Pine-Richland Cruises To First WPIAL Quad-A Basketball Title

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 27, 2016 | 11:33 PM

Following a 77-75 double-overtime win against top-seeded Latrobe Wednesday, Pine-Richland got off to a mildly sluggish start early in the first quarter of Saturday’s WPIAL Class AAAA Championship game. However, that didn’t last long. The Rams opened up a 12-0 run midway through the first quarter, and never looked back, defeating North Hills 70-53 at the Petersen Events Center to win the first District 7 Championship in school history.

“We went really light for two days after that,” said Pine-Richland head coach Jeff Ackermann. “We didn’t watch any film; I think it helped us that we played them twice in section play. From that standpoint, we didn’t need as much preparation. Nothing full court, we kept it light so they had legs. It was more about executing.”

The top executor was Andrew Petcash, who had a game-high 21 points for the Rams. Late in the third quarter, the junior surpassed the 1,000th-point plateau.

“I put in a lot of time and my teammates get me the ball,” said Petcash. “I have some pressure to score on me sometimes, but I know I need to score to help my team win.”

For North Hills, junior Nick Smith led the way with 19 points for the Indians, closely followed by Ish Waldron, who had 17. The rest of the Indians combined for 14 points, with only two bench points. Waldron, a senior, sat out last season after transferring from a public school in Bronx, N.Y. between his sophomore and junior year.

“He’s been one of our leaders,” said head coach Buzz Gabos. “He’s come a long way in a year and a half – on and off the court and in the classroom. He’s a special kid to have.”

Prior to Saturday, Pine-Richland reached the WPIAL Championships as a Class AAA program back in 2000. The Rams fell to Blackhawk in that contest 73-50, as Blackhawk went on to play in the PIAA finals that season.

Now, it’s Pine-Richland’s turn. The Rams face Bethel Park March 5, which defeated Chartiers Valley for the fifth and final playoff spot out of District 7. North HIlls will meet the third seed out of the WPIAL, Latrobe, next Saturday in the PIAA First Round.

“Our section preps us because it’s no coincidence that the two final teams were both from our section.” said Ackermann. “Our section is a grind every night. There’s no easy ones. When you’re used to the grand every Tuesday and Friday, it’s just like the playoffs, there’s no difference.”

Score By Quarters:
PR: 16-14-18-25=73
NH:  6-18-11-15=50