A-K Valley basketball playoff capsules: Friday, Feb. 14, 2020

By:
Thursday, February 13, 2020 | 5:50 PM


Friday’s games

Boys

Class 3A

First round

No. 1 Lincoln Park (18-4) vs. No. 16 Deer Lakes (12-9)

8 p.m. Friday at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: No. 7 Washington (15-6) or No. 10 Neshannock (15-7) on Thursday in the quarterfinals

Coaches: Mike Bariski, Lincoln Park; Terence Parham, Deer Lakes

Points scored/allowed: Lincoln Park, 66.7/56; Deer Lakes, 53.1/50.4

Players to watch: Isaiah Smith, Lincoln Park (sr., G); Bryce Robson, Deer Lakes (fr., G)

About Lincoln Park: The Leopards won the Section 1-3A title and are the defending Class 3A WPIAL and PIAA champs. This season they suffered losses to The Villages Charter (Fla.), Highlands, Vincentian Academy and they ended the season with a loss to New Castle. A few signature wins for Lincoln Park came against Central Catholic, Butler and Kennedy Catholic.

About Deer Lakes: The Lancers have made their way into the playoffs for the fourth straight year for the second time in school history. Last year, they made a historic run in the PIAA Class 3A playoffs before losing in the quarterfinals. The Lancers have been up and down this season and haven’t won more than two games in a row. They earned significant nonsection wins over Springdale and Clairton.

Girls

Class 2A

First round

No. 7 Burgettstown (16-6) vs. No. 10 Riverview (14-8)

6:30 p.m. Friday at Northgate

Winner plays: No. 2 Bishop Canevin (16-6) on Thursday in the quarterfinals.

Coaches: Megan Zitner, Burgettstown; Keith Stitt, Riverview

Points scored/allowed: Burgettstown, 49.9/30.0; Riverview, 45.2/37.9

Players to watch: Emily Prasko, Burgettstown (sr., G); Francesca Lio, Riverview (sr., F)

About Burgettstown: The Blue Devils (10-2) finished as the runner-up to Bishop Canevin (12-0) in Section 3. Their 30.0 points allowed per game is best in Class 2A. Burgettstown is in the postseason for the third time in four years after an 18-year drought. The Blue Devils are seeking their first playoff win since 1993. Burgettstown features a balanced scoring attack as five players average between 7.0 and 10.3 points. Prasko checks in at 7.7 rebounds a contest.

About Riverview: The Raiders are in the WPIAL playoffs for the 11th year in a row. They hope to break through after losing in the first round the past three years. Riverview, led by a group of six seniors, won its final four regular-season games, including a 48-44 triumph over playoff-bound Ellis in its Section 2 finale. The Raiders finished fourth in the section with a 7-5 mark. They routed Greensburg Central Catholic, seeded fifth in the Class 1A bracket, by 31 points Jan. 29.

—Staff reports

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: , , ,

More Basketball

WPIAL launches investigations into Baldwin, Imani Christian over ‘possible recruiting violations’
Penn Hills notebook: Basketball grad to play professionally in Ireland
New coach Gabby Baldasare excited to fill big shoes with North Allegheny girls basketball
Woodland Hills provides ‘right situation’ for Steve Scorpion’s 2nd chance as head coach
Gene Brisbane resigns as Derry girls basketball coach