Jan 23, 2018 6 min read

A strong first half and a late run in the fourth quarter produced an 83-72 victory for McKeesport over Trinity in a battle for first place in Section 1 Class 5A.

Terrod Taylor scored a game-high 34 points and Laten Jordan threw down 20 for the Tigers (6-1, 8-6). McKeesport opened a 42-29 lead at halftime but Trinity (6-2, 12-4) got to within three in the third quarter as Joey Koroly scored 10 of his 20 points.

Dylan Kern had 7 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter but Taylor and Jordan combined for 21 of McKeesport’s 27 points in the fourth quarter. Dausen Marry scored 13 points and Zach Ecker finished with 10 points for the Hillers.

Chartiers-Houston 61, Carmichaels 54: Cam Hanley scored a game-high 22 points and Andrew Clark tossed in nine of his 14 in the pivotal fourth quarter as Section 2-AA leader Chartiers-Houston avoided an upset by Carmichaels and edged the Mikes, 61-54.

Chartiers-Houston (7-0, 12-3) had a battle from the Mikes throughout. Carmichaels led 18-15 after one quarter but C-H battled back to grab a 33-32 halftime advantage. The game went to the fourth quarter tied 48-48 but Chartiers-Houston outscored Carmichaels 13-6 in the final period.

Clark made seven of nine free throws in the fourth quarter to keep the Bucs in front.

Zac Southern scored 16 points for C-H.

Matthew Barrish did his best for Carmichaels (0-7, 6-8) in its effort to spring an upset. Barrish scored a team-high 18 points and made four three-pointers. Dylan Wilson had 15 points for the Mikes.

California 45, Fort Cherry 36: California gave its playoff hopes a big boost by holding visiting Fort Cherry to 10 first-half points and knocking off the Rangers 45-36 in a key Section 2-AA game.

The loss dealt a blow to Fort Cherry’s drive for a section title. The Rangers fell to 6-2 in the section and 8-7 overall. The Rangers trail first-place Chartiers-Houston by two games in the loss column. California moved to 4-4 in the section and 9-6 overall. The Trojans are tied for fourth place with Bentworth and are only a half-game out of third place.

Dru Miller led California’s balanced scoring with 15 points. Cochise Ryan added nine points as the Trojans avenged a 32-point loss to the Rangers in December. This time, Cal built a 25-10 halftime lead.

Almost all of FC’s scoring was done by Ryhan Culberson and Nate Higham. Culberson scored a game-high 18 points and Higham followed with 15. The rest of the Rangers combined for only three points.

Uniontown 77, McGuffey 69: Cam Fitzgerald poured in 29 points to help Uniontown get past McGuffey, 77-69, in a Section 3 game in Class 4A.

Billy DeShields tossed in 22 points for Uniontown (6-2, 10-5), which led 30-24 at halftime and 54-49 after three quarters.

Trent Bedillion had a double-double – 17 points, 11 rebounds – for the highlanders (3-5, 10-6). CJ Cole added 17 points and David Chapman chipped in with 16 points .

West Mifflin 44, Ringgold 40: West Mifflin kept Ringgold winless in Section 1 of Class 5A with a 44-40 victory in Monongahela.

Deodis Powell tossed in 13 points and Trey Manspeaker added 10 points for West Mifflin (3-3, 4-8), which led 20-19 at halftime and 36-29 after three quarters.

Ringgold (0-9, 2-13) was sparked by Demetrius Butler’s 10 points.

Beth-Center 79, Southmoreland 64: Easton McDaniel scored a career-high 28 points to power Beth-Center to a 79-64 victory over Southmoreland in a Section 4-AAA game in Fredericktown.

J.J. Green scored 21 points and snagged 7 rebounds for Beth-Center (2-5, 5-9), which led 45-26 at halftime. Andrew White scored 14 points with the help of 4 three-pointers. B-C had nine three-pointers in the game.

Southmoreland (3-5, 4-11) had four players in double figures – Cade Rienter with 15 points, Brett Glawacki with 15 points, Dylan Eicher with 14 points and Riley Comforti with 12.

Bentworth 61, Jefferson-Morgan 43: Levi Jordan’s double-double propelled Bentworth to a 61-43 victory over Jefferson-Morgann in a Section 2-AA.

Jordan had 20 points and 14 rebounds for Bentworth (4-4, 7-6), which outscored J-M 32-23 in the second half. Steven Harner added 14 points

Jalen Torres led the Rockets (1-6, 7-9) with 16 points.

West Greene 63, Geibel 56: West Greene used a balanced scoring attack with seven players making contributions to come away with a 63-56 victory over Geibel in a Section 2-A game.

Nathan Brudnock led the Pioneers (4-1, 6-8) with 24 points.

Enzo Fetsko scored 18 points and Cole Kendall 16 for Geibel (2-3, 4-11).

Monessen 73, Avella 22: Monessen scored 32 first-quarter points and cruised to a 73-22 victory over visiting Avella, keeping the Greyhounds undefeated in Section 2-A.

Monessen (4-0, 5-7) held a 27-point lead after one quarter and led 50-13 at halftime.

Monessen had only two players score in double figures. Lyndon henderson led the way with 23 points and Cory Fleming followed with 13.

Owen English scored six points for Avella (1-4, 1-10).

Burgettstown 86, Charleroi 71: There’s an old sports adage that says it hard to beat the same team three times in one season. Apparently, Burgettstown’s Blue Devils don’t believe that to be true.

Ryan Lounder scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and Burgettstown pulled away for an 86-71 victory over visiting Charleroi in Section 4-AAA.

It was the third win of the seaosn for Burgettstown (7-1, 12-3) over Charleroi. The three games were played in on three different courts.

Lounder led four Burgettstown players in double figures. Scott Ferris had a big game with 18 points, and Max Shaw and Garrett Dhans scored 10 each. The Blue Devils led 44-38 at halftime.

Caleb Carson and Cam Carter led Charerloi (0-7, 4-12) wtih 16 points each. Joe Caruso and Lee Zanardini contributed 12 points apeice.

Peters Township 62, Connellsville 50: Colin Cote scored 20 points and Peters Township used a big third quarter to win its first Class 6A Section 2 game, defeating host Connellsville, 62-50.

Peters Township (1-7, 5-10) snapped a six-game losing streak by playing a strong second half. Connellsville (2-6, 8-8) led 28-25 at halftime but PT outscored the Falcons 24-14 in the pivotal third quarter. The Indians used some clutch long-range shooting as Cote made six three-pointers that accounted for all but two of his points.

The Indians’ Conor Pederson scored 13 points and Dan Boheme had 10.

Jake Ansell led a balanced Connellsville attack with 12 points.

Keystone Oaks 66, Waynesburg 59: Vonte Mitchell scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, helping Keystone Oaks hold off Waynesburg 66-59 in Section 3-AAAA.

Keystone Oaks (5-4, 8-8), which gave its postseason hopes a boost, led 29-26 at halftime but Mitchell kept the Golden Eagles in the lead in the second half. KO’s Frank Stumpo finsihed with 21 points, including six three-pointers.

Darton McIntire led Waynesburg (1-8, 4-12) with 21 points, all after the first quarter. Lucas Garber followed in the scoring column for the Raiders with 13 points and Avery McConville had 12.