Jan 11, 2019 6 min read

Washington High School’s boys basketball team picked up a much-needed victory Friday and veteran Prexies head coach Ron Faust reached another milestone.

Dan Ethridge scored a game-high 20 points and Washington snapped a two-game slide with a 56-40 victory over visiting Beth-Center in a Class 3A Section 4 game.

The victory gave Washington a 4-1 record in the section, a 5-6 mark overall and was Faust’s 600th career win.

Washington bounced back from its first section loss on Tuesday at Southmoreland by taking charge early against Beth-Center (0-5, 4-7), using a 17-4 scoring edge in the second quarter to forge a 29-14 halftime lead.

Other than Ethridge’s big performance, Washington had balanced scoring. Ian Bredniak, with 11 points, was the only other Prexies player to reach double figures.

Easton McDaniel led B-C with 17 points and J.J. Green followed with 11.

Ringgold 56, Belle Vernon 44: Ringgold held Belle Vernon to only 16 points in the second half and stormed back to beat the visiting Leopards 56-44 in a Class 4A Section 3 game.

Belle Vernon (0-4, 2-12), which has lost six in a row, led 28-24 at halftime. Ringgold (3-1, 10-3), however, outscored Belle Vernon 16-9 in the third quarter to take the lead and then pulled away in the fourth quarter when the Leopards were limited to just seven points.

It is Ringgold’s first double-digit win season since 2010-11.

Luke Wyvratt’s 16 points led three Ringgold players in double figures as the Rams snapped a two-game losing skid. Demetrius Butler followed with 15 points and Chris Peccon had 14. Ringgold had a big edge at the free-throw line, where the Rams made 16 of 20 attempts. Belle Vernon was 8-for-10.

The Leopards’ Mitchell Pohlot had 15 points.

Monessen 76, West Greene 26: Elijahwa Payne scored 24 points, Devin Whitlock had 19 and Monessen remained undefeated in Section 2-A with a 76-26 victory over host West Greene.

The Greyhounds (5-0, 6-4) won their third in a row. They led 32-12 after one quarter and 53-18 at halftime.

Dishon Howell’s 13 points gave Monessen three players in double figures.

Nathan Brudnock and Austin Crouse each scored eight points for West Greene (2-3, 4-7).

Jefferson-Morgan 63, Avella 50: Tahj Jacobs and Devin Stoneking combined for 35 points and Jefferson-Morgan pulled away in the second half for a 63-50 victory at Avella in Section 2-A.

Jacobs scored 19 points and Stoneking followed with 16 for the Rockets (2-3, 3-10), who snapped a three-game losing streak. Jefferson-Morgan led by only 22-19 at halftime but outscored Avella 22-15 in the pivotal third quarter.

Tyler Cerciello scored a game-high 20 points for Avella (2-3, 3-9).

Canon-McMillan 77, Baldwin 53: Tommy Samosky made five three-pointers and scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half to help lead Canon-McMillan to a 77-53 victory over Class 6A Section 2 opponent Baldwin.

Leading 32-27 at halftime, the Big Macs blew the game open in the third and fourth quarters by outscoring Baldwin 45-26.

Luke Palma led Canon-McMillan (2-2, 8-5) with 23 points. Ethan Beachy added 12 and Elliott Waller scored 11.

Dorian Ford and Troy Lanier led Baldwin (0-4, 4-8) with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Mt. Lebanon 61, Peters Township 49: Jake Hoffman scored 20 points and Mt. Lebanon pulled away down the stretch to defeat visiting Peters Township 61-49 in Class 6A Section 2.

The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak by Peters Township (2-2, 9-3). Mt. Lebanon (4-0, 12-2) has won five in a row.

The Blue Devils led 20-12 after one quarter but PT chipped away at the deficit and closed to within 33-27 at halftime and 43-40 after three quarters. The Indians took the lead early in the fourth but Mt. Lebanon quickly regained the upper hand and pulled away in the closing minutes by making free throws.

Dax Plosinka led PT with 16 points and Colin Cote scored 15.

West Allegheny 55, Trinity 47: Trinity cut its deficit to six points after a sluggish start but couldn’t complete the comeback as the Hillers fell to Class 5A Section 2 foe West Allegheny, 55-47.

Trinity (3-2, 6-6) dug itself an early hole, trailing at halftime 31-20. Michael Koroly, who scored a game-high 20 points, helped trim the deficit to six points but that would be as close as the Hillers would get. Noah Johnson also scored 16 points.

Jackson Faulk paced West Allegheny (3-3, 6-8) with 15 points. Tre Jones had 16 for the Indians.

Shenango 53, Burgettstown 50: Colin McQuiston scored five of Shenango’s seven fourth-quarter points as it held on to defeat visiting Burgettstown, 53-50, in a Class 2A Section 3 game.

McQuiston led Shenango (2-3, 4-8) with 15 points to help end its four-game losing streak. Chase Butchelle scored 13 points and Ryan Perretti finished with 10 for the Wildcats, who led 36-34 at halftime.

Dante Gianfrancesco led all scorers with 16 points. Bobby Kozares also chipped in 13 points for Burgettstown (1-4, 6-7).

Chartiers-Houston 85, Bentworth 44: Four different players scored in double figures as Chartiers-Houston controlled play from the start to defeat Bentworth, 85-44, in Class 2A Section 2.

Christian Berry tied for a game high with 18 points. Evan Simpson had 16, Noah Lochran 14 and Austin Arnold 13 as C-H (2-3, 7-7) led 50-27 at the half.

Shawn Dziak made four three-pointers and scored 18 points for Bentworth (0-5, 0-12). Jacob Burke finished with 13 points.

Carmichaels 70, Mapletown 25: Dylan Wilson and Al Cree combined to score 42 points as Carmichaels cruised to a 70-25 win over Mapletown in a non-section game.

Dylan Wilson scored a game-high 22 points as Carmichaels (8-5) raced out to a 52-16 halftime lead after scoring 26 in the first and second quarters. Cree finished with 22 points.

Mapletown (0-12) was led by Ryan Tuttle’s eight points.

South Park 64, Waynesburg 41: Waynesburg was slow out of the gate in each half and it allowed South Park to cruise to a 64-41 road victory in Class 4A Section 3.

South Park (3-1, 5-6) outscored Waynesburg 13-4 in the first quarter en route to a 25-18 edge at halftime. The Raiders (1-3, 6-6) were outscored 23-9 in the third quarter.

Santino Tutich led three South park players in double figures with 17 points.

Lucas Garber led Waynesburg with 13 points, including 10 in the first half, and Collin Rose had 11.

In other games: California’s boys team dealt Jeannette its first loss in Class 2A Section 2 play, 75-70, on the Jayhawks’ home court. South Fayette was a 60-46 winner at West Mifflin in Class 5A Section 2. In girls action, Freedom slipped past Burgettstown 39-30 in a nonsection game and Clairton was a 52-22 winner over California.