Pennsylvania state basketball championships weekend is here

There is a potpourri of great storylines coming up this weekend in the PIAA state basketball championships at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

Mount Lebanon features its boys and girls advancing to the state finals, in a battle with two Philadelphia-area powerhouses in Chester (boys Class AAAA) and Archbishop Carroll (Radnor) (girls Class AAAA).

There are two threepeat possibilities on the girls' side, with Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) (AAAA) and Dunmore (AA) going for their third-straight state crowns, while Neumann-Goretti (boys Class AAA) and Bishop Guilfoyle (Altoona) (girls Class AA) try to repeat as two-time winners.

Traditional powerhouse Chester is back in the state finals after a three-year absence, and the Clippers may be playing for more than just Chester, they'll be playing for a fourth-straight boys' Class AAAA state title from District 1 team and six in the last seven years from southeastern Pennsylvania.

Boys
Class AAAA: Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) (27-3) vs. Chester (30-1) Saturday at 7 p.m.
Chester looks like a team on a mission and no team in Pennsylvania looks as if it could stop the Clippers. They're 10 deep, are beating state playoff opponents by an average of 18.2 points a game and seem untouchable.

Led by Maurice Nelson, who's looking to duplicate older brother Jameer's feat of a state title his senior year, Lamon Church, DeQuann Walker, Erikk Wright and Richard Granberry, Chester has buried opponents with pressure, pressure and more pressure.

The starting five doesn't even include who could possibly be the best player on the team, breakout, burgeoning talent Rondae Jefferson. The 6-7 sophomore point guard and younger brother of Temple forward Rahlir Jefferson, who scored 11 points in Chester's 73-50 state semifinal thumping of defending state champion Plymouth-Whitemarsh, which was playing without Pitt-bound Jaylen Bond, who was out with a back injury.

Even if Bond did play, it might not have mattered. Chester beat formidable Penn Wood twice this season, stepped on Philadelphia Catholic League power La Salle (68-50), then easily vanquished West Chester Rustin (75-56; a Rustin team that knocked Penn Wood out of the winners bracket in the district playoffs) to arrive at the state semifinals.

Mount Lebanon, on the other hand, arrives to the state finals after an overtime struggle with 2010 state finalist and 2009 state champion Penn Wood, 52-48.

The Blue Devils used a slow tempo and a huge 3-point shot from sophomore Tyler Roth with 34 seconds left that put the game into overtime.

Mount Lebanon will try and use the same slow-down tactic against Chester, relying on offensive options Luke Hagy, Paul Lang and Evan Eaton, a 6-2 guard who's committed to Michigan State for football.

The Blue Devils have gotten here on defense and a patient pace. Chester arrives here using speed, fullcourt pressure and turnovers created off that pressure. No team in Pennsylvania has been able to blunt that formula. Mount Lebanon may be able to hang with the Clippers for a half, but once Chester's defense takes hold, it could unravel fast for the Blue Demons.

Expect a Chester blowout after a competitive first half and District 1's fourth-straight PIAA Class AAAA title.

Class AAA: Sts. Neumann & Goretti (Philadelphia) (26-4) vs. Montour (McKees Rocks) (23-7), Friday at 8 p.m.
Neumann-Goretti is going for its second-straight state title and the Saints seem even more dominant than they were last year. Neumann-Goretti hasn't lost since a 75-55 setback to Huntington Prep (W. Va.) back on Jan. 27. The Saints got here by winning the Philadelphia Catholic League championship and then taking the District 12 (or city) title over a pretty good Philadelphia Electric team.

Led by Billy Shank, John Davis, Lamin Fulton and Ja'quan Newton, the Saints run a wide-open, pressing all-out style. A game in the high-60s or the 70s at a fast tempo heavily favors Neumann-Goretti.

This is completely new terrain for the Spartans, who are making school history this season by reaching the state championship game for the first time, after achieving another program first in winning the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) title earlier this season.

They've reached this destination using a team concept. Against South Fayette, the 2010 Class AA state champion, Montour received a nice boost from senior forward Aaron Mcgee, who dropped in a career-best 18 points in Montour's 57-44 state semifinal victory. Sophomore point guard Devin Wilson is considered the go-to player on the Spartans, who do not have the size nor speed to stay with Neumann-Goretti.

Obviously, Montour will need to slow it down against the high-octane Saints, and it might be possible for a half. But asking Montour to hold down the Saints to less than 50 points for 32 minutes may be too much.

Class AA: Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia) (30-3) vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (27-3), Saturday at 2 p.m.
It's as simple as this: Can Imhotep put the clamps on Greensburg 6-7, 240-pound widebody Pj McLaughlin? Or will the Centurions be able to slow down the Panthers' high-flying, explosive offense?

This will mark the second time in school history Greensburg reached the state finals (the previous year was 1980), while it marks the second time in three years Imhotep has reached the championship game, winning the Class AA state title in 2009.

Greensburg Central guard Jesse Reed scored 22 against Monessen in the Centurions' 64-61 state semifinal victory.

Imhotep features a balanced attack. Eight different players scored in the Panthers' 49-38 semifinal victory over Communications Tech, with the hub of their offense running through 6-8 George Washington-commit Erik Copes, who snared 11 rebounds in the Panthers' victory.

The Centurions may not have the speed to stay with Imhotep.

Class A: Lincoln Park Performing Arts (Midland) (21-7) vs. Math Civics & Sciences (Philadelphia) (26-5), Friday at 3 p.m.
In four state playoff victories, Math, Civics & Sciences Charter is averaging 76.5 points a game. And for the season, the Mighty Elephants, the District 12 runner-up, scored 75.1 points a game. They like to run, press, and create as much havoc as possible.

They avenged their District 12 title game loss to Constitution when it counted - an 87-74 victory in the state semifinals, behind 26 points from Jeremiah Worthem, 21 from Warren Dogan and 19 from Tyreek Riddick. The Mighty Elephants like to come at opponents in waves, and they may need a tsunami to bring down Lincoln Park's 6-9 junior center Devontae Watson, who scored 15 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked six shots in the Leopards' 53-47 state semifinal victory over Vincentian Academy.

The Leopards, who are in the state title game for the first time in the brief, four-year history of the school, will attempt to stifle Math, Civics & Science's offense, the way they did Vincentian, holding it to less than 25 percent shooting from the floor. But the Mighty Elephants aren't exactly a half-court team. Again, another contrast in styles, making this an intriguing matchup: Can Lincoln Park slow down MCS? Can MCS stop Watson?

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