Cardinal O’Hara girls, Imhotep boys win Pa. high school basketball 5A titles

High School championship season has officially arrived. Plenty of Philadelphia area schools will be well represented in the PIAA boys and girls basketball state title games this weekend.

Here’s how those teams performed Friday from the Giant Center in Hershey.

Constitution fell to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 92-71, in a rematch of last year’s 2A boys championship. The Generals never held a lead in the title game, but cut the deficit to as few as three. A third-quarter run behind a barrage of threes gave the Chargers a 21-point lead heading into the fourth quarter all but put the game out of reach. Friday’s win gave OLSH its 68th straight victory, tying the state record held by West Philadelphia from 1976-78.

A stout defensive performance from Cardinal O’Hara held Chartiers Valley to just one basket in the first quarter and five field goals the whole game. The Lions secured its second straight 5A girls title, 42-19, in dominating fashion. O’Hara pulled away in the third quarter - after leading by six at the half - generating points off turnovers while creating efficient shot opportunities.

Imhotep Charter suffocated New Castle defensively and deterred any second-chance points en route to the school’s eighth 5A boys state championship - now 8-0 in title games dating back to 2009. The Panthers won, 54-39, behind the dominant play of one of the most highly-touted class of 2023 recruits in the country, Justin Edwards, and 3-star point guard, Rahmir Barno. A Barno buzzer-beating three before the half gave Imhotep a jolt of momentum heading into the break. New Castle chipped away at the deficit late but the Panthers simply executed like the more talented team down the stretch.