It's a bit early in the WPIAL basketball season for a showdown game, but tomorrow night's Beaver Falls at Quaker Valley Section 6-AA contest is close.

Both are undefeated -- Beaver Falls is 4-0 overall and 1-0 in section play and the Quakers 6-0, 2-0. Both are talented as well.

"And any time you're going against a Mike Mastroianni-coached team, it's a big game," Beaver Falls coach Doug Biega said.

It's true that Mastroianni is highly regarded in Western Pennsylvania coaching circles, but so is Biega. And his Tigers are considered the premier Class AA team in the WPIAL if not the western half of the state this season.

Beaver Falls looked the part a week ago, taking apart Sto-Rox, 84-51, behind Todd Thomas' 31 points. But here's the scary part ... Beaver Falls figures to get better when it gets everybody healthy.

Yes, the 6-foot-3 Thomas is one of the best athletes in a basketball uniform around these parts. And 6-3 junior Brock Van Lier is a year older and stronger. But the Tigers have been without two regulars and are still feeling the effects from a long football season.

Just about all of Biega's varsity players were on the school's football squad that advanced to the WPIAL Class AA final at Heinz Field. Their season ended on Nov. 22.

"We're playing well right now, but we're still in football shape which makes the defense a little lax at times and our offense is sloppy at times," Biega said.

That will come as news to Sto-Rox, which had to think Beaver Falls was hitting on all cyclinders last week.

"We'll be a very good basketball team by the time we need to be," Biega added.

Right now, the Tigers are without senior Kevin Nesmith and junior Chaston Harris. Nesmith, who is 6-7, is recovering from thumb surgery for a football injury. Harris, 6-6, has ankle problems.

Harris, who is a solid outside shooter with the ability to slash to the basket, is expected back by the end of the month. Nesmith, a powerful rebounder, is expected to return in early January.

When it was pointed out his team was doing well without either big man, Biega said, "Yeah, but that's 13 feet of humanity that we're missing."

Junior B.J. McBryde, who is 6-6 and saw some varsity time as a sophomore, starts in the middle for the Tigers. He has slimmed down and toughened up from last season. He is joined on the front line by Thomas and 6-3 senior Kendall Dreher, who has solid moves around the basket.

Admire Carter, a 5-9 junior, and Van Lier are at the guards. Coming off the bench has been senior Nick Miller, a 3-point shooter; 6-4 senior Ramone Shepard; 6-2 senior Mason Davis; and 5-9 junior Dashaun Boyd.

Against Sto-Rox, Davis and Shepard played well with Davis scoring four points.

"Mason is a senior and he's been friends with these guys for years," Biega said. "He played before and wasn't very good, but he's kept working and working and has developed into a pretty good player.

"Ramone Shepard is Lance Jeter's little brother and he's given us some depth. I was a little worried about our depth [against Sto-Rox]. But our bench played fantastic."

That should mean good things for the Tigers because Biega likes to use a lot of players and wear down opponents with defensive pressure. When Harris and Nesmith return, the bench will be that much stronger.

Biega is also quick to point out that Van Lier is operating at about 70 percent and his game should improve along with his health.

Perhaps the biggest surprise has been the play of McBryde, who had a good summer. He appeared timid at times last season, but that's not the case now.

"He played football for the first time in the fall and learned a little bit of stick-to-it-tiveness. He never missed a practice and was the scout team nose tackle and was out there every day with his hand down in the cold ground," Biega said. "He's developed a little swagger and I think he might have realized that he's 6-6, 255 pounds."

What Biega likes is the versatility he has with his team. He can put a smaller, quicker lineup on the court, or go big. When Harris and Nesmith return, Biega could start a front line that goes 6-7, 6-6, 6-6 with the 6-4 Thomas at guard along with Van Lier.

"We've played two teams in Center and Blackhawk that are small and want to keep the games in the 40s and 50s, and we won those," he said. "Then we played Highlands and Sto-Rox who wanted to run, so we went bigger and scored 100 [against Highlands] and, what, 84 against Sto-Rox.

"In the past we used to struggle against teams like Center, who would make us chase them. But with the players we have this year, it doesn't matter. We can play either way."

Still, the Tigers will be tested at Quaker Valley, which already owns a 55-53 victory against Aliquippa.