Sewickley-OLSH clash highlights Tuesday’s 3 things to watch in high school sports

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 14, 2019 | 10:18 PM

By comparison sake, this is only a budding rivalry. But the intensity and number of meetings has quickly turned this into one of the hottest matchups in the district.

Sewickley Academy and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart will meet for the eighth time in two calendar years when the two powers collide Tuesday at OLSH.

The two teams were put in the same Section 3-2A two years ago and a rivalry was born.

Sewickley Academy swept both regular-season meeting in 2016-17 and then knocked off the Chargers again, 71-60, in the WPIAL Class 2A title game.

Last year, the two teams split in the regular season and again in the postseason. Sewickley Academy repeated as WPIAL champs with a 63-59 comeback win. OLSH ended the Panthers season a little later with a 70-68 thriller in the PIAA semifinals.

Sewickley Academy and OLSH are ranked first and second in the latest Trib HSSN WPIAL Class 2A rankings. They’re also ranked second and third in the state behind Constitution of Philadelphia.

You can listen to the game at 7:30 p.m. here on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

South Hills showdown

The first half of section play concludes for most WPIAL boys basketball team on Tuesday, a night filled with plenty of rivalry showdowns.

The great Jim Render once said Upper St. Clair could face Mt. Lebanon in a tiddlywinks competition and it would draw an intense crowd. Add in the fact that sole possession of first place in Section 2-6A is up for grabs, and Upper St. Clair’s gym should be rockin’.

It’s been a perfect season for USC, which brings a 13-0 overall record into the contest.

Lucky No. 13 came Friday when the Panthers lost a 21-point lead only to survive and win at Bethel Park, 68-64.

Mt. Lebanon is 12-2 overall with only losses to Pine-Richland (a team USC beat) and Harvest Prep, Ohio, on its resume.

The game will be one of many you can listen to Tuesday at TribHSSN.TribLive.com .

Two for one

There is not only one battle for first place at Penn Hills on Tuesday, but two.

Woodland Hills visits Penn Hills in a girls/boys doubleheader with first place at stake in both games.

Both contests can be heard at Trib HSSN with the girls game tipping off at 6 p.m. followed at 7:30 p.m. by the boys game.

The Penn Hills girls are 6-0 in Section 3-5A and have a one-game lead over both Woodland Hills (5-1) and Oakland Catholic (5-1).

Penn Hills is 10-3 overall while Woodland Hills is 6-6.

Sole possession of first place in Section 1-5A is up for grabs in the boys game as both the Indians and Wolverines are a perfect 5-0 in section play.

Penn Hills is 10-2 overall while Woodland Hills is 9-1.

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Sewickley Academy