Boys Basketball: Young Cedar Crest Squad Battles WPIAL Champ Upper St. Clair in State Opener

If you like this type of coverage, please let us know by Following us on social media: Twitter/X – @lebcosports1 and Facebook.

For any questions, comments, or discrepancies, please reach out to dan@lebcosports.com.

Entering this season, there were plenty of questions about whether Cedar Crest could replicate the success it has had in recent years. The main reason was simple: the Falcons replaced a veteran lineup with a group of relative varsity newcomers, returning just one contributor from last year’s Lancaster-Lebanon League championship team. The result was still the same destination — a trip to the PIAA State Championship Tournament.

On Saturday, Cedar Crest made the trip west to face Upper St. Clair, the District 7/WPIAL champions that entered the game 25-1. On paper, the Panthers offered the young Falcons plenty of intimidation. But if nothing else, the experience was going to lay the groundwork for future years.

And early on, Cedar Crest showed it did not travel just to learn lessons. The Falcons came to compete.

The 1st quarter was played evenly, with Upper St. Clair holding a slim 13-12 lead. Cedar Crest was led by sophomore Jackson Smith, who knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.

In the 2nd, Cedar Crest erased the one-point deficit and pulled even by halftime. As part of a 15-point quarter, Smith hit another pair of threes, while fellow sophomores Steven Reyes and Jemar Pauleus added 5 and 4 points, respectively. At the break, the scoreboard read 27-27.

Out of halftime, Upper St. Clair flexed the level of play that made it the best team in the WPIAL. The Panthers turned up the pressure, made things difficult defensively, and found another gear on offense. The result was a 17-7 third quarter that allowed Upper St. Clair to build a 10-point lead heading into the 4th.

Leading 44-34, the Panthers looked to put the game away for good, and as both teams tried to ramp up the pressure, the final quarter turned into a parade to the free throw line. Cedar Crest put together its best offensive quarter of the game, scoring 18 points in the 4th, with 10 coming at the stripe. But despite the late push, the Falcons couldn’t draw Upper St. Clair close enough before the final buzzer, falling 66-52.

For Cedar Crest, Pauleus led the way with 14 points, including an 8-for-12 performance at the foul line. Smith finished with 13 points, powered by four 3-pointers in the first half, while Reyes added 9. It’s also worth noting that of the eight players who scored for Crest, the only senior to do so was Cam Tirado with 4 points. And freshman Jayden Truss, who went from not being on the varsity roster to start the season to becoming a starter, scored 3.

The 14-14 Cedar Crest Falcons may have seen their season end, but making the state tournament and competing toe-to-toe for a half against one of the top teams in Western Pennsylvania was another sign that the best is still ahead for Coach Smith’s young crew.

For more on this game, check out LL Hoop’s David Kehler’s full recap.

CC Scoring: J. Pauleus 14, J. Smith 13, S. Reyes 9, A. Tirado 5, C. Tirado 4, J. Truss 3, K. Speaks 2, M. Cevette 2

Previous Results

February 23-25

February 16-20

February 10

February 2-7

January 27-31

January 19-24

January 12-16

January 5-10

December 29 – January 3

December 22-26

December 22-27

December 15-20

December 8-13

December 3-6