Sports briefs
Belle Vernon rallies for spot in semifinals
Cam Nusser scored 17 points, and Mitchell Pohlot and Devin Whitlock each had a double-double, leading Belle Vernon to a 66-61 come-from-behind win over third-seeded Quaker Valley in the WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at Plum High School.
The win sends Belle Vernon (18-6) into the semifinals Wednesday against New Castle (17-7), which knocked off second-seeded Knoch in the quarterfinals. The Leopards have clinched a berth in the PIAA tournament.
Belle Vernon trailed for much of the game against Quaker Valley (17-6) but managed to stay within striking distance before moutning a charge in the fourth quarter that won the game.
The Leopards trailed 15-11 after one quarter, 36-33 at halftime and 51-49 after three quarters. belle vernon outscored the Quakers 17-10 in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Pohlot scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Whitlock had 14 points and 10 assists. Jared Hartman scored 13 points and Nusser made three of the Leopards five three-point field goals.
Quaker Valley’s Markus Frank scored a game-high 23 points.
In college lacrosse
The Washington & Jefferson College women’s lacrosse traveled to Maryland for its season opener and came up just short as the Presidents fell 14-12 to Hood College on Saturday afternoon.
The Presidents used four first-half goals from Sarah Labovitz to build an 8-7 halftime advantage, however Hood scored three-straight goals to begin the second half and remained a step ahead of W&J the rest of the way.
The Blazers scored three times in the first eight minutes of the second half to take a 10-8 lead with 22:35 remaining.
W&J responded with an unassisted tally by Sofiya Bobrovnikova to pull back within one at 16:57 left to play. Hood answered less than a minute later to push its advantage back up to two. Bobrovnikova answered again with 14:18 to play.