Dec 27, 2017 6 min read

Ryhan Culberson scored 32 points as Fort Cherry edged Waynesburg 54-52 Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Avella tournament.

Culberson had his sixth double-double in seven games as he also grabbed 14 rebounds as Fort Cherry moved above the .500 mark at 4-3.

The Rangers led 24-15 at halftime before having to fight off a second-half comeback by Waynesburg (1-6). The Raiders’ Darton McIntire scored 19 of his team-high 22 points in the second half.

Waynesburg trimmed FC’s lead to 32-29 after three quarters, but Culberson scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Nate Higham finished with 13 points and Zack Vincenti had nine rebounds.

Waynesburg’s Lucas Garber scored 12 points, including seven in the fourth quarter.

Fort Cherry will play Avonworth in the semifinals today at 5:30 p.m. Waynesburg plays South Side Beaver in the consolation round at 1:30 p.m.

South Allegheny 61, California 49: Antonio Epps and Derek Lockhart each scored 16 points as South Allegheny defeated California 61-49 in the opening round of the Bentworth tournament.

South Allegheny (6-3) used balanced scoring to beat the Trojans as the Gladiators put four players in double figures.

California (4-4) lost its third in a row. The Trojans were led by Ben Wilson’s game-high 21 points. Cochise Ryan also scored in double figures with 12 points.

Carmichaels 74, Mapletown 31: Dylan Wilson scored a game-high 20 points and Carmichaels rolled over Mapletown for the second time this month, 74-31, in the first round of the Carmichaels Lions Club tournament.

Wilson scored seven of his points in the second quarter as Carmichaels (5-2) forged a 39-14 halftime lead.

Nick Mundell scored 15 points for Carmichaels and Jacob Lowry had 11.

Richie Cacurak scored nine points to lead Mapletown (0-7), which has lost 51 in a row.

Beth-Center 59, Geibel 52: Trailing for most of the game, Beth-Center scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to come back and defeat Geibel Catholic 59-52 in the Carmichaels Lions Club tournament.

Trailing 44-36 entering the fourth quarter, Beth-Center tied the score at 46-46 with 4:22 remaining. The Bulldogs went on to outscore Geibel, 13-6, led by freshman Easton McDaniel’s nine points in the final eight minutes.

Andrew Bower, George Samarin and McDaniel all finished with 12 points for Beth-Center (4-4).

J.J. Green led the Bulldogs with 13 points, while Jacob Bobbs collected 10 rebounds and had six blocks.

Geibel (1-6) was led by a game-high 26 points from Cole Kendall, who made six three-pointers. Isaiah Krizner also had 12.

McGuffey 79, Burgettstown 63: Four McGuffey players scored at least 18 points and the Highlanders defeated Burgettstown 79-63 in the Avella tournament.

Chase Miller led the Highlanders with 20 points, C.J. Cole finished with 19 and Trent Belleville and David Chapman each scored 18.

Belleville also grabbed 18 rebounds and had seven assists for McGuffey (6-1).

Burgettstown (4-2) was paced by a game-high 21 points from Ryan Lounder. Garrett Dhans scored 18 for the Blue Devils.

Bentworth 71, Jefferson-Morgan 49: Levi Jordan and Steven Hunter combined for 16 points in the third quarter as host Bentworth pulled away in its own tournament to defeat Jefferson-Morgan, 71-49.

The Bearcats forced several turnovers and outscored J-M 26-9 in the eight minutes following halftime to extend their lead to 19 points.

Jordan led all scorers with 26 points, while Hunter had 21 points.

Cam Schoedel also reached double figures for Bentworth (4-2) with 15 points.

Jefferson-Morgan (4-4) was led by D.L. Garrett’s 19 points. Jalen Torres and Gavin Wood had 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Carlynton 69, Avella 40: Carlynton scored 21 points in the second quarter and defeated tournament host Avella, 69-40.

The lopsided second quarter in favor of Carlynton, which outscored the Eagles 21-4, gave it a 37-15 halftime lead.

Carlynton (3-4) was led by 17 points from Ian Gallagher. DeQuay Canton had 11.

Dylan Markle and Tyler Cerciello each had eight points for Avella (0-5).

Clairton 56, Belle Vernon 55: After falling behind in the first quarter, Clairton chipped away at the deficit and defeated Belle Vernon 56-55 at the Charleroi tournament.

Belle Vernon’s fourth-quarter comeback – the Leopards outscored Clairton 15-11 in the final eight minutes – came up just short.

Clairton (4-1) took the lead with an 18-point third quarter, led by Khori Fusco, who finished with 18 points.

Griffin LaCarte and Derek Thomas each scored 12 for Belle Vernon (4-3). Christian Murphy also had 11 points for the Leopards.

Frazier 58, West Greene 41: After West Greene regained the lead in the third quarter, Frazier scored 19 points in the fourth to defeat the Pioneers 58-41 in a non-section game.

Frazier (2-4) took a 19-8 lead after the first quarter and was paced by Justin Novak’s team-high 22 points. Luke Santo finished with 14 points for the Commodores.

Nathan Brudnock scored a game-high 23 points for West Greene (2-5). Austin Crouse had 12 for the Pioneers.

New Castle 83, Monessen 50: New Castle broke open a close game with a 15-0 run to start the second half and went on to an 83-50 victory over Monessen in the opening round Red Hurricanes’ tournament.

New Castle (6-2) led 35-25 at halftime, then opened the second half with the big run that sent it to he championship game. Monessen (2-4) will play Vincventian Academy in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m. today. Vincentian is coached by former Monessen player Tim Tyree.

Marcus Hooker scored a game-high 20 points for New Castle. Seaven Ware came off the bench and scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter and Carrington Smith had 10 points.

Lyndon Henderson was the leading scorer for the Greyhounds with 11 points. Cory Fleming had 10.

Charleroi 57, Yough 34: Caleb Carson led all scorers with 13 points as tournament host Charleroi defeated Yough, 57-34.

Charleroi (2-6) started strong to take a 29-20 lead into halftime, then continued with a strong second half behind the scoring of Joe Caruso’s nine points.

Jeffery Bach and Josh Obradovich each had nine points for Yough (2-8).