Before every basketball game, Baldwin coach Jeff Ackermann draws a big circle on the whiteboard in the locker room to remind his team what they’ve won — nothing.
But before the Highlanders hosted South Fayette on Tuesday night, Ackermann brought something new into the locker room — the boys basketball section championship banner.
Baldwin hasn’t touched the banner since 1986, the last year it won a section championship.
“We don’t have anything to hang on it yet because we haven’t achieved anything yet,” Ackermann said. “But if we get there, we’re gonna hang a 2025 on there.”
Ackermann’s Highlanders took a giant leap to that point Tuesday night, hammering South Fayette 62-36 to avenge their lone loss. The Lions (13-6, 8-2) now must hope for a Highlander loss, while Baldwin (17-1, 8-1) has just three section games left between it and ending a 39-year streak.
“We talk about it every day at practice,” senior guard Nate Wesling said. “1986, that's what we compete for. That's what we play for. … It's special.”
Game flow
From the start, it was clear Baldwin was playing for more. The student section was rowdy, Ackermann was animated, and the players were sprinting up and down the court.
South Fayette seemed a step slow early, struggling with the Highlanders’ press. The Lions like to slow the ball down, working for the best shot, and did that effectively in their 37-32 win against Baldwin on Jan. 3. Baldwin countered by pressing aggressively, both in the full court and in the half court, and made sure the Lions never had time to work for a good shot.
“We just wanted a fast tempo,” Ackermann said. “We wanted to play hard. We wanted to really get on them and make them play fast and make them think fast and make them make quick decisions.”
That tempo broke through in the second quarter. Wesling was hot early, scoring 14 points in the first half, and threes from him, Evan Golvash and Max Marzina keyed a 12-0 run. Baldwin outscored South Fayette 15-4 in the quarter, allowing just 2-10 shooting and seizing control of the game.
All that was left to do in the second half was hold on, and Baldwin did better than that. An 8-0 run early in the third sealed it, and South Fayette never got closer than 20 points. The Lions’ methodical pace meant there was never any chance of a comeback.
With 2 minutes and 23 seconds left, Ackermann pulled his starters and gave each a bear hug. Wesling said it wasn’t typical — Ackermann’s not a big hugger.
“[It showed] he's really proud of us,” Wesling said. “We're proud of ourselves. So it's good to celebrate a win.”
Wesling finished with a game-high 16 points. Golvash added 15. Cherico had 12. 6-foot-5 senior Matt Schenk had four blocks.
Key stat
South Fayette finished 14 of 47 from the field, shooting 29.8%, and committed 14 turnovers.
Quotable
“They've been waiting for this game. We knew that. I kept telling [my team] all week, we're walking into a beehive, so you better be ready” — South Fayette coach Dave Mislan
What it means
It’s just one loss for South Fayette, and just the second in section play, but it’s concerning for the Lions to lose the way they did. Baldwin is the No. 1 team in Class 5A for a reason, but the Lions were outclassed for the latter 24 minutes. South Fayette’s leading scorer was sophomore forward Owen Keener, and his nine points all came in the fourth quarter.
For Baldwin, the Highlanders are one step closer to a goal they’ve had for many years, though the length depends on who you ask. For Wesling, it’s a goal he’s had since playing with Marzina and a few other current Baldwin teammates when they were sixth graders. For Ackermann, it’s a goal he’s had since 2020, when he left the Pine-Richland program he built into a winner for a project at Baldwin.
And for some, the search for the next section title started in 1986.
Baldwin hasn’t achieved anything yet. But if the next three games go to plan, the Highlanders will have achieved something they’ve waited 39 years for.
First Published: January 29, 2025, 3:55 a.m.
Updated: January 29, 2025, 4:40 a.m.