WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship breakdown: OLSH vs. Greensburg C.C.

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, March 12, 2021 | 5:27 PM

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WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship

No. 1 OLSH vs. No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic

5 p.m. Saturday at Peters Township

On the air: 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM; TribHSSN.TribLive.com (video stream)

Winner plays: Winner of District 9 champion vs. District 5 champion in PIAA quarterfinals, March 20

How they got here: OLSH defeated No. 17 California, 92-35, in the first round; No. 8 Shenango, 57-42, in the quarterfinals; and No. 5 Jeannette, 69-41, in the semifinals. GCC beat No. 18 Serra Catholic, 54-53, in the first round; No. 10 Sewickley Academy, 48-41, in the quarterfinals; and No. 3 Sto-Rox, 56-51, in the semifinals.

Starting lineups

OLSH (20-0)

Coach: Mike Rodriguez

No., Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.

0, Jake DiMichele, F, 6-3, Jr.

1, Rocco Spadafora, G, 5-11, So.

11, Dante Spadafora, G, 5-11, Sr.

34, Dawson Summers, C, 6-4, Jr.

44, Bryson Kirschner, F, 6-3, So.

Greensburg Central Catholic (16-3)

Coach: Christian Hyland

No., Player, Pos., Ht., Yr.

1, Christian McGowan, G, 6-1, Sr.

3, Dylan Sebek, G, 5-9, Sr.

10, Dylan Parsons, G, 6-0, Jr.

14, Ryan Appleby, F, 6-4, Jr.

21, Brevan Williams, F, 6-3, Jr.

Title-game history: OLSH is in the finals for the fifth straight season and has won two straight titles (2019, ‘20). GCC is looking for its first WPIAL title.

Notable: A preseason favorite that has lived up to expectations, OLSH has won 36 straight games and is the No. 1-ranked team in the state in Class 2A. The Chargers average a WPIAL-high 75.4 points behind junior forward Jake DiMichele (28 ppg) and senior guard Dante Spadafora (18 ppg). The Chargers rebounded from a slow start against Jeannette before rolling to a convincing semifinal win. The Chargers’ closest margin of victory was 15 points against Shenango in the quarterfinals. … GCC had three starters foul out in the semifinals against Sto-Rox, but its reserves helped seal the win. Coach Christian Hyland played on GCC’s most recent WPIAL finalist in 2014. Junior Brevan Williams averages 22 ppg and had 19 in the semifinals. Senior Christian McGowan averages 15 ppg.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Our Lady of the Sacred Heart