Happy New Year from all of us here at the TribLive High School Sports Network!
The year’s first WPIAL basketball section contest takes place Friday with a pair of northern rivals set to ring in 2026.
Pine-Richland visits North Allegheny in a boys basketball Section 1-6A clash that will be a battle between first-year head coaches at 7 p.m.
The Rams are searching for their first section win of the season.
Pine-Richland is coming off a win and is 2-2 in its last four games. However, the Rams are 0-3 in the section and 3-6 in the first season with Steve McNees at the helm.
The results have been better for former Shaler coach Rob Niederberger in his first year leading the Tigers.
NA is 6-4 overall and 2-1 in the section, putting them alone in second place, one game behind New Castle.
Clash of champions
There are seven district boys basketball nonsection contests set for Friday, including a battle of former champions.
Three years ago, Central Catholic defeated New Castle to win the 2023 WPIAL Class 6A championship.
Also in the winter of 2023, Penn Hills stunned Peters Township to win district gold in 5A.
Old rivals collide Friday when Penn Hills hosts Central Catholic.
The Vikings are in first place in Section 2-6A and have won eight of their nine games this season.
Central has won six straight games since losing to Moon in early December.
The Indians are in a four-way tie for first place with Indiana, Shaler and Kiski Area in Section 2-5A with a 3-1 section record.
Penn Hills has won five games in a row since suffering its lone section loss to Indiana on Dec. 12.
Friday on Trib HSSN
There are two broadcasts you can watch or listen to at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the second day of January.
WPIAL Boys Basketball – Video Stream: Brownsville at Geibel Catholic at 7 p.m. on WMBS-AM 590, WMBS-FM 101.1 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Basketball – Audio Stream: Pine-Richland at North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m. on the North Allegheny Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com