State College boys’ and girls’ and Penns Valley boys’ learn PIAA basketball foes

After nearly three months of basketball — and successful district tournaments — a trio of Centre County teams earned spots in the PIAA state tournament.

Now, those squads — State College girls’ and boys’ teams and Penns Valley boys’ — know where their paths to a state title begins.

Round one matchups of the PIAA boys’ and girls’ basketball championships were announced on Sunday.

The Lady Little Lions square off with Penn Hills, the No. 4 seed out of District 7, at 6 p.m. Friday at Tyrone High School.

State College (20-3) handled Altoona with ease on Saturday, winning 52-27 in the District 6 Class AAAA championship. Penn Hills (22-3) had an undefeated conference record in the regular season, but lost to North Allegheny 68-40 in the WPIAL semifinals.

One of Penn Hills’ losses this season came at Altoona, falling to the Lady Mountain Lions 56-55.

The State College boys’ team (13-10) faces Mid-Penn Conference foe Carlisle, the No. 5 seed out of District 3, at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Bald Eagle Area High School.

The Little Lions downed Altoona 67-54 in the District 6 Class AAAA final on Saturday, while Carlisle (25-6) beat Hempfield in District 3’s fifth-place game on Thursday.

State College and Carlisle have played each other twice this year, splitting the series.

Penns Valley (19-5) matches up with Kane, the No. 1 seed out of District 9, at 6 p.m. Saturday at Clarion University.

The Rams are District 6’s No. 3 seed after defeating Tyrone in the Class AA consolation game on Thursday. Kane defeated Brockway in the District 9 finals on Saturday.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 9:07 PM with the headline "State College boys’ and girls’ and Penns Valley boys’ learn PIAA basketball foes."