2023 WPIAL Class 3A boys basketball championship breakdown: Deer Lakes vs. OLSH

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, March 2, 2023 | 5:16 PM

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WPIAL Class 3A boys basketball final

No. 5 Deer Lakes vs. No. 6 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

5 p.m. Friday, Petersen Events Center

Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com

WPIAL titles: Deer Lakes 0; OLSH 4 (2022, ’21, ’20, ’19)

Deer Lakes (16-8)

Projected starting lineup

Coach: Albie Fletcher

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

2, Michael Butler, 5-10, sr., G

4, Nate Litrun, 6-5, sr., F

5, Bryce Robson, 6-0, sr., G

10, Nate Buechel, 6-2, sr., G/F

20, Billy Schaeffer, 6-0, jr., G

Notable: Deer Lakes won 70-55 when these teams met Dec. 22, snapping what was a record 74-game winning streak for OLSH. The winning streak was the longest in state history for a boys high school basketball team. Robson scored 21 points and Schaeffer had 17 in the win. … The Lancers have reached the WPIAL finals for the first time in team history. … Fletcher is a first-year head coach. The 1993 Deer Lakes graduate was an assistant under previous coach Terence Parham. … The Lancers average 69.1 points per game as the top-scoring team in WPIAL 3A. Their defense allows 55.1 ppg. … They upset No. 1 seed Steel Valley, 65-63, in the semifinals. Butler made a winning 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left. … Robson averages 17.5 ppg, Schaeffer 11.5 and Litrun 11.4 … Deer Lakes reached the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals last season before moving to 3A this winter.

OLSH (19-5)

Projected starting lineup

Coach: Mike Rodriguez

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

1, Rocco Spadafora, 6-0, sr., G

3, Dorrien Tate, 6-1, jr., G

4, Dereon Greer, 6-2, jr., F

33, Bryson Kirschner, 6-3, sr., F

34, Brad Vaughn, 6-1, sr., G

Notable: OLSH won four consecutive WPIAL Class 2A titles and two state championships before moving to 3A this season. … A fifth straight WPIAL title would tie Midland’s record from 1973-77. … The Chargers haven’t lost a WPIAL playoff game since March 2, 2018. They’ve won 17 in a row after losing to Sewickley Academy in the 2018 WPIAL finals. … Rodriguez is 236-47 in 11 seasons as coach. The Chargers are one win away from their seventh consecutive 20-win season. … The team averages 60.5 points on offense and allows 50.3 on defense. … Spadafora is a 16-point scorer, Kirschner averages 14 and Vaughn 12. … OLSH defeated No. 2 Neshannock, 53-50, in the semifinals. … Spadafora scored 20 points in the semifinals and had 21 in the first round. He is the nephew of former IBF world boxing champion Paul Spadafora.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart