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Breaking down second round of PIAA boys’ basketball tournaments in Classes 5A, 4A and 1A

Ches-Mont League rivals West Chester Rustin and Unionville meet for the fourth time this season in Class 5A action, while three-time reigning champion Imhotep Charter tries to take another step in Class 4A.

Imhotep Charter senior Elijah Taylor, shown here in a game earlier this season vs. Haverford School, has powered the Panthers into the second round of the PIAA Class 4A state tournament.
Imhotep Charter senior Elijah Taylor, shown here in a game earlier this season vs. Haverford School, has powered the Panthers into the second round of the PIAA Class 4A state tournament.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer

Breaking down Tuesday night’s PIAA boys’ basketball state tournament action:

Class 5A

District 1 champion West Chester East (27-2), which has won 17 in a row, plays District 11 runner-up Pottsville (22-5) at the Geigle Complex in Reading.

Behind seniors Andrew Carr (18 points) and Tym Richardson (13), West Chester East rolled to a 55-35 win over Gettysburg in the first round. Pottsville beat District 3’s No. 4 seed Northern, 61-43.

With another victory, West Chester East would be guaranteed a quarterfinal-round meeting Friday night with a Ches-Mont League rival as West Chester Rustin (18-9) meets Unionville (20-7) for the fourth time this season on the other side of the draw.

Rustin, which features junior guard Griffin Barrouk and sophomore guard Argel Pettit, has won two of three meetings with Unionville, including a 62-51 triumph in the second round of the District 1 tournament. Rustin is coming off an impressive 60-44 win over District 2 champion Wallenpaupack.

Unionville is led by senior swingman Logan Shanahan, an Emory recruit. Unionville’s defense was airtight in a 54-29 win over Martin Luther King in the first round of the state tournament.

District 12 champion Archbishop Wood (21-5) meets District 2 No. 3 seed Pittston Area (19-9). Wood, which won the regular-season title in the Philadelphia Catholic League and handled Strath Haven in the state opener, has an all-junior starting lineup with guards Rahsool Diggins and Jaylen Stinson and swingmen Daeshon Shepherd, Marcus Randolph, and Muneer Newton.

District 12 No. 4 seed Archbishop Ryan (18-9), which beat Penn Wood in the state opener, faces Elizabethtown (20-9), the No. 7 seed from District 3. Senior swingman Gediminas Mokseckas leads the way for the red-hot Raiders.

Class 4A

District 12 champion Bonner-Prendergast (19-5), which has won nine of 11, with both losses by two points, plays District 2 runner-up Valley View (18-8). The Friars are led by senior guards Tyreese Watson and Donovan Rodriguez.

With another win, Bonner-Prendergast will advance to face the survivor of Archbishop Carroll (17-9) and Bishop McDevitt of Harrisburg (22-7). Carroll is coming off a 46-44 win over Bethlehem Catholic, secured with a late three-pointer by freshman guard Dean Coleman-Newsome.

District 1 champion Pope John Paul II (20-6) meets District 11 champion Allentown Central Catholic (21-4). The Panthers are by junior Justin Green and his brother, sophomore Kevin Green.

Three-time defending champion Imhotep Charter (20-7), the District 12 No. 2 seed and winner of 16 straight state-tournament games, plays District 4 champion Montoursville (21-5).

The Panthers, who beat Eastern Lebanon, 70-60, in the PIAA opener, are led by senior forward Elijah Taylor, a Notre Dame recruit, and senior guard Sammi Wylie, who provides instant offense off the bench.

Class 1A

Defending state champion and District 12 champion Sankofa Freedom (8-12) meets District 3 No. 3 seed Lancaster County Christian (18-7). Sankofa Freedom is led by junior guard Nymier Priester.

District 1 champion Chester Charter (19-6) plays Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg (10-10), the No. 2 seed from District 11. Chester Charter features junior guard Aaron Bailey.