Dec 6, 2019 7 min read

C.J. Cole had a double-double, which included his 1,000th career point, and McGuffey, sparked by a big first quarter, defeated Fort Cherry 75-39 in the opening round of the Highlanders’ tournament Friday night.

McGuffey had a 25-point outburst in the first quarter that forged a 14-point lead and the Highlanders were never threatened the rest of the way.

Cole scored a game-high 25 points, including 17 in the first half. He entered the game 10 points shy of the 1,000-point mark. Cole also dominated under the basket, pulling down 15 rebounds.

Ethan Janovich had 15 points and seven assists for McGuffey.

Noah Babirad led Fort Cherry in scoring with 17 points.

McGuffey will play Waynesburg in the championship game, 8 p.m. tonight.

Waynesburg 62, Burgettstown 39: Lucas Garber scored a game-high 21 points and Waynesburg used some sticky defense to defeat Burgettstown 62-39 in the opening round of the McGuffey tournament.

Garber, who did all of his scoring in the first three quarters, made three of Waynesburg’s six three-pointers and helped the Raiders hold Burgettstown to five first-quarter points. Waynesburg led 33-19 at halftime.

Chris King scored 12 points for Waynesburg and Richard Bortz had 11.

Cole Shergi’s 13 points were tops for Burgettstown. Dylan Poirier scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half.

Belle Vernon 75, Jeannette 60: Devin Whitlock made an immediate impact in his debut with Belle Vernon.

Whitlock, a transfer from Monessen, scored 25 points and led four leopards in double figures as they defeated Jeannette 75-60 in the Hempfield tournament.

The game was tied 32-32 at halftime, but Belle Vernon outscored the Jayhawks 26-13 in the pivotal third quarter.

Thomas Hepple scored 12 points for Belle Vernon, and Cam Nusser and Hunter Ruokonen each tossed in 11.

Imani Sanders led Jeannette with 25 points.

South Fayette 80, Cornell 73: Kade St. Ledger scored 29 points, powering South Fayette to an 80-73 victory over Cornell in the opening round of the South Park tournament.

South Fayette led after every quarter, including 38-34 at halftime, and it was close throughout. The Lions were able to withstand an offensive onslaught by the Cornell duo of Kaden DeVito and Isaiah Langston, who combined for 58 points. DeVito had 30 points and Langston 28.

Brandon Jakiela and Connor Mislin provided enough offensive support for South Fayette, scoring 18 and 14 points, respectively.

Char-Houston 61, West Greene 40: Elijah Baden scored a game-high 20 points to power Chartiers-Houston to a 61-40 victory over West Greene in the Brownsville Tipoff Tournament.

Austin Arnold scored 11 points and Evan Simpson had a double-double with 11 points 13 rebounds for the Bucs.

Austin Crouse led West Greene with 17 points, and Caleb Rice added 10 points.

Carlynton 72, Jefferson-Morgan 26: Dequay Canton scored a game-high 17 points as tournament host Carlynton defeated visiting Jefferson-Morgan, 72-26, in the Carlynton Tip-Off Tournament.

Chauncie Mickens had 16 points for the Cougars, who limited J-M to fewer than 10 points in each of the four quarters.

Troy Wright scored eight points for the Rockets.

Riverview 61, Carmichaels 50: Devin Dreary scored 15 points as Riverview defeated visiting Carmichaels, 61-50, in the Geibel Tip-Off Tournament.

Chris Barrish scored 15 and Al Cree 14 for the Mikes.

Norwin 51, Ringgold 50: Norwin scored eight of the game’s final 10 points and rallied to beat Ringgold 51-50 in the Tom Traynor Tournament at Mount Pleasant.

Ringgold led 48-43 with four minutes remaining, then went cold from both the field and the free-throw line. The Rams didn’t have a field goal in the final four minutes, making only two free throws.

Tyler Bilinsky of Norwin scored a game-high 22 point6s and Nicholas Fleming had 12.

Demetrius Butler led four Ringgold players in double figures with 16 points. Luke Wyvratt followed with 15 and Chris Peccon had 12.

Geibel 81, Mapletown 47: Enzo Fetsko poured in 21 points to help push Geibel to a season-opening, 81-47, win over Mapletown in the Geibel Tournament.

Ryan Tuttle led the Maples with 15 points and Landan Stevenson had 12 points.

In other games: Pittsburgh Central Catholic stopped Peters Township 58-38 in the Baldwin/Peters Township tournament. No details were made available by press time.

Girls results

Chartiers-Houston 36, Bentworth 28: Zamierah Edwards scored 12 points as Chartiers-Houston jumped out to an early lead to defeat Bentworth, 36-28, at the Brownsville Tip-Off Tournament.

Chartiers-Houston (1-0) led 12-2 after the first quarter and 19-7 at halftime. Dominique Mortimer added 10 points for the Bucs.

Caroline Rice led all scorers with 17 points for Bentworth (0-1).

Imani Christian 46, Monessen 34: Shariya Nored-Carter scored 22 points and Imani Christian broke open a close game in the third quarter en route to a 46-34 victory over Monessen in the opening round of the Greyhounds’ tournament.

Imani Christian led 19-13 at halftime, then outscored Monessen 20-10 in the pivotal third quarter.

Monessen will play Carrick in the consolation game at 2 p.m. today. Imani Christian will play Propel Andrew Street in the title game. Propel Andrew Street defeated Carrick 37-20 in the tournament’s opening game.

Mea Johnson scored 12 points for Imani Christian.

Qitarah Hardison and Zykazia Hairston each had eight points for the Greyhounds.

Charleroi 46, Clairton 41: Charleroi got off to a good start and finished strong, which added up to a 46-41 victory over Clairton in the Cougars’ tip-off tournament.

The Cougars will play Carmichaels for the tournament championship tonight at 7:30.

Charleroi forged an 11-3 lead after one quarter but Clairton battled back and sent the game into the fourth quarter tied 28-28. The Cougars held an 18-13 edge over the pivotal final eight minutes.

Bella Skobel led Charleroi with a game-high 25 points. Cierra Gazi also reached double figures, scoring 10 points.

Taylor Jackson paced Clairton with 14 points.

Burgettstown 77, Mapletown 5: Avery Havelka scored 17 points to lead Burgettstown to a 77-5 victory over Mapletown in the Avella Tournament.

Jill Frazier had 12 points on four three-point shots, and Celeste DiVecchio chipped in with 10 points.

Morgan Williamson and Ryleigh Henderson each scored two points for the Maples.

Penn Trafford 57, Belle Vernon 42: Maura Suman scored 23 points to send Penn Trafford past Belle Vernon, 57-42, in the McKeesport Tournament.

Bella Long and Kenzie Powell each scored 13 for Penn Trafford, which led 32-19 at halftime and was 21 of 29 at the free throw line.

Rachel Wobrak had four three-point shots and finished with 16 points for the Leopards. Taylor Rodriguez added 12 points.

West Greene 53, Yough 11: Jersey Wise scored 14 points to lead West Greene to a season-opening, 53-11, win over Yough in the Southmoreland Tournament.

Elizabeth Brudnock tossed in 13 points and Anna Dunn’s 11 points. Yough was led by Kaylynn Odelli’s 5 points.

Carmichaels 72, Propel of BH 5: Emma Hyatt poured in 23 points to power Carmichaels to a season-opening, 72-5, win over Propel of Braddock Hills in the Charleroi Tournament.

Sophia Zalar scored 14 points and Kylee Sinn 14 points for Carmichaels.

Avella 66, McGuffey 47: Brianna Jenkins scored a career-high 21 points to help Avella to a season-opening, 66-47, win over McGufffey in the Avella Tournament.

Allie Brownlee scored 14 points, Brianna Lloyd 13 points, Bess Lengauer 10 points for Avella.

McGuffey was led by Kiera Nicolella’s 13 points, Abby Donnelly’s 11 points and Claire Redd’s 10 points.

In other games: Woodland Hills defeated defending PIAA Class 6A champion Peters Township 63-56 in the Baldwin/Peters Township girls tournament. Sewickley Academy defeated Beth-Center 54-38 in the Freedom tournament, Ringgold edged Ellwood City 37-29 in the Montour tournament, South Fayette was a 63-34 winner over Obama Academy in the Lions’ tournament.