PIAA Class 3A boys basketball championship breakdown: West Catholic vs. Deer Lakes

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, March 24, 2023 | 4:37 PM

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PIAA Class 3A boys basketball championship

West Catholic vs. Deer Lakes

2 p.m. Saturday, Hershey’s Giant Center

On the air: TV: PCN

PIAA titles: West Catholic 0; Deer Lakes 0

West Catholic (19-10)

Coach: Miguel Bocachica

Probable starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos.

0, Adam Clark, 5-10, sr., G

1, Tariq Jennings, 6-5, jr., G

2, Zion Stanford, 6-5, sr., F

11, Amyr Walker, 6-2, sr., G

22, Kingston Wheatley, 6-6, fr., F

Notable: Wins over Columbia, Holy Redeemer, Executive Education and Trinity lifted West Catholic to the PIAA championship game for the first time. The Burrs have knocked off the District 2, 11 and 3 champions and now will face District 7’s winner in the state final. … The Burrs are led by a pair of Division I-bound players. Stanford, a 6-foot-5 forward who averages 17.6 ppg and 7.4 rpg, is a Temple recruit. Clark, a 5-10 point guard who averages 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists, was pledged to Coppin State but decommitted after coach Juan Dixon was let go earlier this month. … Coach Miguel Bocachica was the Philadelphia Catholic League Coach of the Year last season after guiding West Catholic to a trip to the PIAA quarterfinals.

Deer Lakes (21-8)

Coach: Albie Fletcher

Probable starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Yr., Pos.

2, Michael Butler, 5-10, sr., G

4, Nate Litrun, 6-5, sr., F

5, Bryce Robson, 6-0, sr., G

10, Nate Buechel, 6-2, sr., G/F

20, Billy Schaeffer, 6-0, jr., G

Notable: Deer Lakes is no stranger to thrilling victories this season, dating to Dec. 22 when the Lancers ended OLSH’s 74-game winning streak. The Lancers then took down OLSH again in the WPIAL championship game to claim the program’s first district title. … The winning ways have continued in the PIAA playoffs, including victories over Seneca, Loyalsock Township, Neshannock and Penn Cambria. In Tuesday’s 61-56 semifinal victory over Penn Cambria, Billy Schaeffer made a key 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter and added a three-point play in the final minute to give the Lancers a lead they did not relinquish. … Schaeffer, the only junior in a senior-heavy starting rotation, scored 17 points. Fellow junior Wayne Love added 16 points off the bench. … Senior forward Nate Litrun, who was injured in the semifinals, is expected to play in the championship game. … Fletcher is a first-year head coach. The 1993 Deer Lakes graduate was an assistant under previous coach Terence Parham.

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: Deer Lakes