Top 3 WPIAL boys basketball playoff games to watch Friday night

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 15, 2018 | 7:57 PM

With the 2018 WPIAL basketball playoffs tipping off Friday and, as the exclusive audio and video home of all postseason games, the Daily 3 will take on a new format.

Each day there are district playoff basketball games, the TribLive High School Sports Network will preview the Top 3 boys and girls basketball games that day. Here's a look at the Top 3 boys games for opening night.

Class 3A first round: Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic vs. Ellwood City at Ambridge, 6:30 p.m.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic is one of three defending champions slotted in their bracket as a No. 6 seed. The Trojans enter the postseason 11-11 after finishing a distant second in Section 2-3A, three games behind Seton LaSalle. Since winning back-to-back games in late January and early February, CWNC split its final four regular season contests. John Fukon played a big part in last year's title run, but Michael Drambel and Ryan Feczko have led the Trojans in scoring the last two games.

Ellwood City snapped a five-year drought when it qualified for the playoffs last year, but it was still a sub-.500 team. This year, however, the Wolverines sported a winning record for the first time since 2011, when they finished 14-8 and in third place behind top-seed Lincoln Park and No. 4-seed Aliquippa. Ellwood City has not lost to a WPIAL team that wasn't named Lincoln Park or Aliquippa since December. Anthony Roth is a player to watch for the Wolverines.

Class 3A first round: Burrell vs. Riverside at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, 8 p.m.

Burrell finished as tri-champs in Section 3-3A with Shady Side Academy and East Allegheny and drew the highest seed of the three at No. 5 thanks in part to a 3-1 record in head-to-head games with the Indians and Wildcats, including two wins over SSA in a span of five days. After a season-high three-game winning streak in late January, the Bucs went 2-2 in their final four games. Donovan Russell tallied 15 points in each of the Buccaneers' final two section games.

Riverside finished fourth in a tough Section 1-3A behind Lincoln Park, Aliquippa and Ellwood City. Despite the Panthers sub-.500 record in section play, they did win 12 of 21 in the regular season and nearly pulled off the upset of top-seed Lincoln Park on Groundhog Day before falling 59-55.

Class A first round: Propel Andrew Street vs. Holy Family Academy at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, 6:30 p.m.

This will be an historic matchup as Holy Family Academy play in its first WPIAL boys basketball playoff game in only its second season as a member of the district. It is also the second season for Propel Andrew Street in the WPIAL. The Panthers qualified for the playoffs last year only to fall 62-40 to Clairton in the first round. PAS is one of the hottest teams in Class A heading into the postseason, having won 10 straight to clinch a tie with Imani Christian and Eden Christian for the Section 3-A title.

Last year, Holy Family Academy finished 2-20 overall. But the Saints turned things around this season and ended up with a mark of 13-8 and in fourth place in Section 1.

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

Tags: Burrell, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Ellwood City, North Catholic, Riverside