CHURCHILL - Imhotep Charter coach Richard Gullien, who was filling in for coach David Hargrove Saturday, has the right idea for what the early part of the basketball season should be about. The opportunity is there for most schools to take a trip and see competition they typically wouldn't see otherwise.

The Panthers left Philadelphia and traveled to Woodland Hills High School for the Play 4 Mae Showcase. Imhotep came away with losses to Shady Side Academy and Belle Vernon, but came away with information about the program.

"It's so early in the season and we're still just trying to find ourselves," Gullien said. "Every season has its own story, so the big adjustment was let's just stick to our principles, let's stick to our values and the discipline of the fundamentals and let that just kind of work its way throughout the game."

The Panthers missed six of their first seven 3-pointers against the Leopards, but came back to take the lead in the second half thanks to its aggressive defense. Read a full story on the game here.

​"I thought defensively we played well and we were able to create turnovers," Guillen said. 

​The Leopards bounced back after only scoring seven points in their season opener. Belle Vernon trailed by 10 points before it came storming back to beat the Panthers.

"It was just hustle," Belle Vernon forward Isis Almighty said. "We worked as a team and hustled."

The Championship Wrestling Association, a league that bills itself as folkstyle gone pro, is hosting its fifth showcase tonight in New Jersey. The WPIAL will have one representative participating in the action. Belle Vernon graduate Scott Joll, who wrestled collegiately West Viginia and UNC Pembroke, will take on CJ Brucki in a 195-pound bout.

Brucki was a standout wrestler at Central Michigan and qualified for the NCAA Division I wrestling championships in his junior and senior seasons. Brucki finished 24-13 during his senior season in 2017-18, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament at 174 pounds.

Joll wrestled four years for the Mountaineers, finishing with a 50-45 record. During Joll's lone season with UNC Pembroke for the 23-24 season, he finished with a 32-1 record and placed third at the NCAA Division II championships.

Here's the look at the rest of the card and where they competed in college.

Undercard
195 pounds - Matt Weinberg (Kutztown) vs Brock Biddle (Pitt Johnstown)
Main card
130 - Brian Courtney (Virginia) vs. Guesseppe Rea (Wilkes)
160 - Reece Humphrey (Ohio State) vs. Sammy Alvarez (Oklahoma State)
170 - Quincy Monday (Princeton) vs. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider)

Josh Rizzo is the editor of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

The Shady Side Academy girls basketball team appeared to be headed toward the state playoffs with an opportunity to finish the year unbeaten. But section rival Greensburg Central Catholic made sure the Bulldogs would feel some adversity before the PIAA Class 3A playoffs started. The Centurions leaned on 31 points from Erica Gribble to steal a 56-51 win on Thursday night at Petersen Events Center.

GCC, which was the No. 2 seed, lost both of its regular-season meetings with the Bulldogs (24-1). Shady Side Academy won the first meeting between the two teams this season by 29 points. During the WPIAL championship game, Gribble, who is committed to Richmond, controlled the game down the stretch.

Gribble scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs were playing without 6-foot-2 forward Cassie Sauer. Karis Thomas led the Bulldogs with 5 points. The Bulldogs only played six players. Cameron Capel, the daughter of Pitt men's basketball coach Jeff Capel, also finished with 12 points for the 

Belle Vernon wins first WPIAL championship since 1978
The top-seeded Leopards played an excellent first half and were able to ride that 13-point lead at the break to a 54-49 win over North Catholic in the 4A title game. Belle Vernon coach Joe Salvino, 73, collected his seventh WPIAL title of his coaching career. Salvino led Monessen to six titles, the last of which game in 2017.

This was the second time Salvino guided Belle Vernon (21-4) to the WPIAL championship game. The Leopards lost to Highlands in the 2020 championship game. Tommy Davis led Highlands with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win against the Trojans. Trevor Kovatch and Zion Moore also scored 12 points for the Leopards.

Jason Fredericks led North Catholic (19-6) with 20 points. The Trojans struggled from the field, only making 38.1 percent (16-of-42) of their field goal attempts.

All in the Neighborhood
Neighborhood Academy has only been a part of the WPIAL in boys basketball since 2020. The Bulldogs brought home their first championship in the Class A game by beating Serra Catholic, 67-44. This was Neighborhood Academy's second straight year in the title game.

The Bulldogs lost to Imani Christian in the final last year. Courtney Wallace led Neighborhood Academy with 21 points and 18 rebounds. Serra, which lost to the Bulldogs twice in the regular season, only trailed by a point after the opening quarter.  Mark Johnson and Owen Dumbrowski tied for a team-high 14 points for the Eagles (21-4).

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshrizzo.