A-K Valley PIAA basketball playoff capsules: Games for March 10, 2023

By: Bill Hartlep
Thursday, March 9, 2023 | 3:34 PM

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PIAA basketball playoffs

Boys

Class 5A

First round

Fox Chapel (15-11) at Exeter (23-6)

6 p.m. Friday, Exeter Township Senior High School, Reading

District finish: Fox Chapel 7-7; Exeter 3-1

Winner plays: Winner of North Hills (20-6)/Mechanicsburg (18-8) Tuesday in PIAA second round (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Jefferson Moorefield-Brown, Fox Chapel; Anthony Caccese, Exeter

Layup lines: Fox Chapel earned the seventh seed in the WPIAL after defeating McKeesport, 64-55, in the seventh-place consolation game Feb. 28. Moorefield-Brown had 19 points, and Caden Kaiser added 11 for the Foxes. Fox Chapel, which won the WPIAL Class 6A title last season, reached the PIAA semifinals last season before falling to Archbishop Wood, 56-54. After beating Thomas Jefferson in the WPIAL first round, Fox Chapel lost to North Hills in the quarterfinals and then Mars in the first round of the consolation bracket. Fox Chapel last won a PIAA title in 1977, defeating Steelton-Highspire. … Exeter won the first District 3 title in program history March 2 with a 67-53 victory over Manheim Central at Giant Center in Hershey. Center Caccese (6-foot-6), a Delaware football commit, had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Eagles. Caccese was selected to play in the Big 33 Football Classic this spring. Reece Garvin added 11 points and 11 rebounds in the District 3 final. Kevin Saenz had 12 points, and Zyion Paschall added 10. The Eagles also won their first division title since 1984. They lost in the Berks Conference final to Reading. Exeter has won four straight games.

Class 4A

First round

Highlands (21-5) at Greater Johnstown (22-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Greater Johnstown High School, Johnstown

District finish: Highlands 7-4; Greater Johnstown 6-1

Winner plays: Winner of Lincoln Park (25-1)/South Allegheny (20-6) Tuesday in PIAA second round (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Jimmy Kunst, Highlands; Nyerre Collins, Greater Johnstown

Layup lines: Highlands reached the PIAA tournament as the No. 4 seed from the WPIAL after falling to Laurel Highlands, 83-60, in the WPIAL third-place game. Kunst had 18 points, Bradyn Foster added 16 and Cam Reigard tallied 14 in the loss. Highlands also lost to Lincoln Park in the WPIAL semifinals, snapping a seven-game winning streak. Foster leads the Golden Rams in scoring at 19.7 ppg, followed by Kunst (17.3) and Reigard (15.0). The Rams average 74 points as a team. Highlands reached the PIAA second round last season before falling to Laurel Highlands. … Johnstown defeated Central, 57-39, to win the District 6 title Feb. 28 at Mount Aloysius. It was the fourth district title in five seasons for the Trojans. Guards Collins (22.0 ppg) and Donte Tisinger (20.5 ppg) lead the scoring for Johnstown, which has won seven of its past eight games. In the District 6 final, Tisinger, a sophomore, had 20 points. Collins, a senior who surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this season, had 11 points. Johnstown has won one PIAA title, beating Steelton-Highspire in 2005.

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: Fox Chapel, Highlands