No. 8 South Allegheny vs. No. 2 Aliquippa
1 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center
Audio broadcast:Trib HSSN
WPIAL titles: Aliquippa 14 (2024, ‘23, ‘16, ‘15, ‘07, ‘06, ‘04, ‘03, ‘00, 1998, ‘94, ‘88, ‘87, ’49), South Allegheny 1 (2025)
South Allegheny (16-8)
Coach: Tony DiCenzo
Projected starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.
0, Jake Uher, 6-3, sr., F
1, Fischer Ielase, 5-10, jr., G
2, Drew Cook, 6-1, sr., G
4, Alijah Cook, 6-0, so., G
10, Adam Jackowski, 6-2, sr., F
How they got here: South Allegheny defeated No. 9 Ellwood City, 52-50, in the first round; No. 1 Mohawk, 64-63, in the quarterfinals; and No. 13 Shady Side Academy, 48-43, in the semifinals.
Notable: South Allegheny is the defending WPIAL Class 3A defending champion after beating Aliquippa in the finals last season. … The Gladiators finished third in Section 3 at 7-3. They have won nine of their last 10 games after enduring a five-game losing streak. … Drew Cook, the WPIAL’s leading scorer this season at 27 ppg, is nearing 2,000 career points. He scored 15 points in the semifinal win. … Also in the semifinals, his brother, Alijah Cook, hit five 3-pointers and had 15 points. … South Allegheny reached the PIAA final last season — and defeated Aliquippa in the semifinals — before falling to West Catholic. … Coach Tony DiCenzo has a 189-142 record in 14 seasons.
Aliquippa (17-6)
Coach: Mrryce Smith
Projected starting lineup
No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.
1, Antonio Reddic, 6-0, sr., G
3, Cleaster Longmire, 5-10, sr., F
4, Camden Evanochko, 5-11, fr., G
5, Qalil Goode, 6-3, sr., G
10, Akiva Woods, 5-10, jr., G
How they got here: Aliquippa beat No. 15 Sto-Rox, 68-48, in the first round; No. 7 Seton LaSalle, 50-33, in the quarterfinals; and No. 3 South Park, 60-38, in the semifinals.
Notable: Aliquippa is tied with Class 6A finalist New Castle for the most district titles in WPIAL history (14). The Quips won Class 2A titles in 2023 and ‘24 along with a state title in 2024. … The Quips are in the championship game for the fourth straight season. … Aliquippa was second in Section 1 at 10-2. The Quips got off to a 6-0 start. … Senior guard Qa’lil Goode scored 21 points in the semifinals. The Quips played without three regular starters — T’Vonn Parchman Jr. and Camden Evanochko were injured and sophomore Anthony Ingram was serving the first of a two-game suspension after being whistled for two technical fouls in the quarterfinals. … Mrryce Smith is in his first season as head coach after he replaced Nick Lackovich, who went 185-41 in eight seasons with four WPIAL titles.
Next up: The winner will open the PIAA playoffs March 7 against the District 9-10 subregional runner-up. The loser will play the District 6 third-place finisher.