South Allegheny set to take center stage as top seed
Mike Darnay / MVI Sports
Senior Antonio Epps led a deep Gladiators’ playoff run last season and is hoping to win gold this year.
By DEAN DELLAMALVA JR
MVI Sports
No. 1 South Allegheny’s first test in this year’s playoffs is a familiar team in Ligonier Valley. The Gladiators beat the Rams twice in section play this year, earning a 59-25 win in January and a 62-47 triumph three weeks ago.
Ligonier Valley (5-10) is coming off an 80-41 win over Brownsville in the preliminary round. They are led by junior Matt Marinchak who scored 30 points in the Rams’ win over the Falcons and tallied 17 in his last meeting with SA.
“(Marinchak) is a tough matchup for anybody. The second half of the season, he’s been scoring the ball very well,” SA head coach Tony DiCenzo said. “You look in the box scores and he’s 20-plus, approaching 30 on some nights. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us to slow him down and contain him.”
If there is any team capable of shutting down an opponent, it is South Allegheny, a group widely regarded as one of the best defensive teams in the WPIAL.
“I like where we are as far as our half-court defense, it is the backbone of our team,” DiCenzo said. “We take a lot of pride in stopping the other team and making them earn.”
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