Dec 30, 2019 3 min read

Freshman Caleb Russell made a three-point field goal from the top of the key as time expired Monday night, giving Burgettstown a thrilling 59-57 upset victory over McGuffey in the championship game of the Avella boys basketball tournament.

Russell, who had scored only two points in the game until the final shot, capped a wild final minute that saw Burgettstown (4-5) squander a three-point lead and McGuffey (10-2) miss the front end of a one-and-one while up by one point with 3.8 seconds remaining.

Burgettstown rebounded the missed free throw and immediately called a timeout, setting up a final play that led to Russell’s game-winning basket.

Cole Shergi scored 18 points, leading three Burgettstown players in double figures. Dylan Poirier followed with 15 and Jackson LaRocka had 10.

C.J. Cole matched Shergi for game-scoring honors with 18 points. Burgettstown played a box-and-one against the high-scoring Cole and held him to three points in the first half, which ended with McGuffey leading 21-20.

McGuffey’s Josiah Newton had 14 points and Ethan Janovich 11.

Chartiers-Houston 68, Avonworth 61: Alijah Vaden scored a game-high 22 points, Evan Simpson had a double-double and Chartiers-Houston used some torrid free-three shooting down the stretch to beat Avonworth 68-61 in the third-place game of the eight-team Avella tournament.

Chartiers-Houston (6-3) trailed 31-27 at halftime but the Bucs outscored Avonworth (4-5) by a 24-10 margin in the pivotal third quarter to take a 51-41 advantage. The Bucs stayed in front throughout the final eight minutes, in large part because they made 12 of 14 free throws in the quarter.

In addition to Vaden’s 22 points, C-H received 16 points from Evan Simpson, who made the all-tournament team, and a fine all-around game from point guard Seth Dunn, who scored 18 points to go with five assists and six rebounds.

Adam McKinney, who had 12 points, was the only Avonworth player to score in double figures.

Avella 64, Propel Montour 35: Gabe Lis scored 15 points, Tyler Cerciello had a double-double and Avella rode a 45-point first half to a 64-35 victory over Propel Montour in the Eagles’ holiday tournament.

Avella (3-6) went 2-1 in the three-day tournament. The Eagles led 19-5 after one quarter against Propel Montour (0-7) and increased the gap to 45-12 at halftime by scoring 26 second-quarter points.

Lis led Avella in scoring. Cerciello followed with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Donovan Avolio tossed in 12 points.

Cortae Sidberry scored a game-high 16 points for Propel Montour.

Brownsville 49, Fort Cherry 41: Nick Seto scored a game-high 15 points to help Brownsville snap a five-game losing streak with a 49-41 victory over Fort Cherry at the Avella tournament.

The Falcons led 8-6 after one period and 23-18 at halftime. The Rangers (2-7) pulled to within 35-31 heading into the fourth quarter but Brownsville secured the win with a 14-10 edge from there.

Ayden Teeter and Hunter Assad each added 10 points for Brownsville (3-6).

Henry Kern and Dylan Rodgers paced Fort Cherry (2-7) with 12 points apiece.