Both Sewickley Academy varsity teams extended their seasons in 2025-26.
Both squads qualified for the WPIAL playoffs off their performance against section opponents and were scheduled to tip off the postseason Feb. 16 at home.
The Sewickley boys ran through the regular season with a near-perfect 21-1 record, outscoring the opposition by a resounding margin and finishing first in Section 2-2A once again.
“As far as my expectations at the beginning of the season and now heading into the playoffs, they have never changed,” said Mike Iuzzolino, the Panthers’ second-year coach. “We strive every day as a collective group for excellence in order to achieve maximum results in the areas of growth and development for our players, both on and off the court.
“In addition, we expect our guys to show gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to be part of this experience.”
The Panthers are seeded No. 2 in the WPIAL Class 2A tournament behind Jeannette (19-1) and were set to meet the winner of a play-in game between Union (9-13) and Greensburg Central Catholic (6-16) in the first round.
Iuzzolino had no reaction to the WPIAL’s seeding process, but Bill Cardone, retired Hampton athletic director and longtime district basketball steering committee member, did. Cardone explained in a Trib HSSN interview the rationale behind defending champion Jeannette receiving the top seed.
The Jayhawks were riding a 17-game winning streak.
“When all things are equal, the defending champion gets a little bit of credence,” Cardone said. “They may not have the same team, but they are the champions.
“Sewickley is a very good team and Jeannette is a very good team. It came down to last year; Jeannette beat Sewickley in the semifinals, so we gave (Jeannette) the nod there.”
Sewickley ranks first in the district in defensive average with a sensational 30.2 mark and is second-best in scoring with a 70.5 ppg average.
The Panthers won their section championship in convincing 12-0 fashion, finishing ahead of Eden Christian Academy (9-3), Winchester Thurston (8-4), Brentwood (7-5), Northgate (4-18), Propel Braddock Hills (1-11) and Leechburg (1-11).
Sewickley won 21 games in a row before being stunned in overtime Feb. 9 at home by Roselle Catholic (17-6) from New Jersey, 54-53, in its regular-season finale.
The Panthers’ starting lineup consists of sophomore forward Mamadou Kane, junior forward Adam Ikamba, senior guard/forward Lucas Grimsley, senior guard Caiden Battles and senior forward Amare Spencer.
Kane, who with Grimsley are the team’s leading scorers, and Ikamba make a towering frontcourt presence for Sewickley.
Iuzzolino has substituted liberally in games this season and received exceptional efforts from a strong bench that includes sophomore forwards Ja’mere Guyton and Rob Southall, sophomore guards Drew Steals and Connor Tull and freshman guard Eric Cracium.
The Panthers, with seven players 6-foot-5 or taller, own wins over 6A Pine-Richland, 5A Peters Township and 3A Aliquippa this season.
Fantastic finish
The Sewickley Academy girls basketball team won four of its final five regular-season games to end up tied for third with St. Joseph in Section 1-A.
The Panthers finished 9-5 in league play and 13-9 overall. After a rocky 2-6 start to the season, the Panthers reversed direction to win six of eight games in the month of January.
Sewickley received the seventh seed for the WPIAL playoffs and was set to face No. 10 Monessen (7-14) in the first round. The Greyhounds have lost five in a row.
“We are happy to host a first-round game. We figured we would end up with a six or seven seed,” said Rob Shazer, Sewickley’s first-year coach. “Either way, it’s the playoffs; your next loss is your last loss. We need to focus what’s in front of us and get ready for Monessen no matter what our seed is.
“We haven’t played a game with a full roster for over a month, and we have a week to get everyone back and healthy. I’m happy that we still have some time to get everyone back playing at full strength so we can prepare them to play at a high level.”
Key players for the Panthers include junior guard Emma Eannarino, freshman forwards Athena Ameredes and Mikaela Mbandi, junior forward Grace Jardini and freshman guards Nina Caputo and Charlotte Morton.
“After getting Nina back after missing three games from the flu, she has been playing great, scoring 22 and 23 points to end the (regular) season,” Shazer said. “We are also looking forward to getting Emma and Grace back healthy at 100 percent as they will both have huge impacts on our postseason success.”
Aquinas Academy (14-0) and four-time champion Union (12-2) earned the top two spots in the section.