lost.
At times, Tyler Robbins became the WPIAL’s tallest point guard, tossing lob passes to his brother. Tyler Robbins took only three shots in the first half, leaving room for Ryan.
“We put a lot of focus on having weak-side help and really hammering Tyler off the block or whenever he would receive (the ball),” Central Catholic coach Brian Urso said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have the same type of plan for his younger brother.”
Niko Gidas added 10 points for Upper St. Clair (15-1, 8-0), which remained alone atop the Section 2-6A standings. Tyler Robbins had eight points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Jake Foster also scored eight points.
Calvin Vento had 12 points for Central Catholic (9-5, 6-2).
Upper St. Clair earlier won, 46-31, on Dec. 13 and swept the section series from Central Catholic. The Vikings players and coaches had a long talk in the locker room after this one.
“The message was: We don’t want to feel this way anymore,” Urso said. “We want to make sure we do everything we can to beat that team on a daily basis until we see them again. That’s the goal. … If we can be better and keep fighting, I believe we will see them a third time.”
The first half was close throughout.
The teams combined for only four points in the first four minutes, all scored by Central Catholic. But Upper St. Clair recovered to lead 13-11 after one quarter and 23-20 at half, thanks in large part to Ryan Robbins.
“They had a lot of momentum, and I just wanted to turn it around,” he said.
Upper St. Clair scored the first seven points after halftime to take a 10-point lead early in the third. A 3-pointer by Gidas and consecutive baskets by the Robbins brothers gave the Panthers a 30-20 edge.
Listed at 270 pounds, Ryan Robbins is also a talented offensive lineman for Upper St. Clair’s football team. That sport seems likely in his college future, but he’s much more than a lineman playing basketball.
“For his size, he can guard people,” Holzer said. “He’s so deceiving. He knows how to keep people in front of him. Teams try to go small against us. We’re still able to play man-to-man because Tyler and Ryan are able to.”
Central Catholic trailed 37-28 after three.
The Vikings didn’t shoot well and made only 30% of their attempts (15 of 50) from the field. That included a 6-for-26 night from beyond the arc.
Upper St. Clair scored 11 of the first 16 points in the fourth including a 3-pointer by Gidas to lead 48-33 with 2:52 left.
The Panthers shot 54% overall.
“This is definitely a big win to show we can play on the road,” Ryan Robbins said. “We’ve had a lot of home games and played good teams there. Playing away and winning the same way just proves we’re a very good team.”