Dec 22, 2017 4 min read

West Greene boys basketball coach Jim Romanus is glad to have Nathan Brudnock back in the lineup. For the Pioneers, it’s like receiving an early Christmas present.

Brudnock, who missed West Greene’s first four games with an injury, returned for the Section 2-A opener Friday night and scored a game-high 22 points to go with 13 rebounds as the Pioneers held off visiting Geibel Catholic 45-41.

The game wasn’t decided until Brudnock, who made three three-point field goals, converted both ends of an one-and-one with six seconds left to give West Greene the four-point edge.

Austin Crouse also had a solid game for West Greene (1-0, 2-3) with 14 points. The scoring of Brudnock, the lone returning starter for the Pioneers this season, and Crouse West Greene in the second half after Geibel (0-1, 1-5) led 16-15 at halftime.

Cole Kendall paced the Gators with 13 points and Ryan Anderosn had 12.

Washington 62, Southmoreland 44: Isaiah Walton had a big first half and powered Washington to a 62-44 victory over visiting Southmoreland in a Section 4-AAA game.

The win moved Washington (3-0, 4-1) into a sole possession first place in the section, a half game ahead of Burgettstown.

Walton led the Prexies with a game-high 24 points. He scored 17 in the first half when Wash High moved out to a 38-17 lead. All of Walton’s 24 points were scored in the first three quarters.

Tristen Wood also score din double figures for the Prexies as he finished with 11.

Dylan Richler paced Southmoreland (1-2, 2-4) with 13 points and Riley Comforti had 10.

Laurel Highlands 75, Trinity 61: Malik Ramsey made six three-pointers and scored a game-high 33 points as Laurel Highlands defeated Trinity 75-61 in a Class 5A Section 1 game.

Ramsey, along with guard Bryce Laskey’s 19 points, helped jump start Laurel Highlands (1-1, 3-3) as it rebounded from two consecutive losses.

Trinity (2-1, 4-2) was paced by Joey Koroly’s 18 points, but the Hillers couldn’t overcome a 45-33 halftime deficit.

Zach Ecker had 14 points, while Michael Koroly finished with 11 for Trinity.

Belle Vernon 77, Waynesburg 60: Belle Vernon used balanced scoring and a big first half to defeat Waynesburg 77-60 in a technical foul-filled Section 3-AAAA game on the Leopards’ home court.

Belle Vernon (2-1, 4-2) forged a 39-23 halftime lead before Waynesburg closed to within 51-41 after three quarters. The Leopards then scored 26 fourth-quarter points to secure the win.

Griffin LaCarte led four Belle Vernon players in double figures with 15 points followed by Derek Thomas with 13. Jared Hartmna and Cam Nusser each scored 12.

Darton McIntire tossed in a game-high 19 points and Lucas Garber had 16 for Waynesburg (0-3, 1-5).

There were four technical fouls called in the game, which saw 52 free throws attempted.

McGuffey 58, Elizabeth Forward 46: Opponents have had a difficult time stopping McGuffey forward Trent Belleville this season.

That continued Friday as Belleville recorded his sixth straight double-double as McGuffey defeated Elizabeth Forward 58-46 in a Section 3-AAAA game.

Belleville had 24 points and collected 15 rebounds.

McGuffey (2-1, 5-1) received secondary scoring from C.J. Cole, who finished with 15 points, and David Chapman, who scored eight points and had nine assists.

Gavin Martik led Elizabeth Forward (1-2, 2-4) with 23 points. Will Greijack had 14 for the Warriors.

Baldwin 50, Peters Township 40: Nick Fiunara and Mike Goga combined for 27 points as Baldwin defeated Peters Township 50-40 in a Class 6A Section 2 game.

After winning their first three games of the season, the Indians have dropped three in a row.

Conor Pederson was the lone player to score in double figures for Peters Township (0-3, 3-3). He finished with 12 points.

Fiunara had 14 points for Baldwin (1-1, 3-2), and Goga scored 13.

Girls results

Mapletown 46, Hundred, W.Va., 19: Kayla Smith had a double-double as Mapletown defeated Hundred, W.Va., 46-19.

Smith finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds as Mapletown (0-1, 2-6) raced out to a 19-0 lead in the first quarter.

Hundred was led by Katherine Henderson’s 13 points.

Carlynton 55, McGuffey 40: The trio of Jada Lee, Angelicah Diallo and Jaelyn Melko combined for 48 points and powered Carlynton to its first win of the season, 55-40, over visiting McGuffey in a nonsection game.

Lee led the way with 17 points, Diallo was close behind with 16 and Melko had 15. They scored all but eight of the Cougars’ points as Carlynton (1-5) won its first game of the season.

Carlynton led 23-20 at halftime and opened a 40-29 lead after the third quarter.

Cassie Darrall was the leading scorer for McGuffey (2-5) with 11 points. McKenzie Dobrzynski had 10.