The South Allegheny basketball program has had quite a few lows over the years, among them a one-win season just nine years ago and a winless campaign four years before that.
These days, though, being a South Allegheny Gladiator is pretty cool.
“It feels like we’re all a bunch of superstars walking around the school because this hasn’t happened before,” said junior guard Drew Cook, the team’s leading scorer.
South Allegheny had never reached a WPIAL final before this season. After winning their first title earlier this month, the Gladiators (27-3) will make their PIAA finals debut when they face West Catholic (13-14) of the Philadelphia Catholic League in the Class 3A championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Giant Center.
The South Allegheny community has been buzzing about their Gladiators. Before the team departs for Hershey on Friday, there will be send-offs at both the high school, where there will be a pep rally, and the elementary school, where some youngsters likely actually view the players as superstars. The team’s playoff games have drawn big crowds, with an especially large one showing up at Canon-McMillan last Saturday for the semifinal win against defending champion Aliquippa.
“I came up from the locker room before the game, and it was packed,” South Allegheny coach Tony DiCenzo said. “The bleachers were filled with South Allegheny people. It was my first time there, and it was the perfect venue for that game. The atmosphere was electric. It was a really cool moment for the South Allegheny community. We’re really happy to bring them this success and get to Hershey. It’s been really special.”
South Allegheny is headed to its first state final after rallying to defeat Aliquippa, 36-31. Ya think the Gladiators and their fans are happy? This is what high school sports are all about.
— Brad Everett (@BREAL412) March 22, 2025pic.twitter.com/A6Z3KpicAg
South Allegheny, which won a PIAA game for the first time in 2020, is 8-0 in this postseason, a string of wins that has included two big comeback victories against Aliquippa. The Gladiators rallied in the final minute to defeat the Quips, 37-35, in the WPIAL final before storming back in the fourth quarter to beat the Quips, 36-31, in the PIAA semifinals.
The Gladiators continue to be led by junior guard Drew Cook (19.8 ppg), senior guard Cameron Epps (18.1 ppg) and senior forward Josh Jackowski (12.5 ppg). Cook and Epps form one of the top guard duos in the WPIAL, if not the state. This is a team that shoots — and makes — a lot of 3-pointers. They made seven triples and scored 29 points in the first quarter of their quarterfinal win against Camp Hill Trinity. On the season, Epps has made 98 3’s, Cook 72 and Jackowski 43.
South Allegheny was close to playing in this game once before, as it lost to Aliquippa in the 2022 Class 3A semifinals. The Gladiators then moved up to Class 4A, where they were eliminated in the first round in 2023 and 2024, before dropping to Class 3A once again this season.
“I don’t want to slight my previous teams, but this group has something special about them,” DiCenzo said. “We have probably the most balanced team I’ve ever had when you talk about the ability to score from each position.”
DiCenzo once appeared in this game as a player. He was a junior who saw some time off the bench when West Mifflin lost to Kennett in the Class 3A final back in 2002. DiCenzo’s coach at West Mifflin was Lance Maha. Two decades later, Maha’s son, Cory, is one of DiCenzo’s assistants.
Of course, to get that first PIAA title, South Allegheny must get through a talented West Catholic team whose record is very misleading. The Burrs played a loaded schedule that included games against perennial powers Neumann-Goretti, Imhotep Charter and Roman Catholic. The program reached the PIAA final one other time, beating Deer Lakes, 83-55, in 2023.
This West Catholic team could be the tallest South Allegheny has faced this season. The biggest and best of the bunch is 6-7 junior forward Kingston Wheatley, who is receiving Division I interest. But it was sophomore guard Jayvon Byrd who starred in the team’s 58-57 semifinal win against Holy Cross, drilling the winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left.
“It’s not the size of the lion, it’s the size of the heart of the lion,” Cook said. “We don’t let people punk us. Even though we’re smaller, we’re going to come out swinging.”
Class 2A
Mike Iuzzolino played in the NBA and spent about two decades as a college assistant, so why did this former sharpshooting guard who appeared in the legendary video game NBA Jam decide to become a high school coach for the first time this season?
“The opportunity to finally be a head coach,” he said. “As an assistant coach and as the associate head coach at Robert Morris, you make a lot of suggestions, but you never make the final decisions. I always wanted to do that.”
Iuzzolino now has the opportunity to lead Sewickley Academy to a PIAA title in his first season. The Panthers (24-5) will shoot for their fourth title and first in eight years when they play District 3 runner-up Linville Hill (28-3) 2 p.m. Friday at Giant Center.
Sewickley Academy, which went just 13-10 a season ago, has bounced from a 45-25 loss to eventual champion Jeannette in the WPIAL semifinals by ripping off five consecutive wins, the latest being a 52-48 triumph against Greensburg Central Catholic in the PIAA semifinals.
“The team has grown up immensely since that loss,” Iuzzolino said. “I think sometimes as a young team, as we are, sometimes you grow more from a loss than a win. I think the kids were disappointed in their performance that night, and we had to figure out why we performed like that. I told them, ‘Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% of how you respond.’”
