Dec 29, 2023 6 min read

Derek Errett scored a game-high 19 points and Fort Cherry’s boys basketball team outscored Chartiers-Houston in every quarter en route to a 59-40 victory in the semifinals of the Avella tournament Friday evening.

Fort Cherry (5-2) led 16-13 after one quarter then began pulling away by outscoring C-H 29-15 over the next two periods.

Matt Sieg scored 11 points for the Rangers, who will play McGuffey for the tournament title tonight at 7.

Avery Molek was the lone player to score in double figures for C-H (7-2). He finished with 15 points. The Bucs will play in the third-place game at 5:30 p.m.

McGuffey 56, Avella 36

McGuffey put three players in double figures and defeated Avella 56-36 in the semifinals of the Eagles’ holiday tournament.

McGuffey will play Fort Cherry in the tournament final tonight. The Highlanders bolted out to a 33-16 halftime lead over Avella and the Eagles were never able to recover.

Aiden Cunningham led a balanced scoring attack for McGuffey with 16 points. Grayson Wallace and Ryan Keith were close behind with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Rylan Bell led Avella in scoring with 10 points.

South Side Beaver 65, Burgettstown 60

Brody Almashy and Andrew Corfield combined for 41 points as South Side Beaver edged Burgettstown 65-60 in the Avella tournament.

It was the second loss in as many days for Burgettstown (8-2), which entered the tournament undefeated. The Blue Devils led by 11 points in the second quarter and 60-58 with 1:46 remaining.

SSB (4-5), which lost 75-71 to Burgettstown earlier in the month, made 14 of 20 free throws. Burgettstown was 1-for-6 at the free-throw line.

Almashy scored a game-high 23 points, Corfield had 18 and Carter Wilson had 16 for the Rams.

Zack Schrockman led the Blue Devils with 21 points. Carson Tkalcevic had 18 and James Leuice 10.

Frazier 81, California 72

Dailan McManus led four Frazier players in double figures with 21 points and the Commodores defeated California 81-72 in a high-scoring game at the Charleroi tournament.

Frazier (6-4) scored 26 points in the second quarter to turn a 16-13 deficit into a 39-28 lead and California never recovered.

The Trojans’ Vinny Manzella poured in a game-high 26 points and Jacob Ziolecki contributed 20. Jaquese Derns added 12.

Southmoreland 67, Ringgold 38

Southmoreland remained undefeated with a 67-38 victory over Ringgold at the Charleroi tournament.

The Scotties (10-0) built a 40-16 lead at halftime and were in control throughout. Wyatt Richter scored a game-high 17 points for Southmoreland.

Ringgold (3-7) received 12 points from freshman Chris Wilson and 11 from Daryl Tolliver.

Avella 58, South Side Beaver 57

Avella rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to edge South Side Beaver 58-57 in the Avella tournament Thursday night.

The Eagles (5-3) outscored the Rams, 13-5, in the third quarter, and 16-11 in the fourth.

Westley Burchianti led Avella and the game in scoring with 22 points. He pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double. Cain Allen added 12 and Nate Cilia 11.

Brayden Fuller had five steals in the fourth quarter to help lead the Eagles’ defensive effort.

Andrew Corfield led South Side (3-5) in scoring with 17 points.

Girls results

Trinity 67, Mountain Ridge 46

Trinity received some impressive long-range shooting from Ruby Morgan and rolled to a 67-46 victory over Mountain Ridge (Md.) at the Deep Creek Lake Classic in Maryland.

Morgan scored a game-high 22 points, which included six three-point field goals, as the Hillers extended their winning streak to five games.

Trinity’s Maddy Roberts had a double-double consisting of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Hillers led 25-3 after one quarter and 42-13 at halftime. Mountain Ridge, which entered the game with a 6-0 record, did most of its scoring in the fourth quarter, when it tallied 27 points.

Waynesburg 43, North Royalton 30

Waynesburg bounced back from its first loss of the season to defeat North Royalton (Ohio) 43-30 at the KSA Tournament in Orlando, Fla.

After the first quarter ended in a tie, Waynesburg (9-1) outscored its opponent 16-2 in the pivotal second quarter and the Raiders never looked back.

Kaley Rohanna scored a game-high 22 points for Waynesburg. Josie Horne and Addison Blair each grabbed 10 rebounds. Blair finished with nine points.

Frederick Douglass 81, South Fayette 70

Frederick Douglass (Ky.) outscored South Fayette by 12 points in the pivotal fourth quarter to pull out an 81-70 victory at the Lowcountry Classic being held at Summerville High School in Charleston, S.C.

South Fayette (4-3), which has alternated wins and lo9sses for the past six games, trailed 38-35 at halftime but pulled ahead 54-53 after three quarters.

Juliette Leroux poured in 29 points to lead the Lions’ attack. Haylie Lamonde followed with 12 points and Lainey Yater had 10.

Albert Gallatin 52, Charleroi 47

Mya Gibson scored 23 points and Albert Gallatin rode a big first quarter to a 52-47 victory over Charleroi in Christmas at the Corral at Laurel Highlands.

AG forged a 23-8 lead through one quarter, which had Charleroi (4-3) playing catchup all day. The Cougars closed to within 29-18 at halftime and 42-29 after three quarters.

Most of Charleroi’s scoring was done by two players as Bella Carroto scored 23 points and Ella Sypolt contributed 13.

McGuffey 53, Fort Cherry 43

Fort Cherry had a three-point lead after the first quarter before McGuffey came on strong to win the Highlanders’ tournament, 53-43, late Thursday and remain undefeated at 9-0.

Fort Cherry (4-3) took an 11-8 lead into the second period before McGuffey outscored the Rangers, 16-11, in the second for a 24-22 edge at halftime.

The Highlanders had a 17-14 advantage in the third quarter and outscored Fort Cherry, 12-7, in the fourth.

McGuffey’s Taylor Schumacher was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points. Teammates Lexi Ewig and Libby Mallah added points apiece.

Olivia Kemp led the Rangers in scoring with 14 points. Raney Staub added 13 for Fort Cherry.

In other games

Upper St. Clair snapped Peters Township’s four-game winning streak by beating the Indians 63-52 in the PT/USC boys tournament. In girls games, Laurel Highlands (9-0) remained undefeated with a 67-28 win over Beth-Center in LH’s Christmas at the Corral tournament. In the same event, Bridgeport (W.Va.) defeated Washington 59-51. The Peters Township girls stayed unbeaten (9-0) with a 62-41 victory over North Oconee, Ga., in the Lowcountry Classic in Charleston, S.C. In a boys game Thursday at the Monessen tournament, Washington won its fourth straight by routing Propel Braddock Hills, 76-27. No game details were reported.