Dec 6, 2019 4 min read

McGuffey 75, Fort Cherry 39:

C.J. Cole had a double-double, which included his 1,000th career point, and McGuffey, sparked by a big first quarter, defeated Fort Cherry 75-39 in the opening round of the Highlanders’ tournament Friday night.

McGuffey had a 25-point outburst in the first quarter that forged a 14-point lead and the Highlanders were never threatened the rest of the way.

Cole scored a game-high 25 points, including 17 in the first half. He entered the game 10 points shy of the 1,000-point mark. Cole also dominated under the basket, pulling down 15 rebounds.

Ethan Janovich had 15 points and seven assists for McGuffey.

Noah Babirad led Fort Cherry in scoring with 17 points.

McGuffey will play Waynesburg in the championship game, 8 p.m. tonight.

Waynesburg 62, Burgettstown 39:

Lucas Garber scored a game-high 21 points and Waynesburg used some sticky defense to defeat Burgettstown 62-39 in the opening round of the McGuffey tournament.

Garber, who did all of his scoring in the first three quarters, made three of Waynesburg’s six three-pointers and helped the Raiders hold Burgettstown to five first-quarter points. Waynesburg led 33-19 at halftime.

Chris King scored 12 points for Waynesburg and Richard Bortz had 11.

Cole Shergi’s 13 points were tops for Burgettstown. Dylan Poirier scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half.

Belle Vernon 75, Jeannette 60:

Devin Whitlock made an immediate impact in his debut with Belle Vernon.

Whitlock, a transfer from Monessen, scored 25 points and led four leopards in double figures as they defeated Jeannette 75-60 in the Hempfield tournament.

The game was tied 32-32 at halftime, but Belle Vernon outscored the Jayhawks 26-13 in the pivotal third quarter.

Thomas Hepple scored 12 points for Belle Vernon, and Cam Nusser and Hunter Ruokonen each tossed in 11.

Imani Sanders led Jeannette with 25 points.

South Fayette 80, Cornell 73:

Kade St. Ledger scored 29 points, powering South Fayette to an 80-73 victory over Cornell in the opening round of the South Park tournament.

South Fayette led after every quarter, including 38-34 at halftime, and it was close throughout. The Lions were able to withstand an offensive onslaught by the Cornell duo of Kaden DeVito and Isaiah Langston, who combined for 58 points. DeVito had 30 points and Langston 28.

Brandon Jakiela and Connor Mislin provided enough offensive support for South Fayette, scoring 18 and 14 points, respectively.

In other games

Pittsburgh central Catholic stopped peters Township 58-38 in the Baldwin/Peters Township tournament. Carlynton was a 72-26 winner over Jefferson-Morgan in the Cougars’ tip-off tournament and Geibel Catholic defeated Mapletown 71-49 in the Gators’ tournament. No details were made available by press time.

Girls results

Imani Christian 46, Monessen 34:

Shariya Nored-Carter scored 22 points and Imani Christian broke open a close game in the third quarter en route to a 46-34 victory over Monessen in the opening round of the Greyhounds’ tournament.

Imani Christian led 19-13 at halftime, then outscored Monessen 20-10 in the pivotal third quarter.

Monessen will play Carrick in the consolation game at 2 p.m. today. Imani Christian will play Propel Andrew Street in the title game. Propel Andrew Street defeated Carrick 37-20 in the tournament’s opening game.

Mea Johnson scored 12 points for Imani Christian.

Qitarah Hardison and Zykazia Hairston each had eight points for the Greyhounds.

Charleroi 46, Clairton 41:

Charleroi got off to a good start and finished strong, which added up to a 46-41 victory over Clairton in the Cougars’ tip-off tournament.

The Cougars will play Carmichaels for the tournament championship tonight at 7:30.

Charleroi forged an 11-3 lead after one quarter but Clairton battled back and sent the game into the fourth quarter tied 28-28. The Cougars held an 18-13 edge over the pivotal final eight minutes.

Bella Skobel led Charleroi with a game-high 25 points. Cierra Gazi also reached double figures, scoring 10 points.

Taylor Jackson paced Clairton with 14 points.

In other games:

Woodland Hills defeated defending PIAA Class 6A champion Peters Township 63-56 in the Baldwin/Peters Township girls tournament. Sewickley Academy defeated Beth-Center 54-38 in the Freedom tournament, Ringgold edged Ellwood City 37-29 in the Montour tournament, South Fayette was a 63-34 winner over Obama Academy in the Lions’ tournament