Welcome to the final day of the quarterfinals in the WPIAL basketball playoffs with teams in boys Class 5A and 3A and girls Class 6A and 2A claiming the spotlight.
He was the man who followed a legend as boys coach at Chartiers Valley.
Brandon Sensor took over for Timmy McConnell before the 2018-2019 season when McConnell left to take over the Chartiers Valley girls program.
Sensor led the Colts to the 2021 WPIAL Class 5A championship game where they fell to New Castle, 61-45.
Despite winning two section titles and making the playoffs in five of his six seasons, things fell apart in the 2024 season when following allegations from a parent, the administration placed him on leave before he later resigned.
Sensor was hired to take over the Shaler boys basketball program last season.
The Titans missed the playoffs via a tiebreaker last year, but this season they finished second to Penn Hills in Section 2-5A.
Shaler improved to 14-9 with a 15-point victory at Franklin Regional on Tuesday in the opening round of the 5A playoffs.
Senior Jordan Epps led the way with 24 points.
Now Sensor gets a crack at his former team when No. 9 Shaler battles top-seeded Chartiers Valley at Peters Township on Friday at 6 p.m.
All former Highlands coach Corey Dotchin has done in his year-plus at Chartiers Valley is win the 2025 WPIAL 5A championship and guide the Colts to a 20-2 mark this season and a Section 4-5A crown.
Win No. 20 came in the opening round when Char Valley knocked off Montour, 61-48.
Senior Julius Best led the Colts with 16 points as CV notched its fifth straight win and its 18th victory in the last 19 games.
Here are the other three second-round 5A contests set for Friday:
• No. 5 Gateway (16-7) will go up against No. 4 Moon (19-3) at North Allegheny at 8 p.m. The Section 1-5A champion Gators needed overtime to eliminate Indiana, 56-50, thanks to Mykel Bruce-McCrommon’s 23 points. The Tigers bounced Penn-Trafford in the opening round with Jackson Bauman leading the way with 20 points, 45-30. These teams played in the first round of the 2025 playoffs with Moon beating Gateway, 49-42.
• Not too many people had this battle of double-digit seeds in the quarterfinals on their bracket before the playoffs started, but it will be No. 10 Hampton (14-7) colliding with No. 15 Ringgold (15-9) at Peters Township at 7:30 p.m. The Talbots upended Peters Township in Round 1, 50-45, as Jonas Cupp led a balanced attack with 11 points. The Rams pulled off the shocker of the playoffs thus far by stunning Lincoln Park, 79-77, thanks to 26 points from Demetri Lowe.
• A highly anticipated clash of section winners takes place when No. 3 Thomas Jefferson (21-2) squares off against No. 6 Penn Hills (17-6) at Norwin at 7:30 p.m. The Section 3 champion Jaguars defeated Latrobe in the first round, 86-79, with Nick Trklja leading the way with 27 points. Thanks to 22 points from Calix Clark, the Section 2 winning Indians rolled past South Fayette, 48-27.
Passing the torch?
The Class 3A boys basketball darlings from the 2025 postseason prepare to face the team to beat in the 2026 playoffs.
Defending champion and No. 8 South Allegheny takes on top-seeded Mohawk at North Allegheny at 6:30 p.m.
The Gladiators finished in third place in Section 3-3A, but have won four straight and seven of their last eight games to improve to 14-8.
South Allegheny opened its title defense Tuesday with a home win over Ellwood City.
Senior Drew Cook, the top scorer in the district, led the way with 25 points.
The Warriors had no problem with their first postseason hurdle, clubbing visiting Waynesburg, 74-59.
Senior Joey Nail delivered the hammer with a game-high 25 points.
These teams met in the 2025 Class 3A semifinals with South Allegheny cruising past Mohawk, 75-53.
In that game, Drew Cook was unstoppable, leading the Gladiators with 31 points.
Here are the other three Class 3A quarterfinals Friday:
• Following a first-round surprise, No. 13 Shady Side Academy (9-14) shoots for another upset as it plays No. 5 Southmoreland (15-8) at Charleroi at 6 p.m. Kai Lamberson scored 32 points in the first round as the Bulldogs shocked No. 4 Bishop Canevin, 61-48. The Scotties edged Washington in their playoff opener, 63-58, with Noah Felentzer leading the way with 27 points.
• No. 2 Aliquippa (15-6) is set to go against No. 7 Seton LaSalle (18-5) at South Fayette at 6 p.m. Behind 18 points from Qa’lil Goode, the Quips crushed Sto-Rox, 68-48, while the Rebels routed Charleroi in the first round, 82-52, thanks to Gabe Gizzi with 18 points. Twenty-six years ago in 2000 and 11 years ago in 2015, Aliquippa defeated Seton LaSalle in the WPIAL 2A championships.
• For the first time since returning to the WPIAL from District 6 five years ago, No. 11 Ligonier Valley (13-10) is in a District 7 quarterfinal as it prepares to face No. 3 South Park (19-3) at Charleroi at 7:30 p.m. Michael Wisniewski led a balanced attack as the Rams stunned Keystone Oaks in the opening round, 47-44. South Park rolled past Riverside in the opener, 58-29, thanks to a big game and 31 points from Cooper Hochendoner.
Co-champs in opener
No matter what the sport, section co-champions playing each other in their first postseason game is extremely rare.
However, that will be the case when Section 1-6A winner No. 5 Seneca Valley visits No. 4 Pine-Richland at 7 p.m.
