Upper St. Clair avenges loss to rival Bethel Park in battle for 1st place in Section 2-6A

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, February 5, 2022 | 5:36 PM

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Last week, four teams were tied for first place in Section 2-6A boys basketball.

Entering Saturday, it was Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair sitting tied for the top spot.

Now, only defending WPIAL Class 6A champion USC is left alone in first place.

The Panthers put together a dominant two quarter stretch of basketball that lifted them to a 56-33 win over the visiting Black Hawks on Saturday afternoon.

“I like it that way,” Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer said. “I’m so proud of our team. Knock on wood; I think we are playing our best basketball right now.”

Upper St. Clair lost at Bethel Park in the first meeting between the two neighbors, 48-44, in large part because the Panthers could not handle the Black Hawks’ 2-3 zone.

For the first six minutes, that trend continued as Bethel Park built a 15-7 lead.

However, the Hawks’ offense then turned frosty, becoming colder than the weather that forced this game to be postponed from Friday to Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers scored eight straight points in the final 1:45 of the first quarter to tie the game 15-15.

Bethel Park would not score another field goal until 36 seconds were left in the third quarter, ending an incredible 31-2 run for Upper St. Clair.

“We picked up our intensity on defense,” Holzer said of the massive momentum swing. “We just talked about pressuring the ball and relentless pressure and proving what a good defensive team we are. It was more of effort and intensity and an urgency to keep this team winning.”

Black Hawks coach Josh Bears agreed that the Panthers defense was the story.

“USC did a really nice job defensively,” he said. “When we were able to get open looks, we weren’t able to capitalize. Defensively, they dug in and were tough physically.”

While defense was a big part of the USC 24-4 scoring advantage in the second and third quarters, the Panthers offense also clicked from outside, which they could not do in the first meeting.

“We adjusted some offensive things against the zone,” Holzer said. “We’ve been seeing a lot of zone lately, so we’ve been working on it quite a bit. Getting guys at different angles and different slots and trying to utilize the middle of the zone.”

A large part of that was the return of senior guard Mike Pellicci, who scored 13 points after missing the first meeting between the two teams.

“We didn’t have Mike last time and he can score,’ Holzer said. “He made a couple of key shots, and that was big.”

Also rebounding was senior guard Tanner O’Grady, who struggled in the first meeting. He had a game-high 19 points to lead the Panthers. Sophomore Devin Hall added 11 points for USC.

Only five Black Hawks made it on the score sheet with junior Ben Guffey scoring 13 points for Bethel Park (5-3, 14-4), which had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Upper St. Clair (6-2, 13-5) clinched a playoff berth with the win and enters the final week of section play with section games against Canon-McMillan and Mt. Lebanon on tap. The Panthers have a one-game lead over the Black Hawks and the Blue Devils.

“If we win on Tuesday, we at least clinch a share of the section title,” Holzer said. “I’m so proud of this team.”

Tags: Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair