Jan 27, 2017 5 min read

A.J. Myers scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as Chartiers-Houston finished the game on an 18-9 run to pull away from host California and lock up a playoff spot in Section 2-AA with a 60-48 victory Friday night.

Myers made eight of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter and the Bucs (8-0, 13-4) went 14 of 17 as a team to extend a 42-39 lead.

Cam Hanley added 20 points and 13 rebounds for Chartiers-Houston, which was coming off a non-section loss to Burgettstown Thursday night but padded its lead in 2-AA to two games over California.

Kass Taylor scored 14 points and John DeFranco 13 for California (6-3, 14-3), which led 17-12 after one quarter.

Charleroi 64, Beth-Center 49: Sam Miceli scored a game-high 24 points and Charleroi stayed within striking distance of first place in Section 4-AAA with a 64-49 victory at Beth-Center.

Charleroi improved to 5-3 in the section and 10-8 overall. The Cougars host section-leader Washington Tuesday night.

Miceli and Dremar Everette, who scored 15 points, sparked the Charleroi offense in the first half as the Cougars rolled to a 35-14 lead at halftime. Beth-Center (0-9, 5-11) made eight three-pointers but was only 3-for-15 at the free-throw line.

The Bulldogs outscored the Cougars 22-4 in the fourth quarter.

Andrew White led B-C with 14 points and Brennan Stanley had 12.

Fort Cherry 68, Bentworth 48: Ryhan Culberson and Devon brown combined for 50 points and Fort Cherry broke open a close game in the second half and defeated host Bentworth 68-48 in Section 2-AA.

The game was tied 22-22 at halftime but Fort Cherry (7-2, 12-5) scored 46 second-half points by getting the basketball into the post to Brown and Culberson. The win keeps the Rangers within striking distance of first place in the section.

Culberson led the FC offense with a game-high 29 points and brown followed with 21. Nate Higham also reached double figures with 10 points.

Levi Jordan was the leading scorer for Bentworth (4-5, 8-9) with 18 points. Ray Logan followed with 15 points and Steve Harner had 12.

Elizabeth Forward 70, McGuffey 46: Tre Mitchell and Will Greijack combined for 45 points as Elizabeth Forward helped its playoff chances with a 70-46 victory over Section 3-AAAA leader McGuffey on the Warriors’ home court.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak by McGuffey (8-2, 15-3) and dropped the Highlanders into a three-way first-place tie with Belle Vernon and South Fayette. The Highlanders still have home games remaining against the leopards and Lions.

Elizabeth Forward led 11-8 after one quarter, then took control of the game by outscoring the Highlanders 24-10 in the second quarter. Gavin Martik and Brian Malloy also scored in double figures for EF with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

McGuffey, which attempted only three free throws, received 14 points from Trent Belleville and 12 from C.J. Cole.

Laurel Highlands 64, Trinity 55: David Runco led four Laurel Highlands players in double figures with 17 points and the Mustangs used some excellent free-throw shooting to defeat visiting Trinity 64-55 in Class 5-A Section 1.

Trinity (6-3, 10-8), which was coming off a home win over section-leader McKeesport, couldn’t carry over the momentum. The Hillers trailed 25-21 at halftime and Laurel Highlands (5-3, 13-5) maintained an advantage by making 19 of 23 free throws.

Bryce Laskey had 16 points, Hudson Novak 14 and Will Deichert 10 for Laurel Highlands, which has won seven of its last eight games.

Joey Koroly was the leading scorer for Trinity with 18 points. Steven Schultz had a big game for the Hillers, tossing in 17 points.

Burgettstown 60, Carmichaels 31: Max Shaw scored 11 of his game-high 19 points during a decisive 17-2 second quarter run as Burgettstown downed host Carmichaels, 60-31, in a non-section game.

Ryan Lounder added 12 points and Jarred John had 11 for Burgettstown (8-9), which has now won four of its past five.

Matt Barrish led Carmichaels (6-12) with seven points.

Monessen 83, West Greene 46: Justice Rice scored 22 points and Monessen jumped out to a 43-19 halftime lead en route to an 83-46 Section 2-A win over West Greene.

Jaden Altomore added 17 points and Lyndon Henderson had 14 for the Greyhounds (7-0, 10-5). Kolton Rush had 20 points for West Greene (4-3, 11-5), while Nathan Brudnock scored 12 and Craig Weaver 10 in the losing effort.

Baldwin 73, Peters Township 59: Anthony Reid scored 21 points and Baldwin pulled away at the end with a 22-13 run to close out the game to beat Peters Township, 73-59, in a Class 6-A Section 2 game.

Mike Goga and Nick Fumara added 16 points each for Baldwin (6-2, 12-5), which led 51-46 entering the fourth quarter.

Michael Cortese scored a game-high 26 points for the Indians (5-4, 12-6), who also got 11 points from Conor Pederson.

Belle Vernon 68, Waynesburg 48: Tommy Rodriguez scored 15 points as Belle Vernon defeated Waynesburg 68-48 in a Section 3-AAAA game.

Joe Sabolek added 14 points and Derek Thomas added 11 for the Leopards (8-2, 12-4), who outscored the Raiders, 40-21, in the second and third quarters.

Darton McIntire led Waynesburg (0-9, 1-16) with 14 points.

In other games: South Fayette rolled to a 74-34 victory over visiting South Park in Section 3-AAAA, and Avella crushed Mapletown 84-24 in Section 2-A. No details were made available to the Observer-Reporter.