Jan 7, 2020 10 min read

Joey Caruso and Will Wagner combined for 50 points, powering Charleroi to an 85-55 victory over Beth-Center in Class 3A Section 4 boys basketball Tuesday night.

The win is the third in a row for Charleroi (4-1, 8-4), which continues to push toward the top of the section standings. Beth-Center (1-3, 5-5) has lost three straight.

The game was close at halftime with Charleroi holding a 33-27 lead. In the third quarter, Charleroi erupted for 33 points and stretched its lead to 66-38. Caruso scored 18 of his 25 points in the pivotal third quarter.

Wagner matched Caruso by scoring 25 points and Legend Davis tossed in 12.

Easton McDaniel, with nine points, was the leading scorer for B-C.

Washington 71, Southmoreland 39: Four players scored in double figures as Washington rode a fast start offensively to a convincing 71-39 win over Southmoreland in Class 3A Section 4.

Scoring more points in the first half (34) than their last game – a 49-24 loss to Canon-McMillan at the Chucky Mahoney Classic last Saturday – the Prexies had a sizable 34-14 lead at halftime.

Washington (4-0, 7-3), which remained tied with McGuffey for first place in the section, had four players in double figures, led by a 20-point night from Tayshawn Levy. Brandon Patterson had 16, Ian Bredniak scored 14 and Marlon Norris added 10.

Riley Comforti scored 16 points for Southmoreland (1-3, 2-10).

Thomas Jefferson 64, Trinity 61: Shane Stump scored a game-high 26 points and Thomas Jefferson made 11 three-point field goals to overcome a halftime deficit and edge host Trinity, 64-61, dealing the Hillers their first Class 5A Section 2 loss.

Trinity (4-1, 9-3) had its four-game winning streak end. The Hillers led 36-31 at halftime but TJ (4-1, 7-4) pulled ahead 48-47 after three quarters.

Isaac McNeil scored 14 points for the Jaguars and matched Stump with four three-pointers. Noah Pierce had 10 points.

Trinity was led by Michael Koroly’s 19 points. Dylan King scored 17 points and Michael Dunn had 12 on four three-pointers.

TJ’s victory creates a three-way for first place in the section between the Jaguars, Trinity and Chartiers Valley.

Sewickley Academy 58, Burgettstown 54: Keeping its narrow lead to the end, Sewickley Academy held off Burgettstown for a 58-54 victory in Class 2A Section 3.

Cole Shergi and Dylan Poirier kept Burgettstown (1-3, 5-7) close throughout the entire night. Shergi led all scorers with 18 points and Poirier finished close behind with 17.

Sewickley Academy (3-1, 4-4) led led 28-26 at halftime and 44-38 entering the fourth quarter.

Max Belt and Dimitri Gary kept the Panthers from surrendering the lead. Each finished with 13 points. Shaun Johnson scored 11 for Sewickley.

Upper St. Clair 83, Canon-McMillan 52: Four players scored in double figures and Upper St. Clair made 10 three-pointers as a team to extend its winning streak to nine games, defeating Class 6A Section 2 foe Canon-McMillan 83-52.

Luke Gensler was the biggest threat from behind the arc for USC (3-0, 11-1). He made four three-pointers en route to a team-high 20 points. Landon Rouch and Andrew Casey each added 13 points for the Panthers. Jack Moore chipped in with 10.

Canon-McMillan (0-3, 3-8) trailed 38-28 at halftime but had that deficit grow in the third quarter by being outscored 22-9.

Tommy Samosky scored 21 points for the Big Macs.

Elizabeth Forward 67, Waynesburg 58: Pat Filson made six threes and Elizabeth Forward rode a strong second quarter to a much-needed victory over Waynesburg, 67-58, in Class 4A Section 3.

Elizabeth Forward (1-2, 3-5) outscored the Raiders 24-14 in the second quarter, which gave the Warriors a 10-point lead. It was a lead Waynesburg (0-3, 5-6) would threaten in the third quarter but never make up completely.

Filson’s night from behind the arc was only the start of success from deep for the Warriors. They made 10 threes as a team. Chase Vaughn scored 15 points while Evan Lewis and Rafael De La O each finished with 10.

Lucas Garber scored a game-high 25 points for the Raiders. Chris King and Richard Bortz added 11 apiece.

Belle Vernon 76, South Park 63: Devin Whitlock might have turned in his most complete performance since arriving at Belle Vernon.

Whitlock, a sophomore transfer guard from Monessen, scored a game-high 26 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had seven steals and eight assists to lead Belle Vernon over visiting South Park, 76-63, in Class 4A Section 3.

Belle Vernon (2-1, 8-4) opened up a big lead by ending the third quarter on a 15-0 run to put it ahead 59-39. The solid few dominating minutes were a product of a balanced offense led by Whitlock. Mitch Pohlot and Jared Hartman each had 12 points. Hunter Ruokonen added 11.

Three players reached double figures for South Park (1-2, 5-5). Aidan Rongaus scored a team-high 17. Andrew and Brandon Graham had 16 and 14 points, respectively.

West Greene 47, Mapletown 40: Three players for West Greene had double-doubles as West Greene edged Mapletown, 47-40, in a Class A Section 2 game.

Benjamin Jackson scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Greg Staggers chipped in with 12 points and Corey Wise added 11. Staggers and Wise each finished with 11 rebounds in the winning effort for the Pioneers, who led 19-15 at halftime before scoring 14 points in both the third and fourth quarters.

The win for West Greene (3-1, 4-5) keeps it to within striking distance of section leader Bishop Canevin.

Ryan Tuttle scored 16 points for Mapletown (0-4, 0-9).

Carmichaels 69, Bentworth 36: Riding a strong first quarter when it scored 25 points, Carmichaels downed Bentworth in a Class 2A Section 2 game, 69-36.

The fast start for Carmichaels (1-4, 5-5) ended its drought in the section and put it ahead by 16 points. The Mikes extended that lead to 21 points, 38-17, by halftime.

Dylan Wilson led a balanced scoring effort for Carmichaels with 17 points. Al Cree and Drake Long both reached double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Landon Urcho scored 14 points for Bentworth (0-4, 0-10).

Monessen 84, Avella 53: Monessen got back to its high-scoring ways by exceeding 80 points for the second time this season, defeating Class A Section 2 foe Avella 84-53.

The only other time the Greyhounds reached at least 80 points was in an 82-60 win over Jefferson-Morgan Dec. 17.

Monessen (3-1, 3-8) scored at least 20 points in three of the four quarters behind the offense of Marquelle Smith, who finished with a game-high 26 points. Dawayne Howell scored 18 and Carlton Jones added 12.

Three players also reached double figures for Avella (1-3, 4-8). Gabe Lis led the way for the Eagles with 14 points. Tyler Cerciello had 12 and Brandon Samol scored 11.

Peters Township 70, Baldwin 60: Colin Cote poured in a game-high 33 points and Peters Township got its first Class 6A Section 2 victory, 70-60 over host Baldwin.

The Indians (1-2, 7-5) had a fast start, forging a 28-13 lead at the end of one quarter against the Highlanders (0-3, 5-6).

Geibel Catholic 76, Jefferson-Morgan 60: Two big quarters and some balanced offense sparked Geibel Catholic to a 76-60 win over Jefferson-Morgan in Section 2-A.

Geibel (2-2, 6-3) forged a 27-16 lead after one quarter and pushed a 38-26 halftime lead to 62-38 after three quarters.

Drew Howard led the Gators with 20 points. Cole Kendall followed with 19 points and Ryan Anderson had 18.

Tahj Jacobs of Jefferson-Morgan (1-3, 2-9) scored a game-high 23 points. Lou Debolt finished with 14 points.

Jeannette 52, Chartiers-Houston 34: Jeannette put four players in double figures, led by Antoon Good’s 13 points, and pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat visiting Chartiers-Houston 52-34 in Class 2A Section 2.

Jeannette (3-1, 6-6) led 202-10 at halftime but Chartiers-Houston (1-3, 6-6) closed to within 27-23 after three quarters. The Jayhawks outscored the Bucs 25-11 in the pivotal fourth frame.

Jackson Pruitt had 11 points, and Toby Cline and Zach Crutchman 10 for Jeannette.

Chartiers-Houston’s Austin Arnold scored a game-high 14 points and Alijah Vaden tallied 12.

Brentwood 66, California 55: Malik Ramsey scored 30 points and California threw a mighty scare into undefeated Brentwood but the Spartans rallied in the second half for a 66-55 victory in Class 2A Section 2.

California (1-3, 5-6), behind Ramsey’s scoring, held a double-digit lead after one quarter and 24-22 edge at halftime. Brentwood (5-0, 10-0) took control by outscoring the Trojans 24-14 in the third quarter.

C.J. Zeigler led Brentwood with 24 points.

Montour 48, South Fayette 47, OT: South Fayette rallied in the second half to force overtime but Montour pulled out a 48-47 road victory in Class 5A Section 2.

Montour (2-2, 5-6) led 24-16 at halftime before South Fayette chipped away at the deficit and sent the game to OT tied at 42-42.

James Eubanks led Montour with 16 points, and Tyler Banks and Isayh Mosely each had 10.

Jake Dunay’s 14 points topped South Fayette (2-3, 5-5). Brandon Jakiela scored 12 points.

In other games: Seton LaSalle was a 71-32 winner over Fort Cherry in Class 3A Section 2. No details of the game were made available.

Girls results

Washington 59, Waynesburg 51, OT: Cass Lewis tied for a game high with 28 points as Washington outlasted Waynesburg in overtime, 59-51, in a Class 3A Section 2 game.

Trailing 25-19 at halftime, Waynesburg (0-5, 4-6) outscored the Prexies 21-11 in the third quarter to take a four point lead. That was erased by Washington (2-2, 4-7) in the fourth quarter as the game went into overtime tied at 48-48.

Lewis and Tamia Russell, who also was in double digits for the Prexies with 14 points, helped Washington prevail in overtime.

Waynesburg’s Clara Paige Miller matched Lewis in scoring with 28.

Fort Cherry 48, Mapletown 29: Dana Sinatra scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter as Fort Cherry pulled away late for a 48-29 victory over visiting Mapletown in a non-section game.

Fort Cherry (4-7), which has won two in a row, led 22-14 at halftime and 30-23 after three quarters before outscoring the Maples 18-6 in the fourth quarter. Mapletown (1-8) won its first game of the season Monday night.

The Rangers put four players in doduble figures. Kayla Salvini, Annika Rinehart and Issy Curtis each scored 10 points in a balanced offense.

Mapletown’s Krista Wilson scored a game-high 17 points. She was 9-for-11 at the free-throw line. The Maples made 13 of 17 free throws.

McKeesport 57, Belle Vernon 39: Three players scored in double figures and McKeesport played solid defense in the first three quarters to defeat Belle Vernon, 57-39, in a Class 4A Section 3 game.

The win puts McKeesport (4-1, 8-4) alone in second place in the section standings. Belle Vernon (3-2, 7-3) now haw the same section record as West Mifflin and Elizabeth Forward in teams battling for the third and fourth spots.

The Tigers took sole possession of second with balanced scoring. Laila Taylor led McKeesport with 14 points. Carmen Coles scored 13 and Jhayla Bray added 11.

Belle Vernon only managed to score 19 points in the first three quarters. Janna Dawson scored a team-high nine points for the Leopards.