High school roundup for Feb. 1, 2022: North Hills rallies past Mars in battle of contenders

By: Tribune-Review
Tuesday, February 1, 2022 | 11:22 PM

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Alex Smith scored 22 points and North Hills rallied from 12 points down in the first half to pick up a 66-63 nonsection boys basketball victory over Mars in a matchup of WPIAL title contenders Tuesday night.

Matt Seidl had 18 and Devin Burgess added 11 for Class 6A No. 1 North Hills (17-0). Zach Schlegel scored 21, Tasso Sfavos had 15, and Christopher Dvorak and Bryce Cunningham had 10 points each for Class 5A No. 3 Mars (15-2).

Albert Gallatin 70, Thomas Jefferson 68 – Nick Pegg pulled in one of his 15 rebounds and scored as time expired to give Albert Gallatin (8-7, 5-2) a Section 1-5A win over Thomas Jefferson (4-13, 2-5). Jamire Braxton recorded a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds and Blake White followed with 20 for the Colonials. Evan Berger scored 17, Joey Lekse added 13 and Sean Sullivan finished with 11 for the Jaguars.

Aliquippa 78, New Brighton 22 – Quinton Good scored 13, D.J. Walker added 11 and DeMarkus Walker put up 10 for Aliquippa (10-7, 5-1) in a Section 2-3A win. Keandre Williams led New Brighton (5-9, 1-4) with five points.

Avonworth 88, Summit Academy 52 – Rowan Carmichael scored 22 points, Peyton Faulkner followed with 14 and Jordan Kolenda added 13 to lead Avonworth (13-5, 4-3) to a Section 2-3A victory against Summit Academy (3-6, 1-4). Allen Grimes scored 21 points and Kyle Davenport put up 13 for Summit.

Baldwin 54, Mt. Lebanon 50 – James Wesling led with 18 points, Nate Wesling had 15, and Nate Richards added 10 to lead Baldwin (10-8, 4-3) past Mt. Lebanon (10-8, 4-3) in Section 2-6A. Christian Powers scored 12 points for Mt. Lebanon.

Beaver 82, Ambridge 53 – Sawyer Butler led with 24 points, Ryan Noel followed with 14, Aiden Townsend had 13, and Brady Mayo added 11 to lead Beaver (8-10, 4-7) over Ambridge (0-13, 0-9) in a section 2-4A win. Gio Cassario scored 16 points and Adam Fernandez had 15 for Ambridge.

Belle Vernon 72, Uniontown 55 – Quinton Martin had 20 points and 17 rebounds and Daniel Gordon scored 23 to lead No. 2 Belle Vernon (16-2, 10-0) to a Section 3-4A win over Uniontown (10-7, 7-2). Notorious Grooms scored 14 points, Bakari Wallace had 12 and Calvin Winfrey lll had 11 for Uniontown.

Bethel Park 37, Canon-McMillan 35 – Max Blanc scored 14 points to push Bethel Park (15-3, 5-2) past Canon-McMillan (10-7, 2-5) in a Section 2-6A win. Gavin Miller led Canon-McMillan with 11 points.

Bishop Canevin 84, Mapletown 32 – Jaden Gales scored 21 points, Kevaughn Price added 16 and Kai Spears had 10 as No. 1 Bishop Canevin (11-4, 7-0) defeated Mapletown (7-6, 3-3) in Section 2-A. All 10 Crusaders seniors on the roster hit the scoresheet on senior night.

Brentwood 56, McGuffey 39 – Three players reached double figures to lead Brentwood to a Section 4-3A win. Carter Betz tossed in a game-high 14 points for the Spartans (11-6, 6-3), and Nathan Ziegler and Lamarr Williams added 10 apiece. Grayson Wallace led McGuffey (6-10, 1-7) with 12 points.

Brownsville 61, Beth-Center 34 – Cedric Harrison scored 15 points and Derrick Tarpley and Chance Zapotoczny added 10 each for Brownsville (10-7, 7-2) in a Section 4-3A win over Beth-Center (3-12, 0-9).

Burrell 56, Deer Lakes 53 – Brandon Coury scored 16 points and Burrell (11-7, 7-3) rallied from three points down at the half for a Section 1-4A win. Donovan Callahan added 15 and Travis Bitar had 10. Armend Karpuzi led Deer Lakes (11-5, 5-4) with 28 points. Lucas Tiglio had 12.

Carlynton 50, Sto-Rox 43 – Khalil Kerr scored 18 points to lead No. 3 Carlynton (15-1, 7-0) past Sto-Rox (9-5, 4-3) in a key Section 2-2A matchup.

Carmichaels 66, Frazier 49 – Chris Barrish led with 28 points, Tyler Richmond had 18, and Mike Stewart added 11 to lead Carmichaels (11-3, 5-1) over Frazier (0-16, 0-6) in a Section 4-2A win. Brennan Stewart scored 14 and Issac Thomas had 13 for Frazier.

Central Catholic 66, Norwin 46 – Dante DePante scored 23 points and Debaba Tshiebwe had 10 to lead No. 3 Central Catholic (14-4, 6-1) to a Section 3-6A win over Norwin (6-9, 2-5). Michael Fleming scored 15 points and Adam Bilinsky had 10 for Norwin.

