Upper St. Clair defeated New Castle by a score of 65-43 as they captured their second straight WPIAL 6A crown. It was a complete team effort for the Panthers in this one, and even though it was close early, they seemed to be in control all night.
Both teams started slow in this one, which isn’t uncommon in these championship games at the Pete. It’s a big adjustment for these players. It’s a bigger court, there’s a college three point line outside of their line, and the lights seem to shine the brightest early on.
We were scoreless for nearly three minutes to start the game before USC Senior, Julian Dahlem, knocked down a 3 to get things started. New Castle senior, Ralphie Blundo, hit two free throws to get New Castle on the board.
Freshman, Kai Cox, dished the ball to Qualin Davis down low for the score to tie it at 4-4. Davis got the start for Jayden Shaffer tonight in an effort to add some more height to their lineup to counter the very tall USC roster.
Kyrell Harris and Nico Gidas traded threes and Cox tied the game at 9 as he spun to the hole and got the layup to go. Tyler Robbins scored his first points of the game to give USC an 11-9 lead late in the quarter. Upper St. Clair’s, Jake Foster, cashed in for three from the right wing and USC took a 14-9 lead after one.
As the second quarter began, it was clear to see that both teams had settled down and the initial jitters had worn off. Blundo went to work early and often in the second, getting a floater to go to cut the lead to 3. He called for a clear out on the next possession and went one on one with his defender, banking in the runner to make it a one point game.
Foster answered with another three ball as USC continued to shoot it well from distance. Lemon fired back with a three for New Castle, but the younger Robbins brother, Ryan, responded with a bucket inside.
Blundo took the ball to the rack again, scoring his 8th point of the half as these teams continued to go back and forth. Ryan Robbins would then hit two free throws with New Castle over the foul limit to go up 23-20.
Damian Harrison sank a three in what was a rough shooting night for him overall, but this one tied the game at 23 late in the second quarter. The rest of the quarter was all USC. Tyler Robbins stepped out and drained a three off the inbounds play and Gianni Disora got the steal and score to put the Panthers up 29-23 as they ended the quarter on a 6-0 run.
After the game, New Castle Head Coach, Ralph Blundo, spoke on that stretch to end the half saying, “I think that was the turning point in the game”.
He was right. That burst to end the half propelled USC throughout the rest of the game. Apart from that stretch, the difference in the half was the three point shooting. USC was 4-8 from long range whereas New Castle was just 2-8.
A lot of times you’ll see teams struggle from three in these championship games at the Petersen Events Center because there are two three point lines. There’s the high school line and the much deeper college line. It seems like a lot of players tend to stay behind that deeper college line, making their three point attempts a lot further than they’re used to.
Upper St. Clair was excellent defensively in the third quarter, holding New Castle to just 6 points in the frame. Tyler Robbins volleyball spiked a block on the defensive end and it led to an and-1 for Kaamil Jackson at the other end.
Blundo continued to be the one consistent player for New Castle offensively as he got a high-arching moon shot to connect from the right wing. At this point he led all scorers with 11 and was 4-5 from the field.
The Blundo triple cut the USC lead to 5, but Gidas answered with a three of his own, pushing the lead right back to 8. It seemed like every time New Castle got anything going, USC was there to respond.
Ryan Robbins continued to find success working underneath the hoop, scoring his 7th point of the game and giving USC a 10 point lead midway through the third. While most of the talk throughout the year has been about Tyler Robbins, the 6’10” forward committed to Miami (OH), sophomore Ryan Robbins made a name for himself tonight.
I’ve been a fan of his game all year. The 6’7” sophomore is a huge kid and knows how to use his body to create space. He never forces bad shots, and he's always hustling, often the first person to dive on the floor for a loose ball.
Harrison banked in a much needed three for New Castle to get the lead back to 7, but that was as close as they’d get for the remainder of the game. Dahlem hit two free throws, Ryan Robbins made a layup, and Tyler Robbins threw down the alley-oop to give USC their largest lead of the night.
It was 42-29 heading into the final quarter. This game was tied at 23 late in the second, but since then, USC outscored New Castle 19-6.
The presence of the Robbins brothers inside was huge on both sides of the ball in this one. New Castle usually likes to attack the rim, but they knew what was waiting for them inside and they seemed hesitant to challenge the USC big men.
Blundo got a layup to go, but once again, Gidas was there with a three to answer, as USC led 45-31. New Castle has long been known under Ralph Blundo to be a team that scores in bunches. I continued to wait for a patented New Castle scoring outburst that would catapult them back into this one, but that moment never came.
If you didn’t watch this game and you just looked at the box score. There would be two things that would jump out to anyone. Upper St. Clair shot nearly 50% from three with New Castle shooting just over 30% from distance and USC pulled down 39 rebounds to just 23 for New Castle.
With a 1:33 left in the game and USC up 20, both teams emptied their benches and this one was over. USC dominated the entire second half and went on to win 65-43.
They got great performances from a number of guys tonight. Dahlem had 8 points and 8 assists, Gidas hit three triples, Foster scored 10, and Ryan Robbins had 9 points and 2 blocks, but it was ultimately their star, Tyler Robbins, that anchored this victory for USC. Robbins finished the game with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
With the game being close late in the first half and ultimately becoming a blowout, Robbins was asked what allowed them to really open things up in the second half. He said, “I think the turning point was Gianni Disora’s run out bucket. That was big for us going into the half. We carried that momentum into the locker room and brought it back out with us.”
Blundo led New Castle with 13 points tonight. Harrison wasn’t far behind with 11. Freshman star, Kai Cox, had 7 assists in the game, but just 5 points. They’ve depended on him to score all year, but that’s a lot to ask of a freshman playing at the Pete for the first time.
This win marked another milestone for Head Coach, Danny Holzer, in what was a season full of them. He won his 500th game earlier in the year and tonight he won his 5th WPIAL title.
Holzer spoke to how this one feels in comparison to his other titles saying, “They’re all special. It doesn’t get old, that’s for sure. But certainly this one was different because it was two in a row”.
The seasons will continue for both of these squads with the state playoffs starting next week. New Castle is set to take on Cumberland Valley and USC will play William Penn. Both of those games will take place on Saturday, March 8th.