Feb 10, 2023 6 min read

Shane Cornali and Derek Errett each scored 17 points and Fort Cherry rode a strong first half to a 75-63 victory over Burgettstown in the Class 2A Section 4 boys basketball finale Friday night.

The win caps a perfect (12-0) section record for Fort Cherry and improved the Rangers’ overall mark to 20-2. It is the second consecutive 20-win season for Fort Cherry, which is a first in school history. The Rangers’ section title marks the first time since the 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons that Fort Cherry has won back-to-back section championships.

The Rangers have won 18 consecutive games.

Fort Cherry played a strong first half and led 48-28 at halftime. Burgettstown (8-4, 12-9), which has clinched a postseason berth, battled back and closed to within seven points in the second half but could get no closer.

Cornali had a double-double as he grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Owen Norman fini8shed with 16 points and Lucas Errett had 10.

Burgettstown’s Caleb Russell scored a career-high 25 points. Zack Schrockman followed with 19 points and James Leuice had 12.

Washington 45, Mount Pleasant 31: Washington wrapped up a share of the Class 3A Section 4 championship with a 45-31 victory over visiting Mount Pleasant.

The Prexies finished 10-2 in the section and share the title with Yough, which routed Charleroi, 69-17.

Wash High is 15-4 overall heading into the regular-season finale at Trinity.

No details from the Mount Pleasant game were reported by press time.

Trinity 74, Ringgold 50: Owen Wayman tossed in a game-high 16 points and Trinity cruised to a 74-50 win over Ringgold in a Class 5A Section 4 game at Hiller Hall.

Trinity (4-6, 9-12) had already clinched a playoff berth. The loss knocked Ringgold (2-8, 4-18) out of playoff contention.

The Hillers took control early, leading 36-16 at halftime.

Drew Collins scored 13 points, Jacob Dunkle had 12 and Tim Hodges 11 in the Hillers’ balanced attack.

Remington Lesserman led Ringgold with 12 points and Lorenzo Glasser had 10.

McGuffey 69, Waynesburg 51: Jantzen Durbin scored 18 points, sparking McGuffey to a 69-51 road win over Waynesburg in Class 3A Section 4.

McGuffey (6-6, 12-10), which has secured a playoff berth, led 35-24 at halftime and pulled away by outscoring Waynesburg 17-10 in the third quarter.

The Highlanders’ Grayson Wallace scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and Tristan McAdoo finished with 12.

Waynesburg’s Dane Woods matched Durbin for game scoring honors with 18 points. The Raiders finish the season at 1-11 in section and 3-19 overall.

West Greene 76, Mapletown 58: Sophomore guard lane Allison pored in a career-high 43 points, sparking host West Greene to a 76-58 win over playoff qualifier Mapletown in Class A Section 2.

Allison made 16 field goals, including five three-pointers, and converted six of 10 free throws as the Pioneers improved to 2-8 in the section and 5-17 overall.

Kaden Shields also had a big game for West Greene, scoring 20 points. The Allison-Shields duo helped the Pioneers build a double-digit lead by halftime.

Landan Stevenson scored 17 points and Cohen Stout had 12 for Mapletown (3-7, 7-13).

Mt. Lebanon 58, Canon-McMillan 38: Canon-McMillan ended its season with a 58-38 road loss to Mt. Lebanon in Class 6A Section 2.

Lebo (8-2, 14-7) didn’t pull away until the second half as the Blue Devils led by only 24-20 at halftime. Lucas Garofoli led three Lebo players in double digits with 16 points.

Eamon O’Donoghue poured in a game-high 20 points to lead the Big Macs, who finish 0-10 in section and 3-19 overall.

Elizabeth Forward 72, Belle Vernon 70: Drew Cook scored 25 points and Elizabeth Forward used its long-range shooting to edge Belle Vernon 72-70 in a Class 4A Section 3 game on the Leopards’ home court.

EF (4-6, 8-13) made 10 three-pointers in the first half as the Warriors forged a 45-35 lead, then had to hold off a Belle Vernon comeback in the second half. The Warriors finished with 12 three-point baskets, half of them by Cook.

Isaiah Turner scored 15 points for EF and Zach Boyd had 12.

Quinton Martin led Belle Vernon (5-5, 10-11) with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Zion Moore scored 16 and Braden Laux grabbed 10 rebounds.

Brownsville 69, California 35: Demarion Brown poured in a game-high 33 points that powered Brownsville to a 69-35 win over visiting California in non-section action.

Elijah Brown added 11 points for the Falcons, who led 48-17 at halftime.

Caden Powell’s eight points were tops for the Trojans. California ends the season with a 6-16 record.

In other games: Frazier slipped past Beth-Center 68-57 in Class 2A Section 4. No game details were reported by press time.

Girls results

Peters Township 59, Canon-McMillan 31: Peters Township clinched a playoff berth in Class 6A with a 59-31 home-court victory over Canon-McMillan.

The Indians (5-7, 11-10) tied Baldwin for fourth place in the section. The teams split their two meetings and both will advance to the postseason.

PT’s Natalie Wetzel led all scorers with 20 points while Gemma Walker chipped in with 14.

Lauren Borella paced Canon-McMillan (1-11, 5-15) with 12 points.

Peters Township held a slim 16-10 lead midway through the second quarter before PT closed the half on a 14-1 run.

Trinity 62, Albert Gallatin 53: Ruby Morgan and Eden Williamson combined for 44 points and Trinity stormed back from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat host Albert Gallatin 62-53 in a non-section game on the Colonials’ hardwood.

AG (10-12) held a 47-40 lead after three quarters, but Trinity outscored the home team 22-6 in the pivotal fourth period.

Morgan scored a game-high 24 points to lead the charge and Williamson was close behind with 20.

Cortlyn Tuner led three players in double figures for AG with 21 points.

West Greene 66, Mapletown 23: Lexi Six led four West Greene players in double figures with 24 points and the playoff-bound Pioneers rolled to a 66-23 win over Mapletown in Class A Section 2.

West Greene (8-2, 12-9), the section runner-up, finished unbeaten at home in section play for the seventh consecutive season.

Taylor Karvan scored 16 points for West Greene, Kendra Tharp had 12 and Kasie Meek 10.

Mapletown (2-8, 6-15) was led in scoring by Krista Wilson, who had seven points.