Upper St. Clair’s Third Quarter Surge Leads to 66-52 Victory Over Cedar Crest In PIAA-6A Opening Round Affair (Kehler On Hoops)
Written by: Andy Herr on March 7, 2026
Article by David Kehler
A third quarter surge by homestanding Upper St. Clair on Saturday afternoon carried them to a 66-52 win over Cedar Crest in a PIAA Class 6A state championship tournament 1st round game in Pittsburgh. Cedar Crest battled the western Pennsylvania power on even terms in the first half, but the District 7 champions pulled away in the third quarter and cruised to victory. Cedar Crest competed for the entire 32 minutes of the contest and led for much of the second quarter.
The difference in the game was USC’s 6’ 7” 280 lbs. junior Ryan Robbins. The powerful Robbins is a unique talent who is extraordinarily difficult to guard. He has great hands, excellent footwork, and an accurate shooting touch. Known primarily as a high level offensive lineman on the USC football team, he has emerged this season as an almost unstoppable offensive force on the basketball court, positioned in the low post. Robbins scored 24 points against Cedar Crest, despite the Lebanon County squad’s exceptionally intelligent approach to checking him. Cedar Crest rotated several defenders to cover Robbins man-to-man, provided weakside help, and tried to beat Robbins down the court in transitions. Cedar Crest had exactly the right strategy, but Robbins just had too good an afternoon to be thwarted.
Cedar Crest had one key advantage in this game: quickness. Although Cedar Crest had a substantial height disadvantage, they out-rebounded Upper St. Clair 11 to 3 in the first quarter. Cedar Crest crashed the offensive board in the first frame, and with their quickness, they nabbed seven offensive rebounds in the period. USC is outstanding, and, despite being out-rebounded, they quickly forged a lead, going up 9 to 4 on a 3-pointer by 6’ 1” sophomore Luke Rickel. Cedar Crest countered with a couple of scores from beyond the arc by sharpshooting 5’ 10” sophomore Jackson Smith. Smith’s second score from long range cut USC’s lead to 13-12, and that was the score at the end of the first period. In the first quarter, Cedar Crest held Robbins to just two points. It was clear after eight minutes of play that the visitors from Lebanon County could compete with the Pittsburgh power.
Smith, who didn’t hit the rim, made another 3-pointer at the beginning of the second quarter, and Cedar Crest went up 15-13. Cedar Crest was substituting a lot, keeping fresh players on the court and trying to maximize their quickness advantage. Nonetheless, a hoop inside by Robbins gave USC a 19-18 lead. This was followed by Cedar Crest’s best sequence of the game: an 8 to 2 run sparked by 6’ sophomore Steven Reyes. Reyes drove to the hoop, made the basket, was fouled, and made the free throw. On Cedar Crest’s next possession Reyes drove to the hoop again and shot over Robbins, who plays a one man zone in the paint. Down 23-19, USC called a timeout. When play resumed, Robbins scored from in close, then Smith hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game, and it was 26-21 in favor of Cedar Crest. That was the visitors’ high water mark. In the waning minutes of the first half, USC tied the game at 27. Upper St. Clair’s Robbins scored 12 of his team’s 14 points in the second frame. Nonetheless, it had been a great first half for Cedar Crest; they had traveled a couple of hundred miles to Pittsburgh and played the best Class 6A team in western Pennsylvania to a standstill on that team’s home floor.
The thing of it is in high school basketball that, eventually, the tide will flow with good, bigger kids, and that’s what happened in this game. Right out of the gate in the third quarter, USC got the ball inside to Robbins, who put it in the basket for a 29 to 27 lead, and USC led for the rest of the game. While Robbins had scored 14 of USC’s 27 first half points, his teammates stepped up the attack in the third frame. USC’s last three field goals of the third quarter were a drive by 6’ 3” junior Jude Ausi, a layup by 6’ sophomore Andrew Gaither, and a floater by 6’ senior Jake Foster. Cedar Crest had difficulty scoring in the third period, and Upper St. Clair had a 44-34 lead going into the final frame, and all of the momentum was with the home side.
Cedar Crest played Upper St. Clair almost even in the fourth quarter but had fallen too far behind a very good team to win. Cedar Crest got within seven points of the home side early in the final period on a three point play by 6’ 3” sophomore Jemar Pauleus, who scored nine points in the final frame. Then USC surged on scores by Foster and by 6’ 1” senior Luke Marchinsky. In the waning minutes, Cedar Crest got within seven points once again, 56-49, when 5’ 7” senior Cam Tirado grabbed a defensive rebound and dribbled coast-to-coast for a layup. But USC quickly countered and went on a 10 to 1 run on two free throws by Foster, a free throw by 6’ 4” junior Finn Beggy, a three point play by Foster set up by his steal, a hoop inside by Gaither, and a breakaway layup by Marchinsky. Upper St. Clair just had too much firepower.
With the win, USC is now 25-1 this season, with 21 consecutive victories. Their only loss was by two points to another Pittsburgh team, Central Catholic, and USC subsequently avenged that loss. The view from here is that USC will advance to the Final Four in the PIAA Class 6A bracket. They are outstanding.
Cedar Crest’s season ends with a 14-14 record but with good reason for optimism for next year’s team. Cedar Crest played just one senior in this game, and three sophomores who were on the court distinguished themselves: slashing Reyes, sharpshooting Smith, and hard-nosed Pauleus.
For the game, Upper St. Clair had a 32 to 26 advantage on the boards. In the second half, USC out-rebounded Cedar Crest 22 to 11. UCS committed 13 turnovers, 10 of them in the first half. Cedar Crest had 17 miscues. USC was 14 of 24 from the free throw line, and Cedar Crest was 16 of 24. USC made two 3-pointers. Cedar Crest scored four times from beyond the arc, all by Smith and all in the first half. There were four ties and six lead changes, all in the first half.
USC is a beautiful school with a terrific gym, and the event was conducted in an outstanding manner. The PA announcer was the superb Don Rebel, a well-known high school sports maven in western Pennsylvania.
Cedar Crest scoring: Jemar Pauleus 17, Jackson Smith 13, Steven Reyes 9, Cam Tirado 4, Antonio Tirado 4, Kai Speaks 3, and Mason Cevette 2.
Upper St. Clair scoring: Ryan Robbins 24, Jake Foster 16, Luke Marchinsky 11, Andrew Gaither 7, Luke Rickel 5, Jude Ausi 2, and Finn Beggy 1
Cedar Crest 12 15 7 18-52
Upper St. Clair 13 14 17 22-66
On X (formerly Twitter): @david_kehler
LLhoops.com contributor David Kehler chairs the Pennsylvania Sportswriters’ selection of the boys All-State basketball teams.
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