Is 2024 a year of destiny for Shaler Area Boys Basketball? The team has an experienced roster, which has propelled it to an impressive 14-2 record while sitting at 1st place in WPIAL 5A Section 2. The program is looking for its first section title since 2012.
The Titans had a lot of hope coming into the season with eight seniors in Joey Desabato, Kaden Orga, Keegan Smetanka, Brandon London, Joey Miller, Sam Himrod, Julian Vizzoca, and TJ Belles. This group is not your normal class of seniors as they have all seen significant minutes on the varsity level since they were freshman. But, what makes this group special is the cohesiveness and comfort they have playing with each other.
“Chemistry is a big part of our success. It helped us grind through the pre-season conditioning, and made practice a lot more competitive,” Himrod said. “I also think on the court it makes a huge difference. We know where and when people are going to be at certain spots. It definitely helps us keep it together when the games get tough.”
With the most experienced team in the WPIAL, the Shaler Area Titans went into the year with one goal: to win.
“At the beginning of the season, I asked each player to tell me their ultimate goal of the year, whether it be something individually or as a team,”
Boys Basketball Head Coach Mr. Rob Niederberger said. “Every seniors’ end-all goal revolved around winning. To me, that means that every other goal is secondary and not as important.”
The Titans started off the year strong with their mindset to win each game one at a time. They opened the year winning the Shaler Area Tip Off Tourney which included a win against a tough Highlands team, 55-46.
Shaler Area would then go on to defeat Pine Richland, setting up a highly-anticipated playoff rematch against the South Fayette Lions, who knocked the Titans out of the playoffs last year and who they defeated the year prior in the playoffs. This time around, Shaler Area gave the Lions a taste of their own medicine, beating them 55-53 with a buzzer-beater from Kaden Orga in overtime.
“My favorite moment was early in the season, the game against South Fayette that we won by 2 in overtime. It felt great beating the team that knocked us out of the playoffs last year. It was a great team win,” Orga said.
Two more Titan victories against Sto-Rox and North Hills set up a matchup of two undefeated teams, Shaler vs. Hampton, in the Route 8 Rivalry. A packed house set the stage for a Titans home game in which they did not disappoint.
“We knew going into the game that we had to limit [Hampton guard] Peter Kramer. Also, to play our pace and to push the ball. The Hampton game went great. We ended up winning by 20,” Smetanka said.
The Titans would end 2023 flawless in the record column. A win against Grove City and two wins up at State College had the Titans walking into 2024 with a 10-0 record.
Shaler Area would start off the new year and section play with a win against Plum, 71-55. Unfortunately, the Titans faced some adversity with their first loss of the season in their next game against Woodland Hills.
“Time will tell how the loss to Woodland Hills impacted us. To me, it is a reminder that if you don’t respect every opponent, and you don’t come prepared to play each and every night, you can lose,” Niederberger said. “We aren’t the Harlem Globetrotters. We have to bring it every night. I would like to think that will propel us, mentally, going forward.”
Shaler Area would bounce back from the loss with three straight wins against section opponents. The Titans would beat the defending WPIAL 5A champions, Penn Hills, 63-52, the always-tricky Armstrong 73-62, and the 2022 WPIAL 6A champions, Fox Chapel, 39-27.
“We responded to that loss with some anger and some focus. You could tell the next day in practice. In those next three games we were so focused that it didn’t matter if we didn’t shoot well. We were going to do everything we could control to win those games,” London said.
Even with the strong beginning to the season, the Titans are not satisfied with that start. They want to finish the season even stronger.
“First [we want] to win our section, then to win a WPIAL Championship, and finally to win a PIAA State Championship,” Desabato said.
