Penn Hills claims 6th WPIAL title with victory over Peters Township

Posted on: by Big 56 Conference

BOYS BASKETBALL

5A CHAMPIONSHIP

Penn Hills 70, Peters Township 65

Penn Hills (21-3) trailed at the half but 5A’s top defense woke up in the second half holding Peters Township (22-4) to nine points in the third quarter and hit free throws late for a 70-65 win to capture their sixth WPIAL Championship and first one since 2018 at the Petersen Event Center on Thursday night.

Things were a little uncharacteristic in the first half as a team that only allows 45 points per game gave up 30 in the first half and found themselves trailing 30-29 going into halftime. Things looked much different in the second half as they started the third quarter on an 8-0 run and would never give up the lead from there.

Peters Township made things really interesting with two minutes left in the game when they cut the lead to 58-54 but Penn Hills made their free throws down the stretch and 20 of 23 total in the game to keep the lead and win their sixth WPIAL Championship.

Penn Hills shot 54% from the field, outrebounded Peters Township 32-23, and outscored Peters Township in the paint 48-32. They held Peters Township, who relies on the three-point ball, to 6 of 22 from behind the arc. 

Noah Barren led Penn Hills with 22 points while Daemar Kelly had 21 points, 15 of them coming in the second half. Brendan McCullough had 19 points for Peters Township. Jack Dunbar added 15 points while Nate Miller netted 11.

Penn Hills advances to the state playoffs as the top seed out of District 7 (WPIAL) and will host the second place finisher out of the District 8, 9 and 10 regional on March 10 at a time to be determined. Peters Township advances to the state playoffs as the second seed out of District 7. They will host the sixth-place finisher out of District 3 on March 10 at a time to be determined.

6A THIRD-PLACE GAME

Upper St. Clair 55, Mt. Lebanon 54

Upper St. Clair (16-9) advances to the state playoffs as the third seed out of District 7. They will be on the road in the first round of the state tournament taking on the champion of the District 8, 9 and 10 regional. That game will be March 11 at a time to be determined. Mt. Lebanon’s (16-9) season is over.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

5A THIRD-PLACE GAME

McKeesport 68, Woodland Hills 38

5A FIFTH-PLACE GAME

Trinity 46, Mars 42

5A SEVENTH-PLACE GAME

Penn-Trafford 49, Hampton 44

Penn-Trafford advances to the state playoffs. Hampton’s season is over.