Mike Vukovcan The Hopewell HS Boys’ basketball team are a win away from being the WPIAL Class 4A’s Final Four.
Tonight, the Vikings will take on Deer Lakes at North Allegheny High School in the WPIAL Quarterfinals. The game will have tipoff time of 6 PM.
The No. 5 seed Hopewell reached this point following an opening round 74-49 win over No. 12 seed Greensburg Salem.
In their first-round game, No. 13 Deer Lakes pulled a 1st round upset of No. 4 Derry.
This morning, Vikings Sports Now had the chance to talk to Hopewell HC Doug Biega to get a preview of tonight’s matchup and some keys to a victory.
“Really looking forward to the opportunity for our program tonight,” Biega told VSN. “Win or lose we are ahead of schedule. Can’t wait to watch and see how we compete. You never know until you see it.”
Deer Lakes competed this season Section 1 along with playoff qualifiers such as a Knoch, North Catholic and Burrell. Knoch finished the season 19-4 and 11-1 in section, while North Catholic was 17-5 and also 11-1 in section.
While some are looking at this game and focusing on Hopewell being the No. 5 and Deer Lakes the No. 13 seed, Coach Biega isn’t one of them. He knows Deer Lakes is a good team and very capable of winning tonight.
“Deer Lakes should bring out the best in us. Don’t let that 13 seed fool you. This is a WPIAL championship and state finalist program within the last 3–4 years. They are what’s good about high school basketball. They are a homegrown, well coached, high school program. In a world of Sewickley Academies, Deer Lakes is what a high school program should be about.”
Like Hopewell, Deer Lakes is a physical team, so I believe a big key for Hopewell tonight is trying to stay out of foul trouble.
Vikings Sports Now will be at North Allegheny HS and will provide you with complete game coverage.
Best of Luck Hopewell!
