The second of 834 WPIAL boys basketball section games to be played this season takes place Wednesday between two of the top teams in Class 5A.
It’s an early season battle of unbeatens midweek when Lincoln Park (2-0) visits Moon (3-0) in a Section 4-5A opener.
The Leopards have already matched their win total from a year ago when the program suffered through its worst boys basketball season as the traditional power finished 2-20 overall.
The infusion of the Pratt brothers, senior Josh and sophomore Jeremiah, from Aliquippa this offseason has already helped in the expected turnaround for the program.
Lincoln Park swept the Geneva College/Lincoln Park tipoff tournament with double-digit victories over Knoch and Obama Academy.
The Leopards will be tested in their first road game by a Tigers team that is also benefitting from two brothers transferring in: the senior/junior duo of Jackson and Brody Bauman from Knoch this offseason.
Moon opened the season with a 24-point victory over Class 6A Imani Christian then edged Penn Hills and Central Catholic in Central Catholic’s Jack Twyman tournament.
The two are among a group of only four teams still undefeated in Class 5A, joining Thomas Jefferson (3-0) and Baldwin (1-0).
A year ago, Moon smashed Lincoln Park in both section meetings, winning on the road by 32 points and at home by 30.
Try, try again
Perhaps the third time will be a charm for the first schedule WPIAL girls basketball section game of the season, now set for Wednesday.
Originally scheduled for Dec. 22, the Section 4-5A lid-lifter between host Thomas Jefferson and Uniontown (2-1) was moved to Dec. 2, but snow forced the postponement until a day later, which was subsequently postponed until this Wednesday.
Last season, Uniontown finished tied for sixth place in the seven-team section with Albert Gallatin.
The Red Raiders finished the campaign with only one section victory and an overall record of 5-16.
The team has enjoyed some success thus far this year, following up a narrow loss to Chartiers-Houston with back-to-back wins over Bentworth and Beth-Center. Aierra Jenkins, a transfer from Laurel Highlands, is averaging 23 points per game.
Meanwhile, Thomas Jefferson got off to a 4-0 start this season with dominating victories over Quaker Valley and Knoch in the Montour tipoff tournament, plus double-digit triumphs over Chartiers Valley and Elizabeth Forward.
The Jaguars suffered their first loss, 67-44, at Norwin on Tuesday night.
The Jaguars finished in second place last year behind WPIAL champion Peters Township in the section and 22-6 overall.
TJ lost to Peters Township in both the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA second round.
While the Jaguars are without Robert Morris commit Kaylee D’Angelo, who tore her ACL, they do return leading scorer and Campbell commit Maggie Spell.
In the two games last season between the Jaguars and Red Raiders, Thomas Jefferson won both section contests and outscored Uniontown in the two wins, 138-37.
The game tips off at 6 p.m.
Section mat openers
Section matches begin in six of the nine Class 3A sections and five of the nine sections in Class 2A.
One of the bigger openers set for Wednesday pits Bethel Park (0-1) visiting Peters Township (1-0) in Section 3-3A.
The teams qualified for the district playoffs after they finished first and second in the section last season with the Black Hawks on top with a 4-0 record and the Indians at 3-1.
Bethel Park has won the last two meetings between the South Hills rivals, including a victory over Peters Township last December, 54-18.
One of the nonsection matches on a busy Wednesday of mat action has reigning WPIAL 3A champion Franklin Regional (3-0) hosting Moon (1-0).
The two met in Murrysville in a Class 3A first-round playoff match in January with the Panthers eliminating the Tigers, 54-11.