Roundball Classic roundup: New Castle’s Hooker goes out in style

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, April 21, 2018 | 10:00 PM

New Castle's Marcus Hooker stepped on the basketball court one final time and led the Class 4A all-stars to a 106-91 victory over the Class 3A/1A all-stars in the Roundball Classic on Saturday at Geneva.

Hooker, who will play football at Ohio State next year, finished with 21 points and earned team MVP honors for Class 4A. He had a balanced performance, netting 11 points in the first half and 10 in the second. His team led 56-42 at half and didn't look back.

“We were just having fun with playing with each other and playing as a team,” Hooker said. “It was a lot of fun. I'm going to miss this, but I got to move onto the next chapter in my book.”

Union's Tre Charles scored 18 points for the Class 3A/1A team.

Charles, who was named team MVP, scored seven points in the second quarter as the Class 3A/1A team outscored Class 4A, 26-22.

Vincentian Academy's Zach McDonough finished with 20 points, including four 3-pointers, in the losing effort

Burrell's Donovan Russell netted 13 points, and Seton LaSalle's Shandon Marshall added 12 points. Cornell's Desmond Ross was the fourth Class 3A/1A player to score in double figures with 10 points.

Class 5A 134, Class 6A 131 — With Class 5A down a point with over a minute remaining, Mars' Rob Carmody scored the final seven points to lead Class 5A over Class 6A.

Carmody, a Notre Dame recruit, netted 27 points to earn team MVP honors for Class 5A.

In an old-fashioned shootout, Class 5A trailed Class 6A, 128-127, with a minute and half remaining. Carmody drove to the basket, scored and was fouled. After converting on his free throw and defensive stop, Carmody made another bucket to give Class 5A a four-point lead with 30 seconds remaining.

On the other end, Penn Hills' Cam Wiley hit a 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Carmody leaked to the basket off the inbounds for a game-sealing dunk.

“It's really special. These are all guys that we played against this year. There's a lot of bad blood sometimes, but when we all have the same common goal, we can put that stuff aside and have a lot of fun,” Carmody said. “Sometimes I feel like basketball should be played like this a little bit more, especially around here. People try to muddy it up. But when the guys get a chance to play, it's a lot of fun.”

Laurel Highlands' Bryce Laskey finished with 20 points, and McKeesport's Layton Jordon netted 18 points for Class 5A. Trinity's Zach Ecker added 16 points in the win.

Ecker's former Trinity teammate, Joey Koroly, and Franklin Regional's Aidan Sadoski finished with 11 points each in the win.

Canon-McMillan's Jason Fowlkes led Class 6A with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, and earned team MVP honors.

Mt. Lebanon's Antonio Garofoli finished with 19 points, with five 3-pointers. Fox Chapel's Carson Cohen (18), Central Catholic's Luke Nedrow (13), Wiley (12), Seneca Valley's David Ritchie (11) and Norwin's Joshua Ratesic (11) all reached double figures for Class 6A.

Girls

Class 5A 68, Class 6A 67 – Nothing is better than a controversial ending for an all-star game. Mars' Lauren Wasylson hit a buzzer-beater to lift Class 5A over the Class 6A girls.

Xavier-bound Wasylson put-back a miss by Hampton's Laryn Edwards, who had gone coast-to-coast after North Allegheny's Maddie Fischer missed two free throws for the Class 6A team, which led 67-66.

“I thought I got it off,” Wasylson said of the winning basket. “I really didn't know how much time was left. I knew there was limited time left so when Laryn Edwards missed the shot I just wanted to get it and tip it up, which I thought I did.”

Wasylson, who scored a team-high 13 points, earned team MVP. At the half, Class 5A was down by one. However, Wasylson sparked Class 5A with three 3-pointers in the third quarter for a 48-43 lead after three.

“Buzzer beaters are amazing,” she said. “All my teammates jumped on top of me. It was a cool experience.”

Edwards finished with 11 points for Class 5A. North Allegheny's Piper Morningstar finished with 13 points for Class 6A. She scored seven points in the fourth quarter, including 5 for 5 from the free-throw line.

Class 3A/2A/1A 81, Class 4A/District 10 74 – After leading by only three points at the half, the Class 3A/2A/1A girls team dominated the third quarter by outscoring Class 4A/District 10 by a 31-11 margin.

The winners were sparked by six third-quarter points from Winchester-Thurston's Ayanna Townsend. The Xavier recruit, who earned team MVP honors, finished with 11 points.

“It was a very good experience. It was nice,” Townsend said. “I got to play with the girls I played with this summer and the best people in the WPIAL. It was a good game. It started off a little slow, but we got it together.”

Bishop Canevin's Brionna Allen led Class 3A/2A/1A with 12 points, including 4 for 5 from the line. Chartiers-Houston's Alexa Williamson added 10 points for the winning team.

Beaver's Sydney Barney finished with a game-high 14 points, including two 3-pointers, to lead the Class 4A/District 10 team. She took home team MVP honors.

Farrell's Marissa Hopson hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, while Ambridge's Kara Haslett finished with 10 points in the loss.