Jan 29, 2019 8 min read

The two-year absence from the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs will be over for Peters Township.

Colin Cote made five three-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points as the Indians used a big third quarter to defeat Baldwin, 63-46, and clinch a playoff berth in Class 6A Section 2 Tuesday night at Baldwin High School.

Leading 25-23 at halftime, Peters Township (4-4, 12-5) outscored the Highlanders 22-9 in the third quarter and extended that lead to upwards of 20 points early in the fourth.

Dax Ploskina also reached double-digits for PT with 12 points.

Baldwin (1-7, 7-11) was led by Connor Lavelle’s 13 points.

Washington 54, Frazier 37: Three players for Washington scored in double-digits as the Prexies clamped down defensively in the second and third quarters in a 54-37 win over Frazier to remain in sole possession of first place in Class 3A Section 4.

Washington (8-1, 9-7) outscored the Commodores 29-13 in the middle quarters behind the scoring of Dan Ethridge, who scored a team-high 18 points. Ian Bredniak finished with 14 points and Brandon Patterson had 11 for the Prexies.

Luke Santo scored 19 points for Frazier (2-8, 4-14). Justin Novak also had 10 points.

Moon 64, Trinity 38: Donovan Johnson haunted Trinity for the second time in four days, scoring a game-high 28 points to lead Moon to a 64-38 win over the Hillers in Class 5A Section 2.

Johnson, who scored 26 in the Tigers’ 67-47 win over Trinity, finished with a game-high 28 as Moon (11-0, 18-0) led 40-13 at halftime.

Dylan King and Jake Hancher each scored nine points for Trinity (4-7, 7-11), which has lost five straight games.

Burgettstown 60, Mohawk 43: Burgettstown went on a 13-point run to begin the fourth quarter to break a tied game and defeat visiting Mohawk, 60-43, in Class 2A Section 3.

Mohawk (0-10, 3-15) fell behind by nine points after the first quarter but outscored the Blue Devils 15-10 in the second and 14-10 in the third to tie the game at 39-39 entering the fourth.

Dante Gianfrancesco helped build the lead for Burgettstown (2-7, 8-10) with nine-first quarter points. Gianfrancesco scored a game-high 21, all coming on his seven three-pointers.

Dylan Poirier had 12 points for the Blue Devils and Cole Shegi and Scott Ferris each finished with 10.

Josh Kurtz led Mohawk with 15 points.

Avella 62, Mapletown 33: Using another big fourth quarter, similar to the team’s first meeting earlier this season, Avella downed Mapletown, 62-33, in a Class A Section 2.

Entering the final eight minutes with a 36-26 lead, Avella (4-5, 6-12) scored 26 points in the fourth to pull away for the victory. When they played earlier this month, the Eagles scored 33 points in the fourth for a comeback victory.

Three players scored in double figures for Avella, led by Owen English’s 15 points. Brandon Samol had 14 and Gabe Lis added 12.

Ryan Tuttle and Matt Atwood each scored eight points for Mapletown (1-9, 1-18).

Chartiers-Houston 58, Brentwood 39: Evan Simpson scored 11 of his career-high 19 points in the fourth quarter as Chartiers-Houston stayed in the thick of playoff contention in Class 2A Section 2 with a 58-39 victory over Brentwood.

Simpson also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Chartiers-Houston (4-5, 9-9), which is now a half game behind Brentwood for the final playoff spot, also found secondary scoring from Hayden Shober, who finished with 10 points.

John Milic led Brentwood (5-5, 9-8) with 11 points, while C.J. Ziegler added 10.

South Park 65, Belle Vernon 57: South Park clung to a six-point lead it built in the second quarter to defeat Class 4A Section 3 foe Belle Vernon, 65-57.

Tied 14-14 after the first quarter, South Park (5-3, 8-10) outscored the Leopards, who had won three of their last four entering Tuesday night, 17-11 in the second.

Hunter Lindsay led the Eagles with 17 points. Santino Tutich had 16 and Aidan Romgaus scored 11.

Belle Vernon (2-6, 5-14) was led by Larry Callaway’s 18 points. Cam Nusser and Mitchell Pohlot scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.

McGuffey 51, Beth-Center 45: Colin Walters and Dylan Summers each had career-high point totals as McGuffey stayed in contention for a Class 3A Section 4 championship by defeating Beth-Center, 51-45.

Walters went 9-for-11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and scored a game-high 24 points. Summers scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. C.J. Cole also scored 17 points and had 16 rebounds for McGuffey (8-2, 13-6), which trails Washington by one game in the section standings.

The Highlanders outscored Beth-Center 19-7 in the second quarter to build their lead.

J.J. Green led Beth-Center (2-7, 8-10) with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Monessen 97, Geibel Catholic 63: Monessen had three players score at least 21 points and the Greyhounds rolled to a 97-63 victory over visiting Geibel Catholic in Section 2-A.

The Greyhounds (9-0, 11-7) moved closer to clinching the section title by scoring 52 first-half points and 77 in the first three quarters.

Marquell Smith led Monessen with 24 points, split evenly over the two halves. Devin Whitlock and Dishon Howell each followed with 21 points, and Taylon Lowe had 10.

Geibel’s Enzo Fetsko scored a game-high 28 points. Cole Kendall had 14 points and Ryan Anderson 13 for the gators, who are 6-4 in the section and dropped to the .500 mark overall at 9-9.

Southmoreland 72, Charleroi 58: Charleroi hopes of winning the Class 3A Section 4 title took a hit as the Cougars lost at Southmoreland 72-58.

The loss dropped Charleroi to 7-3 in the section and 10-8 overall. The Cougars trail by first-place Washington and second-place McGuffey. Southmoreland improved to 6-3, 11-7.

Riley Comforti led the Scotties with a game-high 19 points and Cade Richter had 18.

Zach Usher led the Charleroi attack with 15 points. Joey Caruso and Martin Foster each flipped in 11 points.

Jeannette 49, Carmichaels 40: Jackson Pruitt scored 11 points and Jeannette withstood a fourth-quarter charge by host Carmichaels to defeat the Mikes 49-40 in a Class 2A Section 2 game.

Jeannette (6-3, 10-9) led 25-18 at halftime and 32-27 after three quarters. The Jayhawks pushed the lead up to 12 in the fourth quarter before consecutive three-pointers by Carmichaels’ Christopher Barrish and his brother, Matt Barrish, cut the gap in half. That, however, was as close as Carmichaels (2-8, 9-10) could get.

Christopher Barrish led the Mikes with 11 points.

North Catholic 82, Fort Cherry 47: North Catholic put five players in double figures and cruised to an 82-47 road win over Fort Cherry.

The victory moved North catholic (8-1, 14-3) into a first-place tie in Class 3A Section 2 with Seton-La Salle. The Trojans were led by Jackson Paschacz with 22 points. Isaac DeGregorio (14), Anthony Cerventi (12), Hahns Rottman (12) and Zach Rocco 910) also scored in double figures.

Thomas Hamilton flipped in 13 points to lead Fort Cherry (1-9, 4-14) in scoring.

In other games: Elizabeth Forward was a 76-67 winner over visiting Elizabeth Forward in Class 4A Section 3. Bishop Canevin was a 73-33 winner over Jefferson-Morgan in Section 2-A.

Girls results

McGuffey 47, Charleroi 34: Cassie Darrall scored a game-high 19 points and McGuffey pulled away in the second half to defeat host Charleroi 47-34 in Class 3A Section 2.

The Highlanders 4-7, 7-11) led by only 19-17 at halftime but stretched the gap to 33-26 after three quarters.

Keira Nicolella also hit double figures for McGuffey as she finished with 13 points.

Bella Skobel again led Charleroi (1-10, 4-14) in scoring with 11 points.

Monessen 49, Geibel Catholic 18: Sydney Caterino scored 16 points and host Monessen rolled to a 49-18 win over Geibel Catholic in Section 2-A.

The win moves Monessen (4-5, 5-12) into a fourth-place tie with Mapletown for the section’s final playoff spot. The Greyhounds already have a win over the Maples and teams will meet one more time in the regular season.

Geibel dropped to 0-10, 1-16. Sara Ehrhardt led the gators with six points.

Waynesburg 45, Bentworth 33: Waynesburg forged a double-digit halftime lead and held off visiting Bentworth 45-33 in a nonsection game.

Clara Paige Miller led the way for Waynesburg (6-13) with 13 points. Julianna Fowler also finished in double figures with 10. The Raiders led 24-13 at halftime.

Jocelyn Timlin had 12 points and Caroline Rice scored 10 for Bentworth (1-17), which cut Waynesburg’s lead to 32-27 at the end of three quarters.

South Park 40, Belle Vernon 37: South Park outscored visiting Belle Vernon 15-6 in the pivotal fourth quarter as the eagles rallied for a 40-37 nonsection victory that snapped the Leopards’ five-game winning streak.

The win was the eighth in row for South Park (12-6), which trailed 23-19 at halftime and 31-25 after three quarters.

Maura Huwalt led the South Park comeback, scoring a game-high 23 points. The Eagles had only three players score more than two points.

Belle Vernon (12-7) was led by Taylor Rodriguez’s 12 points. Rachel Wobrak contributed 11. South Park did a good job against Belle Vernon’s high-scoring Lindsay Steeber, holding her to only six points.