Mixing and matching, Kyle DeGregorio regularly uses eight players. All are seniors. But don't suggest that the Baldwin boys' coach has an experienced bunch.

"This is the first year a lot of those seniors have had the opportunity to play a lot," he said.

These Highlanders do more than just play. They win, and more often than many WPIAL aficionados anticipated during the preseason.

Baldwin plucked Plum, 52-50, Tuesday to tie Central Catholic for second place in Section 2-AAAA. The Highlanders (13-6, 6-3) have won seven in a row, four in section, and will try to take over second alone when they travel to Central tomorrow. McKeesport Area (8-1) has a two-game lead.

With only two starters back -- guards Cart Kelly and Matt McCluskey -- and a lot of its size gone from last season, Baldwin didn't appear to be headed for a second consecutive 19-victory campaign. But that's a possibility.

Actually, the Highlanders may be a dozen plays away from being 18-1. They've lost five games by fewer than six points, including one-pointers to Plum and Penn Hills in section, and a five-pointer to Bethel Park in overtime.

DeGregorio starts three guards -- Kelly, McCluskey and Ron Drennen -- plus 6-foot-6 forward Joe Suchy and 6-4 center Ivitca Lucic.

Forwards Dan O'Brien and Jason Pinkston and guard Justin Schmotzer are the top subs.

The Highlanders' highlight has been a 61-59 win at McKeesport Area Jan. 13.

"To win there, that really increased the confidence level of our kids and reinforced their belief that they can be a very good team," DeGregorio said.

Trivial pursuit

Tom Loadman, the father of Bethel Park guard Samantha Loadman, was a local athlete of distinction in the 1970s. What did he do?

South Fayette gets noticed

In a dictionary of terms, "under the radar" would be accompanied by a picture of the South Fayette boys' team.

The Lions play in Section 3-AA with highly regarded Quaker Valley and Bishop Canevin. Yet, with five section games left, coach Rich Bonnaure's team shares first with Canevin.

South Fayette (15-3, 6-1) forged this deadlock Tuesday with an 84-48 thumping of the Quakers. Yes, a 36-point rout of a squad it had defeated five weeks earlier, and which knocked the Quakers (6-2) out of a first-place tie.

Roar, Lions, roar. They have won six in a row and 13 of 14. Two of their losses have been tough ones on the road: a point at Wilkinsburg, four in overtime at Upper St. Clair.

Guard Andrew DiDonato and forward Sean McElhinny are providing about 60 percent of the Lions' offense. DiDonato, a 6-0 senior, is averaging 16.9 points per game and has 1,329 for his career. McElhinny is a 6-4 junior averaging about 15.

Panthers injury ... ouch!

Losing Steve Meinbresse for the season was an elbow to the molars for Upper St. Clair. Meinbresse, a 6-foot-3 junior, was the Panthers' leading scorer and rebounder (14.1 and about 9 per game) when he had a knee injured early in a non-section win at Fox Chapel Jan. 17.

A part-timer last season, Meinbresse was raising his level of play to the point where he was starting to resemble his older brother, Dale, who was dominant at times with the Panthers. Dale is now a junior at Division I Quinnipiac.

Upper St. Clair (13-5, 5-4) has lost three of its past four Section 4-AAAA games, a surprise. So has Chartiers Valley (10-7, 5-4). Those two are tied for third, three games behind Bethel Park and Mt. Lebanon (both 8-1).

Good family fare

The Chartiers Valley at Mt. Lebanon game next Tuesday will be a marquee boys' matchup, an event the whole family can attend.

The Gannons certainly will.

Nate Gannon, a 6-3 senior, is a starting forward for the Blue Devils. His black-and-blue marks go well with his blue-collar ethic.

On the opposing bench will be Cate Gannon, one of the few female assistants in WPIAL boys' basketball. She is Nate's aunt.

Among the Gannons in the stands will be Nate's parents, Marty and Jenny. Marty also is Cate's brother, and three years ago he made headlines of a grim sort. He experienced a heart arrhythmia during a Char Valley-Penn Hills playoff game.

Penn Hills' student trainer used a defibrillator to shock Gannon's heart back to a normal rhythm -- and save his life.

Trivia answer

The elder Loadman was the quarterback of Carrick's 1972 City League championship football team. He lettered at West Virginia in 1975 and 1976.