Jan 21, 2020 8 min read

C.J. Cole scored 31 points and became McGuffey’s all-time scoring leader Monday as the Highlanders defeated visiting Frazier 60-48 and clinched a playoff berth from Class 3A Section 4.

Cole surpassed the record of 1,431 points held by Seth Hunter, who last played for the Highlanders in 2003.

McGuffey’s playoff berth is only the fifth in school history.

McGuffey (6-2, 13-4) led 28-20 at halftime and Frazier (1-7, 1-14) closed to within 40-35 after three quarters. The Highlanders secured the win with a l20-13 scoring edge in the fourth period.

Cole had a double-double, grabbing 16 rebounds to go with his big point total. Nate Wikowsky had 13 points.

For Frazier, Owen Newcomer had 12 points, and Luke Santo and Isaac Thomas each tallied 11.

Peters Township 72, Upper St. Clair 71, OT: Sam Petrarca scored four crucial points in overtime as Peters Township stunned Upper St. Clair, 72-21, in a Class 6A Section 2 game.

Now firmly in command of the fourth playoff spot in the section, Peters Township (3-3, 9-7) erased a nine-point deficit it faced after the first quarter and a 12-point hole entering the fourth. The Indians outscored Upper St. Clair 23-11 in the final eight minutes to force overtime, tied at 66-66.

Petrarca’s four points in overtime led to 17 for the night. Colin Cote paced all scorers with 23 points.

Ethan Dahlem scored a team-high 17 points for Upper St. Clair (4-2, 13-3). Luke Gensler and Landon Rauch also reached double figures for the Panthers with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Belle Vernon 69, Waynesburg 61: A pair of solid performances, one from Devin Whitlock and the other from Mitch Pohlot, helped Belle Vernon win a back and forth Class 4A Section 3 game over Waynesburg, 69-61.

Whitlock scored a game-high 33 points. Pohlot finished with a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in a game that featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes.

Belle Vernon (5-1, 13-4) took a lead late in the third quarter and never gave it back. The Leopards, who extended their winning streak to six games, outscored the Raiders 41-30 in the second half.

Lucas Garber scored 20 points to lead Waynesburg (1-5, 7-9), which falls to fifth place in the section standings after Elizabeth Forward upset Ringgold. Chris King also scored 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Raiders.

Charleroi 73, Brownsville 34: Joe Caruso scored a season-high 30 points, powering Charleroi to a 73-34 victory over visiting Brownsville in Class 3A Section 4.

The win moves Charleroi (7-1, 12-5) into sole possession of first place in the section, a half-game ahead of idle Washington. The Cougars have won seven consecutive section games after losing their opener.

Charleroi wasted no time against Brownsville (2-6, 6-9), building a 25-4 lead after one quarter. Caruso finished the game with five three-point field goals. Will Wagner followed in the scoring column with 18 points and Zach Usher had 13.

Nick Seto led Brownsville with 13 points.

Montour 77, Trinity 59: Alex Boyden and Tyler Banks combined for 40 points and Montour dealt Trinity its fifth consecutive loss, 77-59, in Class 5A Section 2.

The game was much lower scoring than the first meeting of the season between the teams, won by Trinity 100-97 at Hiller Hall.

This time, Trinity got off to a slow start, falling behind 26-13 after one quarter and the Hillers never recovered, though they did close to within 34-28 at halftime.

Boyden led Montour (5-3, 8-7) with 21 points and Banks had 19.

Michael Koroly was Trinity’s top scorer with 17 points followed by Jordane Adams with 12 and Noah Johnson with 10.

Geibel Catholic 58, West Greene 44: Geibel Catholic made nine three-point field goals and broke open a close game in the fourth quarter to beat visiting West Greene 58-44 in Section 2-A.

The win gives Geibel (5-3, 10-5) third place in the section, a game ahead of West Greene (4-4, 5-8).

Geibel led 24-16 at halftime and 34-28 after three quarters. The Gators held a 24-16 scoring edge in the pivotal fourth quarter.

Enzo Fetsko led Geibel with 20 points. Cole Kendall had 18 points and Ryan Anderson 11.

Ben Jackson and Corey Wise shared scoring honors for West Greene, each tossing in 11 points.

Southmoreland 73, Beth-Center 66: Southmoreland boosted its playoff chances out of Class 3A Section 4 with a 73-66 road win over Beth-Center.

Riley Comforti scored a game-high 28 points for the Scotties (4-3, 7-10), who have won five in a row. Brandon Patterson had 19 points and Zach Cernuto 13.

Cameron Palmer and Kamden Studnicki each tossed in 18 points to pace Beth-Center (1-7, 5-10). Easton McDaniel had 11 points.

Monessen 74, Jefferson-Morgan 49: Dawayne Howell poured in 30 points to help Monessen pull away in the second and third quarters in a 74-49 win over Jefferson-Morgan in a Class A Section 2 game.

