High school basketball:
Lorenzo Gardner went over the 1,000-point barrier in Monessen’s 60-44 victory over Western Beaver in the first round of the WPIAL boys Class A playoffs Friday night on the Greyhounds’ home court.
The win moves the Greyhounds (21-2) to the quarterfinals against Carlynton on Wednesday. Western Beaver ended its season with a 10-13 record.
Gardner, who finished the game with 16 points, needed 15 to reach 1,000. He got it with one second left in the third quarter.
Davontae Clayton scored 14 points for Monessen, which chalked up its sixth win in a row. Timothy Kershaw added 13 points.
Levi Gray tossed in 21 points and Chantz Cottrill added 18 for Western Beaver (10-13).
Peters Township 66, Penn-Trafford 54: Penn-Trafford managed to slow down high-scoring Peters Township but the Indians did enough damage in the first half and cruised to a 66-54 victory in a Class 5A first-round game at AHN Arena.
Peters Township (19-3), the No. 1 seed, moves into the quarterfinals Wednesday against South Fayette. The Indians forged a 40-28 lead at halftime and played the Warriors even in the second half.
Brendan McCullough led four PT players in double digits with 17 points. Jack Dunbar followed with 13 points, Jake Ziegler had 12 and Nate Miller 10.
Penn-Trafford (7-16) received a game-high 18 points from Tyler Freas and 13 from Brayden Stone.
South Fayette 34, Shaler 33: Michael Plasko scored 19 points and South Fayette held off a late surge by Shaler to take a 34-33 victory in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A tournament.
The Lions (14-9), winners of six straight games, takes on either Peters Township or Penn Trafford in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
South Fayette trailed 16-14 at halftime but a 10-3 run in the third quarter gave the Lions a 24-19 lead. Shaler outscored SF, 14-10, over the final eight minutes.
Kaden Orga led Shaler (16-7) with 11 points.
Aquinas Academy 61, Jefferson-Morgan 40: Jefferson-Morgan’s defense held WPIAL career scoring leader Vinnie Cugini to 12 points under his average.
But that’s still pretty good for the Aquinas Academy senior.
Cugini poured in 33 points to help Aquinas Academy dispose of Jefferson-Morgan 61-40 in the first round of the WPIAL Boys Class A playoffs.
Cugini scored 23 points in the first half as Aquinas Academy built a 34-16 lead. The Rockets rallied in the third quart, cutting their deficit to 12 but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.
Josh Schlemmer scored 11 points and Jacob Guillen 10 for Aquinas Academy (20-4).
John Woodward scored 16 for the Rockets (13-11) while Troy Wright added 11.
Penn Hills 38, Trinity 29: It was a game former North Carolina head coach Dean Smith would have loved, before the shot clock.
Penn Hills used a slowdown game with a four-point lead with six minutes to play before putting Trinity away 38-39 in the first round of the WPIAL boys Class 5A playoffs.
Penn Hills (18-3) led 24-18 at halftime and 32-25 after three quarters.
Jacob Dunkle and Jonah Williamson each scored eight points for Trinity (10-13).
Daemar Kelly had 21 points for Penn Hills (18-3).
Neighborhood Academy 70, Mapletown 41: John Wilkins poured in a game-high 26 points and Neighborhood Academy defeated Mapletown 70-41 in a Class A first-round game played at Charleroi.
Neighborhood Academy (18-4), the No. 5 seed, was in control throughout, leading 22-7 after one quarter and 37-16 at halftime.
Courtney Wallace scored 15 points for the winners and Shamar Simpson had 14.
Mapletown, which ends the season with a 7-15 record, was led in scoring by Landan Stevenson’s 18 points. Cohen Stout had 13.
Geibel Catholic 70, Avella 33: Geibel Catholic scored 50 first-half points en route to a 70-33 win over Avella in a Class A first-round game played on a neutral court at Charleroi.
The Gators (16-6) extended their winning streak to 14 games. Geibel led 21-6 after one quarter and 50-13 at halftime.
Tre White led three Gators in double figures with 25 points. Jaydis Kennedy had 18 and Jeffrey Johnson 15.
Wesley Burchianti was the leading scorer for Avella with 22 points. The Eagles finish the season with a 6-17 record.
Girls results
Shenango 63, Carmichaels 32: Emily Fedrizi and Kylee Rubin combined for 46 points to lead Shenango to a 63-32 win over Carmichaels in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playofs.
Fedrizi led the way with 24 and Rubin added 22 for Shenango (19-4), which outscored the Mikes 45-22 over the middle two quarters.
Kendall Ellsworth led Carmichaels (8-15) with 14 points. Sophia Zalar tossed in 14.
Greenesburg CC 83, California 23: Greensburg Central Catholic got out of the gate fast and breezed to an 83-23 victory over California in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs.’
Erica Gribble scored 26 points and Mya Morgan 22 for GCC (19-4). Avery Davis pitched in with 16.
Rikayah Port led Cal with 11 points.