WPIAL boys basketball pairings
Uniontown seeded 4th; California’s a No. 3 CORAOPOLIS – Uniontown drew a No. 4 seed and California drew a No. 3 in the WPIAL boys basketball pairings released Tuesday night.
The Red Raiders get a bye in the Class AAA bracket. Uniontown will meet the winner of Friday’s Ambridge-West Mifflin game next Tuesday or Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
“I’m very happy to get a No. 4 seed,” Uniontown coach Rob Kezmarsky said. “We’ve seen Ambridge play and we played West Mifflin, but we’ll get to see them again on Friday. We worked hard to win our section and it’s nice to see that reward in the plaque and in the seeding.”
Kezmarsky said his players are antsy to play and have been looking forward to the playoffs for a while now.
“They’ve been texting me all night asking who we play and when we play,” Kezmarsky said. “I’m very fortunate to coach a team that is so dedicated to Uniontown basketball. This section title is Uniontown’s 43rd, but it’s really special to these kids. They know the tradition of Uniontown basketball and are really proud that they could add a section title. They are not taking it for granted and that’s refreshing to me.”
California, which made the Class A WPIAL Championship Game last season, may have deserved a No. 2 seed, but settled for third. The Trojans meet Elderton at 8 p.m. Friday at Charleroi High School.
Six other area boys teams made the field, including Laurel Highlands, which drew a 13 seed and play South Park at 8 p.m. Friday at Belle Vernon. A win would send the Mustangs against Blackhawk in the first round and a possible third game against Uniontown looms in the quarterfinals.
“That’s about right,” Mustangs coach Rick Hauger said of the 13 seed. “There’s nothing to argue with. We’re happy to get to this point and we’ll just go from here.”
Hauger’s Mustangs were seeded 15th last season, but upset No. 2 seed Highlands in the first round. Hauger doesn’t believe that win had anything to do with moving his team up to 13th.
“I think the good thing for us is that we’ve played really well since the second half of section play started,” he said. “Plus, we’re probably as healthy as we’ve been in a long time.”
Belle Vernon coach John Dudzinski was disappointed his section champs drew only a seven seed, but realizes all playoff games are tough assignments. The Leopards meet Keystone Oaks Tuesday or Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.
“Our section gets no respect, but that doesn’t matter,” Dudzinski said. “We’ll just play them one game at a time. These two teams know each other. The seniors on these teams have played against each other since fourth grade, so it will be a good match-up. We played them earlier this year at Keystone Oaks and they beat us.”
Brownsville drew a Class AA preliminary game against Seton LaSalle at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Chartiers Valley High School. A win would send the Falcons against No. 5 seed Riverside in the first round.
“I don’t know much about them now, but we’ll learn all we can,” Falcons coach Paul Jones said. “We’re very happy to be back in the playoffs for the first time after a six-year absence. We’re looking forward to the experience and hopefully moving on.”
Carmichaels drew a ninth seed in Class A and will play St. Joseph at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Monessen High School. Geibel Catholic drew a 17 seed and will play Trinity Christian at 3 p.m. Saturday at South park High School for the right to meet top-seeded Serra Catholic. Wins by the Mikes and Gators would pit the Section 2-A rivals against each other in the quarterfinals.
Mapletown drew an 11 seed, which pleased coach Adam Checton. The Maples meet Uniontown at 8 p.m. Friday at Keystone Oaks High School.
“Going from a pigtail game last year to an 11 seed means a lot to our kids and our program,” Checton said. “We doubled our win total from last year to this year and I think our section was one of the toughest this year.”
All WPIAL championship games will be played at Duquesne University’s A.J. Palumbo Center Feb. 22 and 23.