When the Baldwin boys basketball team defeated Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals last February to earn the school’s first trip to the WPIAL Championship in 39 years, junior point guard Max Marzina was thrilled.
“It felt really good because we always lost to them when we shouldn’t. It’s just exciting to finally win one and experience it with people I am close with,” Marzina said.
The Highlanders then headed to the Petersen Event Center to face Upper Saint Clair, and Baldwin fans showed up in big numbers.
“Playing in the WPIAL Championship really brought the Baldwin community together. Everyone was super happy and excited for the team.” senior Matt Schenk said. “It gave our team confidence while we were playing, and even after the game all the support from everyone was a really great feeling.”
Baldwin lost that Championship game, 64-41. But this year, the Highlanders enter the season ranked number one in WPIAL 5A by the Post-Gazette, and they say they have learned lessons from last year’s final game.
“Losing was definitely a learning experience for the team. We could have changed our defense a little bit,” senior Gabe Barakat said. “They had this really tall player, who we probably should have doubled at the time, but didn’t. We also learned that confidence isn’t always everything in a game – you also need strategy and communication.”
This season brings new expectations via the Post-Gazette top ranking.
“We have to deal with the ranking by taking it one day at a time and working on getting better every day at practice and carrying it over to each game,” senior Caden Cherico said.
One challenge will be replacing Nate Richards, who was one of last year’s team leaders and has graduated.
Richards “did a great job of bringing the team together,” Schenk said. “He was also good with leading the team through different communications, and he never failed to get the ball up the court for us every game”.
Sophomore Evan Golvash will be replacing Richards as one of two guards. Cherico credits Golvash with embracing the challenge.
“Evan is doing a good job stepping into Nate Richards’ role,” Cherico said. “It is a big step up from his role on the team last year, and he is still young and has lots of potential.”
Some of the returning starters from last year include Wesling, Cherico, Schenk, and Marzina.
Both Marzina and Schenk agree that Cherico is an aggressive rebounder. Marzina also said Schenk will play a big role.
“Matt is one of our returning starters, and I think he is an experienced forward, and pretty good around the rim,” Marzina said.
The team’s season starts with a Tip-Off Tournament this weekend. The boys play Shaler at 8 p.m. Friday, and then they will play Altoona at noon on Saturday. Both are home games.
“Now that we have more experience and know what we are capable of, I feel like we are more motivated to win every game,” Marzina said.
Cherico said the team has big goals, but is taking it slow.
“We are hoping to take it one step at a time – hoping to win the first section since 1986 and go on to win a WPIAL Championship for the first time in school history,” Cherico said.
