Union City boys basketball coach Mike Schrecengost grew up knowing a little about Karns City.

His father, Ron, is a graduate of Karns City and the coach remembers making trips to the area.

On Saturday, he'll get to see his father's alma mater up close when the Bears face the Gremlins in the first round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs at 1 p.m. at Slippery Rock University's Morrow Field House.

"He played for them a long, long time ago. He was a Gremlin," said Schrecengost. "I remember as a young kid going back and going to the Butler Hot Dog Shop."

His Bears squad also played against Quaker Valley at Butler High School a few years ago.

This season, Union City (21-6) won the Region 3 conference and lost to North East in the District 10 championship game.

"At one point we were 5-4 right after the Christmas Tournament," said Schrecengost. "We play an aggressive, non-region, bigger school schedule.

"We won 16 of our next 17 games. We were on an incredible roll," he added.

The loss to North East ended that run, but Schrecengost is still pleased with his team's play down the stretch.

"Last year, we won the conference and the District 10 Championship. This year, we won the region (the same teams from its conference last year) but the district finals. There's no shame in being the district runner-ups."

Leading the way for the Bears is senior center Dan Powell, who averages 18.5 points per game.

"He's 6-feet-9 and handles the ball well for a big kid," said Schrecengost. "He can step up and hit the 3, but we don't ask him to do that a lot. He's a great free-throw shooter and was our region's leading scorer.

"He normally averages a double-double a game and is a great shot blocker. If he doesn't, he gets the player to alter his shot," Schrecengost added.

"He can step out and shoot the 3-pointer," said Karns City coach Steve Andreassi. "He made a couple of 15-footers against North East.

"He's got some versatility and a lot of simple drop steps in the paint. He's rubber thin, but he's (6-9) and can shoot," Andreassi added.

Forward Tom Dodd is the Bears' other big man, a 6-2 junior who scores 12.3 points per game. Rounding out the starting five are three guards: Cody Campbell, Joel Hobson and Steve Miller.

Another guard, Bryn Smith, is the team's sixth man, sharing time with Hobson.

"Bryn and Joel is our two-headed point guard," said Schrecengost. "Bryn is a defensive specialist, so when he's in there he normally guards the best guard. Steve Miller usually gets the best player, so he'll probably go against Callihan.

"Offense we get from Joel (5.2 ppg), defense we get from Bryn," Schrecengost added.

"They have a physical team, all between 5-10 and 6-2," said Andreassi. "They all have football-type builds.

"They're not a team that goes up and down the court. They'll just do their business in the half court. They'll pound the ball at you," Andreassi added.

When Schrecengost sees the Gremlins, he's reminded of Greenville and Mercyhurst Prep, two teams in a similar mold of Karns City: solid all-around with a big scorer.

"They have tall guards who can take it to the basket, so we've played teams that have players like Tyler," said Schrecengost.

Callihan finished the regular season averaging 26.1 points per game. Forward Nathan Knox is averaging 11.8 per game.

The Gremlins (19-7) are coming off a 56-41 victory over Port Allegany in the District 9 championship last Thursday. They defeated Cranberry 62-53 in the semifinals Feb. 22.

Andreassi is hopeful the play of those two games can continue to carry the Gremlins along.

"When you come off a second half like we did against Port Allegany (the Gremlins outscored the Gators 34-19 in the second half, including 17-4 in the third quarter), you have to be pleased," said Andreassi.

"We did a lot of things we had to do. We carried out our goal and played pretty well, basically in both games," he added.