What to watch for in WPIAL sports for Feb. 2, 2021: SSA to test No. 1 South Allegheny

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, February 2, 2021 | 12:18 AM

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Remember the movie “Groundhog Day” when Bill Murray’s character kept waking up and it was Groundhog Day and the same things kept happening to him over and over and over again?

Two WPIAL boys basketball teams that can relate to that movie on Groundhog Day 2021 will battle on Tuesday.

Shady Side Academy was late to the season’s tip, but they have been marvelous since. The Bulldogs are 6-0 overall, 4-0 in Section 3-3A. They have the No. 1 defense in the class, and they are enjoying success without a senior in the starting lineup.

SSA will face top-ranked South Allegheny in a game you can watch on HSSN at 7:30 p.m.

The Gladiators also were enjoying that winning feeling over and over and over again until they finally lost for the first on Saturday, 48-46, to one of the top teams in Class 5A, Mars.

South Allegheny is No. 3 in team defense in 3A behind SSA and Neshannock.

Sophomore Bryce Epps leads the Gladiators, averaging 18 points per game while senior brother Antonio Epps averages over 15 points per game.

Hot matchup

With teams taking turns beating each other in Class 6A, any sort of win streak is notable.

Hempfield is one of the hotter teams in the class in the last few weeks. The Spartans have won three straight and five out of six games to lift them in the Section 3-6A standings.

The Spartans are 4-1 and in first place in the section, 5-2 overall.

For as hot as Hempfield is, they aren’t as feverish as Fox Chapel (3-1, 7-2).

After splitting their first four games, the Foxes have won five in a row, including an upset of No. 1 Upper St. Clair a week and a half ago.

This is the second meeting of the year between the top two teams in the section. Fox Chapel won on the road, 87-65, on the first night back after the state-mandated three-week shutdown of all high school sports over the holidays.

Green with envy

They are a combined 8-1 in section play and sitting atop Section 2-2A.

The first of two battles between green-wearing schools takes place at Sto-Rox on Tuesday when the Vikings host the Carlynton Cougars.

Carlynton is 4-0 in the section and 7-1 overall, having won two straight since its only loss, 66-49 at Avonworth.

Meanwhile, Sto-Rox has hit a funk. The Vikings have dropped four in a row after winning four straight to open the season.

One of those losses came last Friday when they were stunned in a section contest by Burgettstown, 63-55.