Top boys basketball teams in 5A to meet as part of 3 things to watch Tuesday in WPIAL athletics

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 8, 2018 | 5:49 PM

First, Southwestern Pennsylvania battles through two weeks of bitter cold, then several inches of snow on Monday. Well the reprieve for high school basketball fans comes Tuesday in the form of a pair of No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdowns in WPIAL boys hoops.

In Class 5A, defending district champion and second-ranked Moon visits top-ranked Mars in the first of two meetings this season. The Tigers are a perfect 9-0, including 2-0 in Section 2, while the Fightin' Planets, also 2-0 in the section, are 7-2 with both losses coming to out-of-state teams in their trip to Fort Meyers, Fla.

How will Mars' Robby Carmody do against one of the top defenses in the entire WPIAL. Carmody is the district's leading scorer, averaging nearly 37 points. But the Tigers are tops in the classification and third overall in team defense in the WPIAL, yielding only 45.7 points per game.

You can listen to the game on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

Another 1-2 showdown

The other matchup of No. 1 vs. 2 Tuesday in the WPIAL comes in Class 3A and also is an early-season battle for first place as both Lincoln Park and host Aliquippa are 1-0 atop Section 1.

The Leopards sit atop this week's TribLive HSSN rankings with a 4-4 record. But two of those losses came to the second-ranked team in 6A, Penn Hills, with the other two defeats coming at the hands of 4A power New Castle and Hickory from District 10.

The Quips are ranked No. 2 with an overall mark of 8-3, but all of their losses (to New Castle, Central Valley and Sewickley Academy) have come in their last four games.

This also is the first of at least two meetings between these section rivals, who met in the 2015 WPIAL Class 2A finals when Aliquippa edged Lincoln Park, 49-45.

You can also listen to this game on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

Make-up on the mats

While there are several battles for first place in WPIAL wrestling set for Wednesday, we get a sneak preview with a make-up match for a share of a sub-section lead on Tuesday.

South Park was scheduled to travel to Burgettstown on Dec. 13, but the match was postponed until Tuesday.

The host Blue Devils sit in first place Class 2A, Section 1A with a 2-0 record, while the Eagles come into the match with a 1-1 mark.

This might be an all-or-nothing match for South Park, as a loss would drop them into a tie for fourth place (only top three advance to team sectionals) while a win would force a four-way tie for first between the Eagles, the Blue Devils, Chartiers-Houston (2-1) and Fort Cherry (2-1).

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

Tags: Aliquippa, Burgettstown, Lincoln Park, Mars, Moon, South Park