Peters Twp. scores early KO against Trinity
Mark Marietta
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Brendan McCullough (2) attempts to shoot over the defense of Trinity’s Dante DeRubbo.
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Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Peters Township’s Brendan McCullough floats between Trinity defenders for a basket in the first half.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Peters Township’s Jack Dunbar (45) breaks past Trinity’s Tyler Johnson (13) for a layup.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Peters Township's Brendan McCullough (2) works past Tim Hodges (12) and scores for Peters Township in the Indians' win Friday night in Class 5A Section 1.
Mark Marietta
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Peters Township’s Nate Miller drives through a line of Trinity defenders and scores for the Indians.
McMURRAY – Any boxing fan whose memory goes back to the mid 1980s surely remember Iron Mike Tyson’s propensity for making short work of his opponents with terrifying knockout power.
That similar knockout punch was on display Friday night at AHN Arena at Peters Township High School as the host Indians buried the Trinity Hillers under an avalanche of turnovers and points in a 75-44 Class 5A Section 1 boys basketball game.
Brendan McCullough stamped his authority on the contest as he scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the first quarter. The Indians (3-1, 9-3) raced out to a lead of 24-4 midway through the opening period and led 31-8 at the end of the quarter.
The Indians stretched the advantage to 58-22 at the half, thanks in part to two three-pointers by Jack Dunbar. Nate Miller, Jake Ziegler and Nick McCullough also knocked in three-pointers in the quarter.
Trinity’s Tim Hodges scored 10 of his team-high 13 points in the first half for the Hillers (1-3, 6-7).
The Indians defense was also on display as they forced numerous turnovers in the opening half which resulted in a parade of baskets in transition. A Dunbar rejection of an attempted breakaway layup by Trinity’s Dante DeRubbo left an exclamation point on the Indians’ first half performance.
“That’s how we like to play, be disruptive and get other teams out of their comfort zone,” Indians coach Joe Urmann noted. “We’ve been getting better at it. We are by no means perfect.”
Urmann said he was concerned with Trinity’s size advantage but added the Indians’ pace of play would be used to offset any disadvantage the hosts had in the paint.
“We wanted to speed them up and I think we did that,” Urmann added.
Jacob Dunkle scored seven second-half points to highlight the Hillers’ efforts.
“We had a few spurts there in the third quarter, but with a running clock, it’s hard to make a dent in the deficit,” Trinity coach Tim Tessmer said. “What we wanted to do there is establish an identity and not quit and I think we did that.”
But in the end, it was too much Peters Township as 10 different players found the scoresheet.
“We like to share the ball for sure,” Urmann added. “This group really likes playing together and it shows when we play like that.”
Along with McCullough, Dunbar and Jake Ziegler scored in double figures with 11 points each. Owen Wayman was Trinity’s second double-figure scorer with 10.
CV 56, Peters Twp. 54
It seemed for much of the fourth quarter the host Indians were poised to pull off one of the bigger upsets this season, but a late charge by Chartiers Valley showed why the Colts are one of the area’s winningest girls basketball programs.
The Colts (3-1, 13-1) overcame a seven-point deficit late in the final quarter to defeat Peters Township 56-54 in Class 5A action.
A Natalie Wetzel bucket gave the Indians a 53-46 lead with 2:50 left in the game. But a 10-1 run by the Colts that was capped by Emma Reynolds three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining gave the visitors a 55-54 lead.
Peters Township (2-2, 9-4) could not corral a defensive rebound off two Colts misses from the foul line. A Lilah Turnbull free throw with three seconds left proved to be the final margin as a Wetzel half-court heave was wide left.
Reynolds led the Colts with 20 points. Wetzel led all scorers with 23 while her teammate Gemma Walker chipped in with 17.