Jan 10, 2017 6 min read

Belle Vernon gave its chances of winning the Section 3-AAAA title a boost Tuesday night by holding off visiting McGuffey, 46-40.

It was the first section loss for McGuffey (4-1, 11-2). Belle Vernon (4-1, 7-3) won its fourth in a row and remained one game behind section leader South Fayette. McGuffey plays at South Fayette Friday night.

Belle Vernon led 9-8 after one quarter and 21-20 at halftime. The Leopards pushed the gap to 33-29 after three quarters and did just enough at the free-throw line in the closing minutes to maintain a lead.

Joe Sabolek and Tommy Rodriguez were the only Belle Vernon players to score in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Colin Chapman led McGuffey with 11 points.

Washington 65, Burgettstown 37: Matt Popeck had another big game and combined with Isaiah Robinson for 42 points as Washington won its fourth in a row, defeating host Burgettstown 65-37 in Section 4-AAA.

Popeck led Washington (5-0, 7-3), which has sole possession of the section lead, with a game-high 26 points. Robinson had a strong game, contributing 16 points. The Prexies led 36-14 at halftime.

Robert Dupain was the only player to reach double figures for Burgettstown (1-3, 4-7) with 17 points.

Bentworth 54, Carmichaels 48: Bentworth used balanced scoring and some clutch free throws down the stretch to hold off host Carmichaels 54-48 in a Section 2-AA game.

The win pushed Bentworth (2-3, 6-5) above the .500 mark for the season. The Bearcats led 26-25 at halftime and maintained a one-point advantage at 41-40 entering the final eight minutes.

Ray Logan led Bentworth with a team-high 11 points. Steven Harner had 10 points and Sam Schoedel each contributed 10 points.

Carmichaels (0-4, 5-6) made two more field goals than Bentworth but the Mikes did not have a three-pointer compared to the Bearcats’ four. Carmichaels’ Jacob Lowry took game scoring honors with 19 points.

Canon-McMillan 70, Connellsville 30: Canon-McMillan held visiting Connellsville to only 12 second-half points en route to a 70-30 thumping of the Falcons in Class 6-A Section 2.

Sophomore Drew Engel had a big game for Canon-McMillan (2-1, 9-3), scoring a game-high 19 points and making four three-pointers. Britton beachy followed with 14 points and RJ Bell tossed in 12 for the Big Macs, who led 30-18 at halftime and outscored Connellsville 40-12 in the second half.

Connellsville (0-5, 4-8) remained winless in the section.

Upper St. Clair 61, Peters Township 57: Senior point guard Darius Radfar scored 17 points and Upper St. Clair won a back-and-forth game with visiting Peters Township 61-57 in Class 6-A Section 2.

The loss was the first in section play for Peters Township (3-1, 10-3). None of the teams in the section are unbeaten in league play. USC improved to 2-1, 9-3.

USC led 15-11 after one quarter and increased the gap to 37-20 at halftime. Peters Township bounced in the third quarter and closed to within 44-42 heading into the final eight minutes.

Kyle Meinert scored 13 points for USC and Jack Hansberry had 11.

Conor Pederson tossed in a game-high 19 points to pace Peters Township.

McKeesport 65, Ringgold 43: McKeesport held Ringgold to four points in the third quarter to cement a 65-43 victory in a Section 1 game in Class 5-A.

Layton Jordan had a game-high 18 points for McKeesport (6-0, 8-2), which led 36-20 at halftime. Raquan Elliott and Jordan Grayson each scored 12 points.

Ryan Varley’s 15 points and Dakota Browning’s 11 paced Ringgold (2-2, 7-6).

Fort Cherry 79, Jefferson-Morgan 38: Three players had double-doubles to power Fort Cherry to a 79-38 victory over Jefferson-Morgan in a Section 2-AA game.

Devon Brown scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Nate Higham scored 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and Ryhan Culberson had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Rangers (5-0, 10-2).

Jalen Torres scored 20 points for the Rockets

Charleroi 63, Brownsville 60: Sam Miceli scored nine of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to push Charleroi past Brownsville, 63-60, in a Section 4-AAA game.

Charleroi (3-1, 6-6) entered the third quarter trailing 45-43 but outscored Brownsville (1-6, 6-6) in the fourth quarter 20-15. Dremar Everette had 20 points for the Cougars.

Marshall Shandon scored 20 for the Falcons.

Chartiers-Houston 85, Frazier 49: Chartiers-Houston hit nine three-point field goals in a 32-point first quarter to help glide past Frazier, 85-49, in a Section 2-AA game.

A.J. Myers hit three of those three-pointers and finished with 19 points for the Bucs (4-0, 9-3). Cam Hanley led the Bucs with 23 points and Andrew Clark chipped in with 13.

Justin Novak led Frazier with 14 points.

Clairton 76, West Greene 41: Four players scored in double figures to lead Clairton past West Greene 76-42 in a Section 2-A game.

Koran Boyd and Dom Solomon led the way with 17 apiece for the Bears (3-0, 6-3).

Nathan Brudnock scored a game-high 21 points for the Pioneers (1-2, 5-4) and Craig Weaver added 10.

Thomas Jeffferson 73, Trinity 70: Zane Zandier scored a game-high 23 points to send Thomas Jefferson past Trinity, 73-70, in a Section 1 game in Class 5-A.

Justin Farrell added 16 for TJ (3-2, 8-3), which was outscored 28-23 in the fourth quarter.

Joey Koroly scored 17 points and Jaden Nelson 15 for the Hillers (2-2, 5-6). Dylan Kern chipped in with 11.

Monessen 107, Mapletown 23: Monessen scored a season-high 52 points in the first quarter to blow past Mapletown, 107-23, in a Section 2-A game.

Jaden Altomore scored 24 points and Justice Rice added 22 points for the Greyhounds (3-0, 6-4).

Austin Herpak scored six points for the Maples.

Geibel 64, Avella 60, OT: Cole Kendall scored 16 points to help Geibel down Avella, 64-60, in a Section 2-A overtime game.

Garrett Geresti led Avella (1-2, 2-8)with 20 points. Kevin Painter had 16 and Steve Miller 15.

South Fayette 83, Waynesburg 67: South Fayette took sole possession of first place in Section 3-AAAA with an 83-67 victory over host Waynesburg. The Lions improved to 5-0 in the section and 6-3 overall.

Waynesburg (1-10, 0-5) received 19 points from Lucas Garber and 18 from Darton McIntire.