2023 WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball championship breakdown: Lincoln Park vs. North Catholic

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, March 2, 2023 | 5:21 PM

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WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball final

No. 1 Lincoln Park vs. No. 6 North Catholic

9 p.m. Friday, Petersen Events Center

Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com

On the air: KDKA (1020 AM, 100.1 FM), WBVP (1230 AM, 99.3 FM), WMBA (1460 AM)

WPIAL titles: Lincoln Park 5 (2021, ’19, ’18, ’14, ’12); North Catholic 5 (2020, ’17, ’16, ’10, ’09)

Lincoln Park (24-1)

Projected starting lineup

Coach: Mike Bariski

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

0, Dontay Green, 6-5, jr., F

1, DeAndre Moye, 6-0, sr., G

3, Brandin Cummings, 6-4, jr., G

5, Meleek Thomas, 6-4, so., G/F

21, Dorian McGhee, 6-2, jr., F

Notable: Lincoln Park won both regular-season matchups with section rival North Catholic (87-71 and 71-55). …These teams already have met four times in the WPIAL finals, all since 2017. They’re tied 2-2 in those games. …The Leopards have two of the WPIAL’s top players in Cummings (25.1 ppg) and Thomas (23.3). Cummings, a Pitt commit, is the brother of Pitt guard Nelly Cummings. ESPN ranks Thomas as the fourth-best sophomore prospect in the country. In recent weeks, he added Villanova to a list of college offers that included Pitt, Indiana, Missouri and others. … Lincoln Park has the highest-scoring offense in the WPIAL regardless of classification. The Leopards average 76.3 ppg. … The defense allows 57.2 ppg. … Bariski is 204-45 in nine seasons as coach. … Lincoln Park’s only regular-season loss was to WPIAL 6A finalist Central Catholic by five points. … The Leopards defeated Highlands, 87-64, in the semifinals.

North Catholic (19-6)

Projected starting lineup

Coach: Jim Rocco

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

2, Andrew Maddalon, 6-1, sr., G

5, Matthew Ellery, 6-1, sr., G

21, Max Hurray, 6-1, jr., G

23, Jason Siket, 6-0, jr., G

24, Max Rottmann, 6-1, sr., G

Notable: North Catholic upset No. 3 seed Uniontown (73-58) and No. 2 Laurel Highlands (74-59) en route to the WPIAL finals. … The Trojans have four double-digit scorers led by Hurray (22.8 ppg). Maddalon is an 18-point scorer. Rottmann and Ellery average 10 apiece. … Maddalon is committed to Roanoke College, a Division III program in Virginia. … North Catholic averages 71.9 points and allows 56.8. … Three of the team’s regular-season losses came against Philadelphia schools and another was against a Florida opponent. … The Trojans defeated WPIAL 6A finalist Central Catholic, 66-45, in the regular-season finale. … Rocco is 37-10 in two seasons at North Catholic. He previously coached at Penn-Trafford and Penn Hills, where he won WPIAL titles in 2000 and ’03. … Rocco’s daughter Alayna is a junior on the school’s girls team that competes in the WPIAL finals Saturday. … Rottmann is the son of North Catholic girls coach Molly Rottmann.

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: Lincoln Park, North Catholic