Belle Vernon’s Zion Moore named TribLive Westmoreland boys basketball player of the year

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, April 5, 2025 | 7:30 PM

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Zion Moore

Sr., G, Belle Vernon

Asked to describe his senior basketball season in one word, TribLive Westmoreland Boys Basketball Player of the Year Zion Moore offered this: “History.”

Belle Vernon’s high-volume scorer and his teammates produced the program’s first WPIAL championship since 1978 and did so as legendary coach Joe Salvino was bringing down the curtain on his final season.

“It was the best feeling ever sending coach Salvino out with a WPIAL championship,” Moore said. “It’s like, wow, we are a part of probably one of the best WPIAL stories of all time.”

Maybe so.

The 6-foot-2 guard moved into the No. 2 spot in the Leopards’ all-time scoring list with 2,113 career points. He was, at the time he hit the 2,000-point milestone, just the 39th player in WPIAL history and 11th all-time in Westmoreland County to achieve the scoring milestone.

Moore averaged 24 points — the team averaged 67.8 — and was the second-leading scorer in the WPIAL. He scored in double figures in every game he played at Belle Vernon.

Moore, who also averaged 5.8 rebounds, led the team in 3-pointers this season with 51.

Salvino, 74, stepped down after 41 seasons — seven at Belle Vernon — and 745 victories, second most in WPIAL boys basketball history. He won seven WPIAL titles, including six at Monessen, where he coached for 34 years. But the seventh could stand above the rest because of the circumstances.

Moore dealt with an ankle injury late in the playoffs but never missed a game, instead getting a jolt of high-level play from teammates Trevor Kovatch, Tommy Davis, Dom Ghilani and others as Belle Vernon won the 4A title.

Moore transferred from Ringgold after his freshman season and soon became a program all-timer at Belle Vernon and in the Mon Valley.

“It feels good to have 2,000 points,” Moore said. “But it just feels like it’s something I’m supposed to be doing.

“We always talked about (winning a championship). It was just doing it. I think we always have had faith in doing it.”

First team all-stars

Kymon’e Brown

Jr., G, Jeannette

Point guard averaged 12.5 points, 6.8 assists, 3.7 steals and 3.4 rebounds for WPIAL 2A champion Jayhawks, who tied a school record for wins in a season (25-3) and made PIAA quarterfinals.

Max Butler

Sr., G, Latrobe

A go-to scorer, he averaged 20 points a game and helped the Wildcats to a 21-7 record, a WPIAL 5A playoff win and their first PIAA playoff win since 1990. Finished with 1,249 career points.

Connor Crossey

Sr., G, Franklin Regional

Had a breakthrough season for the Panthers and was one of the top scorers in the WPIAL. Averaged 19.5 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 51.6% from the field.

Noah Felentzer

Jr., G, Southmoreland

Second-leading scorer in the county averaged 22 points per game to go with 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.8 steals. Helped Scotties to first section title since 1992. Had 31 points in team’s first playoff win in eight years. Has 1,117 career points.

Liam Gallagher

Sr., G, Greensburg Central Catholic

Sharpshooting guard led the Centurions in scoring at 14.4 points per game. Made team-high 84 3-pointers. Also averaged 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists for GCC, which rallied from a WPIAL quarterfinal loss to make the PIAA 2A semifinals.

Parker Hollick

Sr., G, Ligonier Valley

Streaky scorer for WPIAL 3A playoff team. Led Rams with 19.9-point average and finished with 1,062 career points. Also contributed 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals a game.

Trevor Kovatch

Sr., G, Belle Vernon

Fiery backcourt leader helped lead the Leopards to their first WPIAL championship (4A) since 1978. Team’s second-leading scorer at 13.4 points per game. Made 39 3-pointers. Also averaged 3.6 assists and 3.2 steals. Had 804 career points.

Stanley Rajkovich

So., F, Derry

The 6-foot-7 big man led the Trojans back to the WPIAL 4A playoffs, averaging 19.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.2 blocks and 1.2 steals, and shot 61.2% from two-point range.

Brayden Stone

Sr., G, Penn-Trafford

Senior backcourt leader helped Warriors win a WPIAL 5A playoff game with an upset of No. 2 Baldwin and qualify for the PIAA playoffs. Averaged 13.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.9 steals a game.

Second team

Tommy Davis, Sr., F, Belle Vernon

Ian DeCerb, Jr., F, Latrobe

Zach Feldman, Jr., F, Penn-Trafford

Danny Husenits, Jr., G, Hempfield

Markus McGowan, So., G, Jeannette

Brady O’Rourke, Sr., G, Greensburg Central Catholic

Jayce Powell, So., G, Jeannette

A.J. Tarpley, So., G, Greensburg Central Catholic

John Wasnick, Sr., G, Derry

John Wetzel, Sr., G, Latrobe

Honorable mention

Drew Gordon, Sr., Hempfield

Alex Graney, Jr., Norwin

Rodney Johnson, Monessen

Braedon Leatherman, Sr., G, Greensburg Salem

Tyler Martin, Sr., G, Greensburg Salem

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Jeannette, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Monessen, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland