High school basketball: Hot-shooting Stanley powers Union over Fort Cherry
Lucas Stanley poured in a game-high 36 points, which included a 13-for-13 performance at the free-throw line, as Union defeated visiting Fort Cherry 70-49 in a Class 2A boys basketball first-round playoff game Monday night.
Stanley scored 24 of his points in the first half, when Union (17-6) built a 39-22 lead. Stanley made four three-point shots and six free throws in the opening half.
Union led 15-10 after one quarter and then took control of the game by outsourcing Fort Cherry 24-12 in the second quarter.
Jordyn Kelly chipped in with 11 points for Union and Landon Eckert had 10.
Fort Cherry, which advanced to the WPIAL and PIAA semifinals a year ago, ends its season with a 13-9 record. The Rangers had only three players in the scoring column, each finishing in double figures. Shane Cornali had a team-leading 22 points followed by Matt Sieg with 17 and Gavin Grace with 10.
Sewickley Academy 59, Bentworth 26
Mamadou Kane, a 6-8 freshman, scored 16 points and No. 2 seed Sewickley Academy rode a hot start to a 59-26 victory over visiting Bentworth in a Class 2A first-round game.
Sewickley Academy (18-4) advances to the quarterfinals Thursday and will play Chartiers-Houston. Bentworth ends its season with an 11-11 record and with one postseason victory. The Bearcats won eight of their final 11 games.
Bentworth couldn’t get anything going offensively in the first quarter as Sewickley Academy forged a 19-2 lead. The Panthers, who won the Section 2 championship, increased their lead to 22-2 early in the second quarter and led 33-12 at halftime.
Chris Harper led Bentworth in scoring with 12 points.
Girls result
Central Valley 55, Belle Vernon 46
Nyah Hayes scored 16 points and Central Valley overcame a halftime deficit to beat Belle Vernon 55-46 in a Class 4A playoff game.
Belle Vernon (11-12) led 29-28 at halftime, but the Leopards were outscored 14-4 in the pivotal third period Central Valley (15-7) took charge of the game. Belle Vernon was held to 17 points in the second half.
Aubrey Brown led the Leopards in scoring with 13 points and Saylor Lee had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Izzy Miller added 12 points for Central Valley and Lilly Seese had 10.