Class 6A boys teams begin WPIAL postseason play in Saturday’s 3 games to watch

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 16, 2018 | 5:42 PM

Day 2 of the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs is a quiet one with only four contests. However the interest level is high as these first-round games tip off the much-anticipated Class 6A playoffs. All four games are the middle contest of that site's tripleheader.

All games can be heard on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

Class 6A first round: Butler vs. Latrobe at Fox Chapel, 1:30 p.m.

The keyword in this No. 8 vs. No. 9 opening round contest is “Butler.” The school was the district runner-up a year ago and finished in third place in Section 1-6A despite going 18-4. The player is Bryce Butler who helped Latrobe to a 15-7 overall mark and a fourth-place finish in the top-heavy Section 3-6A.

Butler is guided by super sophomore Ethan Morton, who is one of the top players in the district and averages 24.6 points. The Golden Tornado enjoyed winning streaks of six and seven in a row this season and had won four straight before losing two of their final three games.

While Bryce Butler averages 21 points, he is not even the team's leading scorer. Reed Fenton is averaging 22.8 points as the Wildcats were the highest scoring team in the classification. Problem for them is they also allowed the most points on average in Class 6A. There should be points a plenty in this one.

Class 6A first found: Canon-McMillan vs. Seneca Valley at West Allegheny, 1:30 p.m.

One of the hottest teams in the classification battles one of the most consistent teams in 6A with a berth in the quarterfinals and a meeting with No. 2 Woodland Hills at stake.

Seneca Valley rode a late-season surge to pull away from North Allegheny and earn fourth place in Section 1-6A. In late January, the Raiders were sitting at 8-7 overall and had dropped five straight before winning six games in a row, including victories over fellow playoff teams Pine-Richland and Butler. Defense was a big part of the turnaround as Seneca Valley gave up more than 39 points twice during that streak.

After avenging an earlier loss and beating Mt. Lebanon on Jan. 23, Canon-McMillan was in line for the school's second boys basketball section championship. However a loss to Baldwin two weeks ago dropped the Big Macs to second place in Section 2-6A and likely dropped them from a top-four seed and a first-round bye to the No. 7 seed and a tough opener against SV.

Class 6A first round: Pine-Richland vs. Bethel Park at North Hills, 1:30 p.m.

Pine-Richland won the last Quad-A title in the four-classification setup in 2016, then followed with another crown in the first 6A district championship game in 2017. The Rams probably wish they had a bye, but now they begin their quest for a three-peat.

Jeff Ackerman knows about three-peats. The Pine-Richland coach was the head coach at Moon when the Tigers won three straight Triple-A crowns in 2004, 2005 and 2006. He also knows his team is finally together and healthy for one of the first times this season after the state championship success of the football program, injuries and other commitments kept starters Phil Jurkovec and Andrew Kristofic on the sidelines for stretches of the season.

Bethel Park is the kind of team nobody wants to play in Round 1. The Black Hawks are scrappy, they play hard and they have enough talent to raise some eyebrows. Plus Black Hawks coach Josh Bears knows about taking an underdog to a title after coaching No. 16-seed West Allegheny to an unlikely crown 11 years ago. Bethel Park has been led on offense in part by the brother act of Justin and Ryan Meis.

Don Rebel is a TribLIVE High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Bethel Park, Butler, Canon-McMillan, Latrobe, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley