A-K Valley basketball playoff capsules: Games for Feb. 22, 2023

By: Bill Hartlep
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 | 4:28 PM

WPIAL basketball playoffs

Boys

Class 5A

Quarterfinals

11-Fox Chapel (14-9) vs. 3-North Hills (18-5)

8 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny High School, McCandless

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Penn Hills (18-3)/7-Mars (15-8) in semifinals Saturday (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Kameron Greil, Fox Chapel; Royce Parham, North Hills

Layup lines: The last time these teams met, Fox Chapel defeated North Hills, 43-36, to win the 2022 WPIAL Class 6A title. Both teams dropped down to Class 5A this season. The Foxes tied for third in Section 2 with a 5-5 mark. They beat No. 6 Thomas Jefferson, 62-45, on Friday behind 20 points from Greil and 16 from Jefferson Moorefield-Brown. Greil also had six rebounds and five assists, and Moorefield-Brown added eight rebounds. … Parham, a 6-foot-8 junior forward, averages 29.1 points. He had 30 points in North Hills’ 76-71 win over No. 14 Kiski Area on Friday. The Indians won the Section 4 title by outscoring opponents 71.0-61.0 on average. Eric James added 18 points in Friday’s win.

SWCAC basketball playoffs

Boys

Semifinals

Cheswick Christian Academy vs. Pittsburgh Christian Academy

5 p.m. Wednesday at Cornerstone Prep, West Mifflin

Winner plays: Winner of Portersville Christian/Harvest Academy in finals Saturday, 7 p.m.

Players to watch: Grant Rochkind, Cheswick Christian; Nate McFarland, Pittsburgh Christian Academy

Layup lines: Cheswick Christian is coming off a 76-39 victory over East Liverpool Christian in the SWCAC quarterfinals. Grant Rochkind had 22 points, while Joseph Rosio added 15, Sean Louis had 11, and Brady Rochkind scored 10. Cheswick Christian was the second-place team in the Greater Pittsburgh division during the regular season. The Chargers (17-6) have won four straight games. … Pittsburgh Christian Academy, which finished first in the Tri-County division, reached the semifinals after beating Western Pa. School for the Deaf, 60-37, on Monday. PCA defeated Cheswick, 55-54, on Feb. 6 behind 20 points from McFarland and 15 from Jack Taylor. Cheswick won earlier matchups, 53-50, on Jan. 14 and 52-47, on Dec. 3.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Cheswick Christian, Fox Chapel, North Hills