Mar 16, 2019 3 min read

One victory away from playing for a state championship in Hershey, the two local high school basketball teams remaining know when and where to take that next step.

The PIAA announced sites and times for the Peters Township girls and Monessen boys, both playing in the state semifinals Monday.

Peters Township (28-0) will play defending state champion Upper Dublin, the fifth seed out of District 1, at Bald Eagle High School Monday night. Tipoff is 6 p.m.

Upper Dublin (25-5) won the Class 6A championship last year, despite being the ninth-seeded team out of District 1. The Cardinals have continued their title defense with low-scoring wins over Central Dauphin in the first round, WPIAL runner-up North Allegheny in the second and Abington in Friday night’s quarterfinals.

Led by 6-3 junior center Jackie Vargas, Upper Dublin has relied heavily on its defense to outlast opponents. It has only allowed five opponents, including two in overtime, to score more than 40 points in 30 games this season.

A win for Peters Township would send the Indians to their first state championship appearance. The last time Peters Township made the semifinals was in 1994, when it lost to North Catholic.

The other semifinal in the 6A girls’ bracket is between two other District 1 teams as Garnet Valley plays Neshaminy. The winners will meet in the championship at 6 p.m., Friday, in Hershey.

The only local boys team remaining, Monessen won’t have far to travel to avenge a WPIAL playoff loss to Vincentian Academy. The two meet in the Class A semifinals at Mt. Lebanon High School. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

Monessen (18-9) lost to Vincentian in the WPIAL semis, 61-49.

The Royals lost in the district championship to Nazareth Prep, the team the Greyhounds defeated Friday night, 50-46, in the state quarterfinals to return to the final four for the second time in three years.

Coached by former Monessen graduate Tim Tyree Jr., Vincentian (19-8) defeated St. Joseph’s Academy, Elk County Catholic and Cornell to advance in the state tournament. It is the Royals first state semifinal since 2011.

The Greyhounds have lost their last three appearances in the state semifinals, falling to Kennedy Catholic in 2002 and 2017 and Greensburg Central Catholic in the 2011 Class AA semis. The last time Monessen advanced to a PIAA championship was when it won back-to-back titles in 1988 and 1989.

The winner will advance to play either Sankofa Freedom Academy or Lourdes Regional in Thursday’s championship (2 p.m.) at the Giant Center in Hershey.