USC Wins First Boys Basketball Title Since 2005
It’s been 16 years since the Upper St. Clair boys basketball team has claimed the WPIAL title, but that all changed on Friday night when the top-seeded Panthers (20-1) held off No. 6 Pine-Richland (14-6), 56-53, at Peters Township’s AHN Arena in the Class 6A Championship Game.
The Panthers held a seven point lead with a minute left but missed free throws allowed the Rams to get back into the game, and had a couple chances to tie the game with a 3-pointer but came up short.
Upper St. Clair had three players score in double figures, led by senior Ethan Dahlem with 16 points. Seniors Luke Banbury and Luke Gensler scored 14 and 12 points, respectively. All three were named to the Big 56 All-Section First-Team earlier in the day.
The Panthers will represent the WPIAL in the PIAA playoffs, and face the District 6, 8 or 10 winner in the quarterfinals on March 20.