PIAA 5A Boys Basketball First Round Preview
Photo Credit: Will McBride
BOYS BASKETBALL
PIAA 5A FIRST ROUND
7-7 Fox Chapel (15-11) at 3-1 Exeter (23-6) – 6 pm
Fox Chapel was the No. 11 seed in the District 7 playoffs. They upset No. 6 Thomas Jefferson (62-45) in the WPIAL First Round and then fell to No. 3 North Hills (67-62) in the WPIAL Quarterfinals. Fox Chapel then fell to No. 7 Mars (75-69) in WPIAL Consolation Semifinals before defeating No. 12 McKeesport (64-55) in the WPIAL Seventh-Place Game to clinch a spot in the state playoffs. Fox Chapel is led by Kam Greil (12.8 ppg; 1st team all-section) and Jefferson Moorefield-Brown (11.8 ppg; 1st team all-section). Fox Chapel is ranked #22 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
Exeter was the No. 3 seed in the District 3 playoffs. They beat No. 14 Shippensburg (72-47) No. 6 Milton Hershey (80-58), No. 7 Hershey (50-46) and No. 1 Manheim Central (67-53) en route to the District 3 championship. It was Exeter’s first ever district title. Exeter is led by Anthony Caccese who was named the Wyomissing PT Player of the Week for his efforts in the District 3 playoffs. Exeter is ranked #7 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
3-4 Mechanicsburg (18-8) at 7-3 North Hills (20-6) – 6 pm
Mechanicsburg was the No. 4 seed in the District 3 playoffs. They defeated No. 13 Greencastle-Antrim (52-44) and No. 5 Warwick (62-38) before falling to No. 1 Manheim Central (70-52) in the District 3 Semifinals. Mechanicsburg would then fall to No. 7 Hershey (51-46) in the District 3 Third-Place Game. Josh Smith is coming off of a 16-point performance for Mechanicsburg while Spencer Nolan had 10 in the game. Mechanicsburg is ranked #35 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
North Hills was the No. 3 seed in the District 7 playoffs. They defeated No. 14 Kiski Area (76-71) and No. 11 Fox Chapel (67-62) before falling to No. 2 Penn Hills (67-51) in the WPIAL Semifinals. North Hills would then bounce back to beat No. 4 Gateway (67-51) in the WPIAL Third-Place Game. North Hills is led by Royce Parham (1st team all-section). Eric James has come along as the playoffs have continued for the Indians as well. North Hills is ranked #4 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
3-6 Milton Hershey (19-8) at 7-2 Peters Township (22-4) – 6 pm
Milton Hershey was the No. 6 seed in the District 3 playoffs. They defeated No. 11 Red Land (75-48) before falling to No. 3 Exeter (80-58) in the District 3 Quarterfinals. Milton Hershey bounced back to beat No. 2 Lampeter-Strasburg (65-40) in the District 3 Consolation Semifinals before losing to No. 9 Muhlenberg (79-77, 2 OT) in the District 3 Fifth-Place Game. Milton Hershey is led by Malachi Thomas (17.7 ppg), Adam Rosa (12.6 ppg) and Larry Onabanwo (11.9 ppg). Milton Hershey is ranked #31 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
Peters Township was the top seed in the District 7 playoffs. They beat No. 16 Penn-Trafford (66-55), No. 8 South Fayette (68-60) and No. 4 Gateway (62-55) before losing to No. 2 Penn Hills (70-65) in the WPIAL Championship Game. Peters Township is led by Brendan McCullough (1st team all-section) and Jack Dunbar (1st team all-section). Peters Township is ranked #16 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
7-5 South Fayette (16-10) at 10-1 Cathedral Prep (21-3) – 7:30 pm
South Fayette was the No. 8 seed in the District 7 playoffs. They beat No. 9 Shaler (34-33) before falling to top-seeded Peters Township (68-60) in the WPIAL Quarterfinals. South Fayette would bounce back in the consolation bracket defeating No. 12 McKeesport (66-55) and No. 7 Mars (56-36) in the WPIAL Fifth-Place Game. South Fayette is led by Elijah Hill (1st team all-section) and Michael Plasko (1st team all-section). South Fayette is ranked #10 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
Cathedral Prep was the No. 1 seed in the District 10 playoffs. They defeated No. 2 Meadville (58-42) to win the District 10 Championship. They then went on to defeat 9-1 Dubois (40-32) in the District 8/9/10 Sub Regional Final. Cathedral Prep is ranked #6 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
7-6 Mars (16-10) at 3-2 Manheim Central (22-6) – 5:30 pm – Manheim Township YouTube
Mars was the No. 7 seed in the District 7 playoffs. They defeated No. 10 Bethel Park (76-40) in the WPIAL First Round before falling to No. 2 Penn Hills (60-41) in the WPIAL Quarterfinals. Mars would then defeat No. 11 Fox Chapel (75-69) in the WPIAL Consolation Semifinal before losing to No. 8 South Fayette (56-36) in the WPIAL Fifth-Place Game. Mars is led by Tasso Sfanos (25.8 ppg; 1st team all-section) and Ryan Ceh (13.8 ppg; 1st team all-section). Mars is ranked #13 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
Manheim Central was the top seed in the District 3 playoffs. They beat No. 9 Muhlenberg (64-54) and No. 4 Mechanicsburg (42-39) before losing to No. 3 Exeter (67-53) in the District 3 Championship Game. Trey Grube is coming off of a 19-point performance in Manheim Central’s championship loss. Aaron Enterline had 14 points in that game. Manheim Central is ranked #27 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
This game will be broadcasted on the Manheim Township YouTube channel. You can find the broadcast link on the broadcast schedule under Multimedia.
7-4 Gateway (17-7) at 3-3 Hershey (19-7) – 7 pm
Gateway was the No. 4 seed in the District 7 playoffs. They beat No. 13 Woodland Hills (55-40) and No. 12 McKeesport (53-51) before losing to top-seeded Peters Township (62-55) in the WPIAL Semifinals. Gateway then fell to No. 3 North Hills (67-51) in the WPIAL Third-Place Game. Gateway is led by Jaydon Carr (1st team all-section) and Kaleb Pryor (1st team all-section). Gateway is ranked #8 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
Hershey was the No. 7 seed in the District 3 playoffs. They defeated No. 10 Susquehannock (57-30) and No. 2 Lampeter-Strasburg (35-26) before falling to Exeter (50-46) in the District 3 Semifinals. Hershey would come back and beat No. 4 Mechanicsburg (51-46) in the District 3 Third-Place Game. Matthew DeDonatis is coming off of a 13-point performance in the District 3 Third-Place Game. Joey Alander had 12 points in the game. Hershey is ranked #28 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
9-1 DuBois (11-13) at 7-1 Penn Hills (21-3) – 7 pm
DuBois is the only 5A boys basketball team in District 9.. They defeated District 8 runner-up Obama Academy (44-37) in the District 8/9/10 Sub Regional Semifinals before falling to 10-1 Cathedral Prep (40-32) in the District 8/9/10 Sub Regional Championship. DuBois is ranked #64 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.
Penn Hills was the No. 2 seed in the District 7 playoffs. They beat No. 15 Trinity (38-29), No. 7 Mars (60-41), No. 3 North Hills (67-51) and top-seeded Peters Township (70-65) en route to the WPIAL Championship. Penn Hills is led by Daemar Kelly (1st team all-section) and Noah Barren (1st team all-section). Penn Hills is ranked #2 in the Maxpreps PA 5A rankings.