Jan 10, 2020 6 min read

Belle Vernon erased a halftime deficit by scoring 50 second-half points and defeated visiting Ringgold for the second time in less than month, 77-66, Friday night in a key Class 4A Section 3 boys basketball game.

The win gives Belle Vernon (3-1, 9-4) sole possession of second place in the section. Ringgold (2-2, 7-5), which lost to Belle Vernon in the championship game of the Charleroi holiday tournament last month, drops to third place.

Ringgold outscored Belle Vernon 23-9 in the second quarter to take a 38-27 lead into halftime. However, Belle Vernon gained the momentum in the third quarter and closed to within 58-55, then won with a 22-8 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.

Devin Whitlock led Belle Vernon with 23 points. Mitchel Pohlot had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Cam Nusser scored 15 points.

Ringgold put four players in double figures led by Luke Wyvratt with 19 points. Demetrius Butler scored 17 points, Chris Peccon had 15 and Nate Pajak 13.

Jefferson-Morgan 65, Avella 63: Tahj Jacobs scored a game-high 22 points, including a game-winning basket with five seconds remaining, as Jefferson-Morgan edged visiting Avella 65-63 in Section 2-A.

Jefferson-Morgan (2-3, 4-9) overcame a hot start by Avella (1-4, 4-9), which scored 26 first-quarter points and led 39-31 at halftime.

Jacobs, however, led Jefferson-Morgan’s comeback as the Rockets outscored Avella 18-12 in the pivotal fourth quarter. Troy Wright had 12 points for J-M, which has won two in a row.

Gabe Lis tossed in 17 points for Avella and Tyler Cerciello had 16.

Washington 65, Beth-Center 37: Four players reached double figures for Washington in a 65-37 victory over Beth-Center in a Section 4 game in Class 4A inn Fredericktown.

Tayshawn Levy scored a game-high 21 points, Marlon Norris tossed in 12 points, Ian Bredniak added 11 points and, Zahmiere Robinson chipped in with 10 points for the Prexies (5-0, 8-3), who led 32-17 at halftime.

Cam Palmer scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for B-C (1-4, 5-6).

Chartiers-Houston 69, Bentworth 22: Four players combined for 48 points as Chartiers-Houston downed Bentworth, 69-22, in a Section 2-AA game.

Caleb Haskey led the way for the host Bucs (2-3, 7-6) with 14 points. Ahlijah Vaden dropped in 13 points, Lucas Meyers had 11 points, Evan Simpson added 10 points.

Bentworth (0-5, 0-12) was led by Landon Urcho’s six points.

Canon-McMillan 50, Baldwin 48: Canon-McMillan puts three players in double figures and fought off a fourth-quarter rally to defeat host Baldwin 50-48 in Class 6A Section 2.

It was the first section win for the Big Macs (1-3, 4-8), who led 24-23 at halftime and took a 40-31 lead into the fourth quarter. The Big Macs led 50-46 in the closing seconds before Baldwin scored the game’s final basket.

Gavin Miller led a balanced C-M attack with 12 points. Tommy Samosky followed with 11 points and Syn’cere Southern had 10.

Connor Lavelle scored a game-high 17 points for Baldwin (0-4, 5-7) and Connor Gitzen had 12.

Waynesburg 65, South Park 41: Lucas Garber scored 23 points and Waynesburg rode a fast start to a 65-41 victory over host South Park in a Class 4A Section 3 game.

It was the first section win for Waynesburg (1-3, 6-6) and the Raiders wasted no time in taking command of the game. Waynesburg led 22-8 after the first quarter and never trailed thereafter.

Garber led the Raiders’ offense, both from the field and at the free-throw line, where he made 10 of 11 attempts. Chris King followed with 14 points and Richard Bortz scored 12.

South Park (1-3, 5-6) was led by Aidan Rongaus’ 16 points.

South Fayette 71, West Mifflin 53: South Fayette put four players in double figures, led by Brandon Jakiela’s 18 points, and defeated visiting West Mifflin 71-53 in Class 5A Section 2.

The Lions (3-3, 6-5) led 26-16 at halftime and then scored 45 points over the second half.

Kade St. Ledger tallied 13 points for South Fayette, Landon Lutz had 12 and Connor Mislan 10.

Mekhi Scott of West Mifflin (0-5, -19) scored a game-high 20 points.

Mt. Lebanon 72, Peters Township 43: Mt. Lebanon put four players in double figures and shot down Peters Township 72-43 in a Class 6A Section 2 game.

Mt. Lebanon (4-0, 10-3), which has won four in a row, remains tied for first place with Upper St. Clair. The Blue Devils led 38-19 at halftime over PT (1-3, 7-6).

Jake Reinke led Lebo’s balanced attack with 16 points followed by Jake Hoffmann with 15, Blaine Gartley with 14 and Joey King’s 10.

Sam Petrarca led PT with 17 points, all in the first three quarters. Colin Cote added 10 points.

Carmichaels 59, Mapletown 54: Four players combined for 55 points to help Carmichaels stop Mapletown, 59-54, in a Section 2-AA game.

Al Cree scored 19 points, Michael Stewart tossed in 14 points, Drake Long added 12 points and Chris Barrish added 10 points for the Mikes (1-4, 6-6), who rushed out to a 24-10 lead after one quarter and 33-23 at halftime.

For Mapletown (0-4, 0-10), Landan Stevenson scored a game-high 23 points and Ryan Tuttle finished with 10 points.

Jeannette 62, California 41: Jeannette held California to four first-quarter points and went on to its sixth consecutive victory, 61-42, in a Class 2A Section 2 game on the Trojans’ home court.

Jeannette (4-1, 7-6) led 13-4 after one quarter, and after leading 27-18 at halftime the Jayhawks pulled away with an 18-9 edge in the third period.

Anton Good and Jackson Pruitt each had 16 points for Jeannette. Malik Ramsey again led California (1-4, 5-7) in scoring with 13 points.

Girls results

West Greene 44, Ellis School 40: Anna Durbin sank two free throws with about 12 seconds to play to seal a 44-40 victory for undefeated West Greene over the Ellis School in a non-section game.

The Pioneers trailed 40-38 late but scored the last six points of the game to move to 12-0. Ellis fell to 9-3.

Jersey Wise led West Greene with 16 points and Durbin finished with nine points.

Natalie Jasper scored a game-high 18 points for the host Ellis School (9-3).

Avella 52, Northgate 25: Avella dominated the first half and cruised to a 52-25 victory over visiting Northgate in a non-section game.

The Eagles (9-2), who have a key section game at home Monday against West Greene, led 22-0 after one quarter and 32-1 at halftime against winless Northgate (0-12).

Bess Lengauer and Katie Dryer each tossed in 12 points to lead Avella.

In other games: West Allegheny edged visiting Trinity 76-73 in a Class 5A Section 2 boys game. Monessen defeated West Greene 54-32 in Section 2-A. In girls action, McKeesport was a 55-19 winner over Ringgold. No game details were made available.