Both teams finished 9-1 in section play.
The Raiders are 13-6 and had a nine-game winning streak snapped in a regular season finale loss to Pine-Richland.
The Rams are 15-7 and have a seven-game winning streak heading into the postseason.
It has been 15 days since either team has played a meaningful game.
In that last meeting for the section title Feb. 5, Pine-Richland pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat visiting Seneca Valley and earn a share of the section crown, 52-43.
Mia LeDonne led the Rams with 15 points while Natalie Hambly had a game-high 17 points for the Raiders.
In the first meeting between the two in Harmony, Seneca Valley beat Pine-Richland, 41-28.
Hambly again led the Raiders with 15 points while Rebekah Shaffer had 14 for the Rans.
There are only three district girls basketball 6A quarterfinals games Friday with top-seeded Canon-McMillan having defeated Mt. Lebanon on Thursday. So here are the other two second-round 6A games:
• No. 2 Norwin (17-4) opens up at home against rival No. 7 Hempfield at 6 p.m. The Knights finished in second place in Section 2-6A, five games ahead of the fourth-place Spartans. Norwin swept the season series against Hempfield, winning by scores of 56-32 and 56-48.
• No. 3 and defending champion Upper St. Clair (11-11) opens up its title defense at home against North Allegheny (10-11) at 7 p.m. Both teams finished in third place in their respective sections. These two have clashed in several playoff games over the last decade. The most recent meeting was in the 2024 quarterfinals as the Tigers edged the Panthers, 44-41.
Familiar faces
Seven of the eight teams in the 2026 Class 2A girls basketball elite eight were also part of the 2025 quarterfinals.
The only difference is Burgettstown is in this year after South Side reached the quarters a year ago.
However, with all of the same teams, there is only one quarterfinal rematch from last season and it’s between two familiar Lawrence County foes.
No. 9 Laurel goes up against top-seeded Neshannock at Union at 7 p.m.
Senior Jael Henderson scored 14 points to lead the Spartans past California in the first round Tuesday.
The victory improved Laurel to 13-10 this season.
Senior Payton Newman dropped 22 points in helping the Lancers cruise to a first-round win over Brentwood, 76-16.
Neshannock is 19-3 and owner of 15 consecutive wins.
This is the third meeting of the season between Section 1-2A champion Neshannock and fourth-place Laurel.
On Dec. 18, the visiting Lancers crushed the Spartans, 72-37. In the rematch Jan. 22, the result was pretty much the same with Neshannock winning big, 70-22.
Last season, Neshannock defeated Laurel in the district quarterfinals, 66-49, thanks to 28 points poured in by Newman.
Here are the other three second-round Class 2A contests Friday:
• No. 4 Fort Cherry (16-5) will take on No. 5 Rochester (13-9) at Moon at 6 p.m. The Section 2-2A champion Rangers pounded Riverview in the playoff opener, 55-24, behind 20 points from Gianna Bianchini. The Rams had a tougher opener as Kamryn Newman led the way with 16 points in a win over Apollo-Ridge, 48-40.
• Section 4-2A winner and No. 2 Winchester Thurston (19-3) will take on No. 7 Burgettstown (16-6) at Moon at 7:30 p.m. The Bears demolished Bentworth in the first round, 67-13, thanks to 30 points from DaShae Cochran. Paige Klodowski led the Blue Devils with 15 points in their postseason opening win over Jeannette, 39-35.
• Defending champion and No. 6 Aliquippa (15-7) battles Section 3-2A champ Chartiers-Houston (19-3) at South Fayette at 7:30 p.m. Denim Odom scored 14 points as the Quips defeated Beth-Center in the first round, 43-34. The Buccaneers blew out South Side, 70-16, behind 14 points from Ali Wingard.
Divine dives
The top district divers in Class 2A will gather at North Allegheny on Friday for the WPIAL Class 2A boys and girls diving championships.
The boys 2A event begins at 10 a.m. with the girls hitting the pool starting at 12:30 p.m.
There will be a new 2A boys champion crowned after the graduation of last year’s winner, Jake Hauser of Derry.
Defending WPIAL and PIAA 2A champion Gabby Elk of Hampton returns. The senior is the favorite in this year’s championships.
The 3A boys and girls diving championships are at North Allegheny on Saturday.
Friday on Trib HSSN
There are nine broadcasts you can listen to or watch at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the 20th day of February.
WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 5A Quarterfinals: Gateway vs. Moon at 8 p.m. on Trib HSSN at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 5A Quarterfinals: Penn Hills vs. Thomas Jefferson at 7:30 p.m. on Trib HSSN at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 3A Quarterfinals: South Allegheny vs. Mohawk at 6:30 p.m. on Lawrence County Sports Net at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 6A Quarterfinals: North Allegheny at Upper St. Clair at 7 p.m. on Trib HSSN at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Video Stream – Class 6A Quarterfinals: Hempfield at Norwin at 6 p.m. on Westmoreland Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Video Stream – Class 2A Quarterfinals: Laurel vs. Neshannock at 7 p.m. on Lawrence County Sports Net at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 2A Quarterfinals: Rochester vs. Fort Cherry at 6 p.m. on WJPA-AM 1450 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 2A Quarterfinals: Burgettstown vs. Winchester Thurston at 7:30 p.m. on WJPA-AM 1450 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Girls Basketball Playoffs Audio Stream – Class 2A Quarterfinals: Aliquippa vs. Chartiers-Houston at 7:30 p.m. on WJPA-FM 95.3 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com