Tied 12-12 after eight minutes, Monessen (6-1, 6-9) outscored the Rockets 24-18 in the second quarter and 23-11 in the third to take a commanding 18-point lead into the fourth.

Carlton Jones also scored in double figures for the Greyhounds with 12 points.

Tahj Jacobs’ 14 points led Jefferson-Morgan (3-5, 5-12).

Bethel Park 74, Canon-McMillan 65: Bethel Park won a battle in a battle of balanced offenses, defeating Canon-McMillan 74-65 in a Class 6A Section 2 game.

Eight total players – four from each team – scored in double figures as the teams combined for 61 points in the fourth quarter.

The balance for Bethel Park (4-2, 10-6) helped them pull away before the final eight minutes. Tommy DiRienzo led all scorers with 23 points. Ryan Meis scored 18 for the Black Hawks, while Anthony Chiccett added 11 and Cooper Shoemaker scored 10, helping them into a 27-19 halftime lead.

Bethel Park led the Big Macs 44-34 after three quarters.

A 31-point fourth and attempt at a comeback for Canon-McMillan (1-5, 5-10) fell short despite Cole Stanley, Syn’Cere Southern and Tre Lewis all finishing with 13 points. Gavin Miller chipped in 12 points for the Big Macs.

Brentwood 68, Bentworth 22: Scoring 20 points in each of the first three quarters, Brentwood cruised to a 68-22 victory over Bentworth in a Class 2A Section 2 game.

Three players for Brentwood (6-2, 11-4) scored in double figures, including a game-high 16 points from Zach Kieb. Chase Roesing and C.J. Ziegler each added 13 for the Royals.

Shawn Dziak scored over half the points for Bentworth (0-8, 0-16) with 13. The Bearcats failed to score more than eight points in a single quarter.

Serra Catholic 70, Carmichaels 26:

Serra Catholic jumped out to an early lead an never looked back as the Eagles took the outright lead in Class 2A Section 2 with a commanding 70-26 victory over visiting Carmichaels.

Jayden Bristol led Serra Catholc (7-1, 9-7), winners of three of its last four games, with 22 points. Ryan Brooks added 10 as Serra led 27-4 after the first quarter and 53-13 at halftime.

Al Cree scored 10 points for Carmichaels (1-7, 7-9).

In other games: Elizabeth Forward upset Ringgold 80-65 in Class 4A Section 3; Chartiers Valley defeated South Fayette 54-43 in Class 5A Section 2; Avonworth was a 67-52 winner over Fort Cherry in Class 3A Section 2; Laurel defeated Burgettstown 87-44 in Class 2A Section 3 and Bishop Canevin handled Mapeltown 86-31 in Section 2-A.

Girls results

West Greene 81, California 46: Jersey Wise led four West Greene players in double figures with 22 points and the Pioneers remained undefeated with an 81-46 victory over visiting California in Section 2-A.

The win moves West Greene to 8-0 in the section and 16-0 overall. The Pioneers led 14-12 after one quarter, then broke the game open by scoring 50 points over the next two quarters.

Elizabeth Brudnock scored 16 points, Katie Lampe had 14 and Anna Durbin 11 for West Greene.

Sydney Smichnick led California (4-4, 8-8) with 13 points.

Avella 59, Bentworth 32: Avella got back on the winning track with a 59-32 non-section victory at Bentworth.

Brianna Jenkins led the way for the Eagles (11-4), who built a 39-13 halftime lead. Jordan Rush followed in the scoring column with 12 points to go with 13 rebounds.

Caroline Rice of Bentworth (4-13) matched Jenkins for game scoring honors by tossing in 17 points.

Belle Vernon 54, Seton LaSalle 41: Farrah Reader and Rachel Wobrak combined for 25 points to lead Belle Vernon over Seton LaSalle in a non-section game, 54-41.

Reader made five field goals and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line en route to 14 points. Wobrak made three-pointers and finished with 11 points for Belle Vernon (10-5).

The Leopards extended their one-point lead after the first quarter to seven points, 26-19, by halftime.

Seton LaSalle’s Ava Dursi tied Reader with a game-high 14 points. Sarah Merlina added 10 points for the Rebels, who fall to 12-4 overall and their winning streak snapped at six games.

Freedom 51, Burgettstown 46: Karissa Mercier hit a pair of clutch three-pointers midway through the third quarter as Freedom battled back to edge Burgettstown 51-46 in a non-section game.

Burgettstown (10-6) trailed 14-4 after a slow-starting first quarter but led by four points with five minutes left in regulation. That was until Mercier’s threes, which led to her game-high 22 points, helped the Bulldogs retake the lead.

Renae Mohrbacker also reached double figures for Freedom (11-3) with 11 points.

Three-pointers powered Burgettstown’s Jill Frazier to a career night. All of Frazier’s career-high 21 points came on her seven three-pointers. Emily Prasko added 11 points for the Blue Devils.