Dec 28, 2016 3 min read

CHARLEROI – For the second straight night at the CFS Classic at Charleroi, Belle Vernon did not shoot well.

On Tuesday night, the Leopards were able to pull out a win over Ringgold, but Wednesday night was a different story.

Brandon Stone, a 6-10 junior receiving Division I looks, had 24 points, 19 rebounds, and six blocks to pace Southmoreland to a 66-47 win over Belle Vernon in the semifinals.

“Coming in, the idea was to not let him get his points,” said Belle Vernon coach Kyle DeGregorio said of Stone who came into the game averaging over 28 points per game. “Stone is a big-time player and you are going to see him playing on TV.”

Both teams started out hot in the first quarter with Belle Vernon hitting a trio of three-pointers early, but Southmoreland still held the lead after the first eight minutes, 20-17.

Belle Vernon took a 25-24 lead on consecutive three-pointers by J.J. Hartman midway through the quarter, but all of a sudden the Leopards had issues scoring.

“Our problem was that we couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” DeGregorio said. “They are going to score their points, and we aren’t going to beat them scoring 47 points.

“They went man and then we couldn’t hit shots.”

Belle Vernon is known for its full-court pressure defense and for hitting shots, but the Leopards would not hit another three-pointer until Tommy Rodriguez hit one against the Southmoreland backups with :25 to play in the game.

Southmoreland outscored Belle Vernon 18-10 in the second quarter to take a 38-27 lead at halftime.

Belle Vernon’s offensive woes continued in the third quarter as it could only muster six points on a pair of Joe Sabolek baskets and a Rodriguez shot.

Fortunately for Belle Vernon, Southmoreland also had issues scoring in the third quarter as the Scotties only managed eight points to take a 47-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

After a Sabolek free throw in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Southmoreland went on a 17-4 run to make the score 66-38 with 2:40 to go before Southmoreland emptied its bench.

Sabolek was the lone double-figure scorer for Belle Vernon and he also grabbed eight rebounds while Tom Pisula (16), Tanner Schwartz (14), and Mike Moresea (10) also hit double figures for the Scotties.

Belle Vernon turned the ball over 14 times and forced Southmoreland into 16.

In the opening game, Ringgold defeated Elizabeth Forward, 60-53.

Dakota Browning paced Ringgold (4-5) with a game-high 27 points with Anthony Pampena (13) and Jake Mayer (11) also hitting double figures. Will Greijack led EF (3-5) with 26 points.

“It was a back-and-forth game and a key was that we limited out turnovers,” said Ringgold coach Phil Pergola. “We had nine turnovers in the first half but only three in the second half.”

Ringgold plays Charleroi today at 5:30 in the opening game of the night.