A game that was billed as a showdown between defending WPIAL champions and section co-leaders didn’t live up to its hype Tuesday.
Upper St. Clair put on a show against Imani Christian, with 6-foot-10 Tyler Robbins throwing down big dunks, the Panthers owning the boards, and senior guard Nico Gidas having a career night.
With the Panthers playing one of their best games of the season, the Saints didn’t have a prayer.
Robbins and Gidas scored 23 points apiece to lead host Upper St. Clair to a surprisingly lopsided 74-32 mercy-rule win against Imani Christian.
Upper St. Clair (12-1, 5-0), the reigning WPIAL Class 6A champion, took sole possession of first place in Section 2 following the win against Imani Christian (6-4, 4-1), which won back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A championships in 2023 and 2024 before deciding to voluntarily “play up” in Class 6A this season.
“It’s just one game, but I think if we play like that, I think it showed what level you have to be at to win in 6A,” Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer said. “But it’s just one game. We’ve got to play them at their place and that will be tough.”
Upper St. Clair had a massive edge in size in the game, and the Panthers took full advantage. The Panthers start Robbins along with 6-6 Kaamil Jackson, and bring 6-7 Ryan Robbins off the bench. Imani Christian, meanwhile, doesn’t have a player on its roster taller than 6-3. The disparity in height led the Panthers to scoring easily and regularly in the paint. The Panthers also held a 40-24 rebounding advantage.
This was also an outstanding defensive performance by Upper St. Clair, which entered the night surrendering a Class 6A-low 38 points after allowing just 15 to section foe Connellsville last Friday. Upper St. Clair held Imani Christian without a point for a span of nearly seven minutes in the first half. In that time, the Panthers used a 17-0 run to take a commanding 26-6 lead a little over a minute into the second quarter. The Panthers also did a fantastic job slowing down Imani Christian star RJ Sledge, who was limited to seven points, 18 below his season average of 25.
“I think in the first quarter, offensively we really established our size,” said Holzer, who earned his 508th career win. “The biggest concern we had is we had to handle their pressure because their guards are quick. RJ has some fast hands. We knew that if we would be able to handle that, we would cause them a lot of problems.”
Sledge, a 5-11 senior guard, was not at 100% after taking a fall and injuring his tailbone in a game Sunday. Imani Christian coach Khayree Wilson said that a massage therapist was at school Tuesday trying to help Sledge get ready to play in Tuesday’s game.
“He was nowhere near 100% today, but he’s one of those types of kids. He’s a gritty kid, he’s a tough kid. He’s going to come out here and do everything,” Wilson said.
Even with a healthy Sledge, it would have been awfully difficult for Imani Christian to find a path to a victory. In addition to the dominance down low, Upper St. Clair received a splendid performance from Gidas, a 6-3 senior guard who is playing varsity for the first time this season. Gidas connected on six 3-pointers and scored 23 points — both career bests — all coming in the first three quarters when the Panthers built a 66-28 lead.
“That’s the one thing we’ve been missing is a consistent long-range shooter that can make that many [3-pointers],” Holzer said. “We’ve got two or three guys that are capable. We just haven’t gotten there yet.”
Gidas was also tagged with the assignment of guarding Sledge for most of the game, so this was a terrific all-around effort by an unlikely star.
“Nico is like 6-2. And he has some length, too. So we thought it would be good to put him on RJ as much as possible,” Holzer said.
Robbins, a Miami (Ohio) recruit, also finished with 16 rebounds and four blocked shots to go along with his 23 points. He threw down three dunks in the second quarter. One of the jams was so impressive that both Holzer and longtime assistant Gavin Williams said that it might have been the most spectacular thrown down by a Panthers’ player in that gym.
Robbins, though, said that it wasn’t even his favorite.
“I had a pretty cool one in JV a couple of years ago,” he said. “I’d probably still say that’s my No. 1 dunk.”
Sophomore guard Donovan Gordon was the only player to score in double-figures for Imani Christian. He finished with 11 points.
This was Imani Christian’s first true road game of the season. All of its previous games were played on either its home floor at CCAC Allegheny or at neutral sites. Each of their first four section contests were at home.
The teams will square off again at CCAC Allegheny on Jan. 30, a game that Imani Christian will certainly have circled on the calendar if it didn’t already.
Things might not have gone well for the Saints on this night, but their coach had some words for anyone who thinks his team is in over their heads playing in Class 6A.
“Keep watching,” Wilson said. “And then tell me what you think at the end of the season. We’re not two-time state champions for no reason.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.