The Panthers, who previously won titles in 1997, 2010 and 2017, are quite the balanced bunch offensively with no player averaging more than 10.5 points per game. Senior forward Nolan Donnelly and junior guard Lucas Grimsley were returning starters, and the Panthers also had some big additions in the offseason with 6-8 sophomore forward Adam Ikamba and 6-8 freshman forward Mamadou Kane joining the mix.
But it’s defense that is Sewickley Academy’s calling card. The Panthers give up just 37.9 points per game, fewest of any team in the WPIAL. They surrendered only 36, 35 and 35 points in their first three PIAA games and have limited all eight of their postseason opponents to 48 or fewer.
“It’s been an emphasis since we started workouts,” Iuzzolino said. “I’m a big believer in defense wins games and offense determines by how much. Any championship-level team relies on their defense, and we wanted to instill in them how to play defense.”
Their opponent, Linville Hill, is appearing in the final for the first time. The school is located about 15 miles east of Lancaster. This has been a breakthrough season for the Warriors, who were bounced in the quarterfinals in 2022 and the semifinals in 2023 and 2024. They have taken down four district champions in these playoffs, among them Philadelphia power Constitution in the second round and District 4’s Northwest, 68-43, in the semifinals. Northwest had beaten WPIAL foe Northgate, 60-55, in overtime a round earlier.
Linville Hill, which doesn’t have a ton of size, features three double-digit scorers in 6-2 senior forward Giovanni Sejuste (14.5 ppg), 6-1 senior forward Stephen Smucker (14.5 ppg) and 6-0 senior guard Derian Peterseim (12.5 ppg). Sejuste also averages 7.4 rebounds per game.
“For us, it’s simple,” Iuzzolino said. “It all starts with defense.”
Class 1A
Neighborhood Academy has been building toward this moment. In just its fifth season playing in the WPIAL, the Bulldogs won their first WPIAL championship last month and are now a win away from claiming a first PIAA title.
“We’ve had a countdown,” coach Jordan Marks said. “After the semifinal game I told them, ‘You know you have six days left, and that’s it.’ You saw their eyes light up. I just love these guys, but it’s not over yet. When you see them become better young men, you see them mature, you see them become more and more unselfish, those are the things that make it so special.”
Neighborhood Academy (28-1) will take on Sankofa Freedom (19-11) in the championship at 2 p.m. Thursday at Giant Center. While Neighborhood Academy is appearing in its first final, Sankofa Freedom, which plays in the Philadelphia Public League, is here for a second time. The Warriors defeated WPIAL opponent Vincentian, 83-61, in the 2019 title game.
Led by senior guard and Yale recruit Courtney Wallace, Neighborhood Academy’s only loss was to Class 4A Beaver by one point on Jan. 4. Since then, the Bulldogs have won 18 consecutive games, all but one of them by double digits. They have won each of their seven postseason games by at least 17 points.
Wallace is not only one of the best players in his neighborhood but also the entire state. A senior guard and Yale recruit, Wallace has put together a remarkable season as he is averaging a triple-double — 22.4 points, 13 rebounds and 10.3 assists. As if that isn’t enough, Wallace also regularly guards the opponent’s top player.
“I’ve never seen it before. And I think that when a lot of people see him, they say he’s the best kid around here,” Marks said.
While Wallace is the engine, this is no one-man show. A team that has pumped in 71.3 points per game also features sophomore guard Kedron Gilmore (14 ppg), senior guard Syncere Nicholson (13.3 ppg) and senior guard Shamar Simpson (10.4 ppg). Derick Hardeman, a 6-4 junior center, averages eight rebounds and a team-best four blocks, while the top player off the bench has been senior guard Junior Onwubiko (5.8 ppg).
Sankofa Freedom is led by Nafis Dubose, a 6-2 junior guard averaging a team-best 16 points per game. In a quarterfinal win against District 1 champion Chester Charter, Dubose scored a team-high 22 points while 6-3 sophomore forward Sammad West pulled down 22 rebounds. After Dubose, senior point guard Asim Hardy (8.8 ppg), West (7.4 ppg) and junior guard Nasir Brown (6.6 ppg) have been the team’s top scorers.
“They’re very physical,” Marks said. “They rebound the ball very well and are very good defensively. They seem to be very well coached. I think the other thing that can cause issues is that most WPIAL teams have one or two guys who do most of the scoring, but for them it’s very spread out.”
While beating Sankofa Freedom will be a big challenge, Marks said his team can’t wait for the opportunity to win the program its first state title.
“They’re dying to play for their school, for their community, for their families. They always have that mindset,” he said. “They have done so much already. They’ve beaten a team from every classification and the City League, they have the potential to go 29-1, they’ve won the section, the WPIAL and now have a chance to win states. It’s rare territory. I told them that ‘It’s something very few have done, and now you guys can do it.’ They’re dying to get the chance.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.