Central Valley 47, Blackhawk 46 – Bret FitzSimmons scored the game-winning bucket to give Central Valley (7-6, 4-6) a Section 2-4A victory over Blackhawk (11-7, 6-5). Andre Vacich led all scorers with 22 points and Jayvin Thompson added 14 for the Warriors. Lorenzo Jenkins and Zach Oliver each scored 14 points and Ryan Jones put up 10 for the Cougars.

Chartiers-Houston 40, Northgate 35 – Jonathan O’Riley led all scorers with 14 as Chartiers-Houston (7-11, 3-4) beat Northgate (9-9, 1-6) in Section 2-2A. Josh Williams scored 13 and Stevie Goetz added 11 for the Flames.

Cheswick Christian Academy 50, Western Pa. School for the Deaf 36 – Sean Louis scored 29 points to lead Cheswick Christian to a Southwest Christian Athletic Conference win.

Elizabeth Forward 49, Yough 44 – Charlie Meehleib scored 15 points to lead Elizabeth Forward (13-5, 7-2) to a Section 3-4A win. Isaiah Turner added 13 and Mekhi Daniels had 12. Terek Crosby scored 19 and Austin Matthews had 12 for Yough (8-9, 3-6).

Ellwood City 51, Neshannock 32 – Joseph Roth led with 19 points, Steve Antuono followed with 17, and Alexander Roth added 12 to lift No. 1 Ellwood City (17-2, 7-0) over No. 5 Neshannock (13-4, 4-3) in Section 1-3A. Mike Sopko led Neshannock with 10 points.

Fort Cherry 43, Burgettstown 42 – Maddox Truschel tipped in the rebound of a Dylan Rogers shot at the buzzer to lead No. 4 Fort Cherry (16-2, 6-1) to a Section 2-2A win. Rogers led Fort Cherry with 12 points. Truschel and Owen Norman had nine each. Nathan Klodowski scored 15 for Burgettstown (7-9, 0-7). James Leuice had 13.

Fox Chapel 60, Hempfield 49 – Eli Yofan led all scorers with 19 points and Jake DeMotte added 11 to lead Fox Chapel (17-1, 7-0) to a Section 3-6A win over Hempfield (5-12, 2-5). It was Fox Chapel coach Zach Skrinjar’s 200th career win. Sean Gordon scored 18 and Chaz Ewer chipped in 12 points for the Spartans.

Freeport 84, Derry 55 – Vinnie Clark scored 18 points and Jason Kijowski added 17 to lead Freeport (11-6, 6-3) in Section 1-4A. Tyson Webb had 18 and Gabe Carbonara 14 for Derry (3-11, 1-9).

Gateway 82, Woodland Hills 57 – Ryan Greggerson scored 22 points and Will Kromka and Jaydon Carr scored 17 points each to lead Gateway (11-4, 7-2) to a Section 3-5A win over Woodland Hills (8-11, 5-5).

Geibel 85, Avella 44 – Trevell Clayton scored 25 points, Jaydis Kennedy had 21, and Brayden Curry added 14 to lead No. 4 Geibel (13-4, 5-1) over Avella (1-17, 0-6) in Section 2-A. Westley Burchianti had 19 for Avella.

Greensburg Central Catholic 80, Propel Braddock Hills 51 – Brevan Williams recorded his 1,000th career point, scoring 19 to lead Greensburg Central (13-1, 6-0) to victory over Propel Braddock Hills (3-15, 0-7) in Section 3-2A play. Ben Mayhew scored 18, Anthony Scott added 13 and Jay Harris finished with 11 for Propel. Ryan Appleby contributed 16 points for the Centurions.

Hampton 45, Armstrong 41 – Eric Weeks scored 21 points to lead Hampton (9-8, 5-4) over Armstrong (8-10, 2-7) in Section 4-5A. Cadin Olsen and Jack Valasek scored 10 points each for Armstrong.

Highlands 60, Shaler 49 – Jimmy Kunst scored 19 points and Carter Leri added 17 to lead No. 5 Highlands (13-5, 8-1) to a Section 4-5A win. Cam Reigard added 11. Logan Bernesser led Shaler (11-7, 6-4) with 13 points. Josh Miller had 10.

Keystone Oaks 54, Knoch 52 – Cam Green hit the winning shot with 4.5 seconds left to lead Keystone Oaks (10-7, 3-6) to a Section 1-4A win. Owen Minford scored 30. Ryan Lang led Knoch (6-13, 2-8) with 31 points, moving into second place on the school’s all-time scoring list.

Laurel 63, Riverside 50 – Laban Barker scored 25 points to push Laurel (11-5, 4-3) past Riverside (5-13, 0-7) in a Section 1-3A win. Bo Fornataro led Riverside with 16 points and Garrett Dwyer added 11.

Laurel Highlands 80, Ringgold 42 – Rodney Gallagher and Brandon Davis scored 24 points apiece to lead No. 1 Laurel Highlands (17-0, 7-0) to a Section 1-5A win. Keondre DeShields added 20. Nick Peccon led Ringgold (6-13, 2-5) with 16.

Leechburg 63, Propel Andrew Street 25 – Eli Rich scored 16 points and Braylan Lovelace added 15 to lead Leechburg (12-3, 3-2) past Propel Andrew Street (3-13, 0-7) in Section 3-A.

Ligonier Valley 70, Valley 48 – Jaicob Hollich scored 20 points, hitting six 3-pointers, to lead Ligonier Valley (10-9, 6-3) to a Section 3-3A win. Matthew Marinchak added 17 and Hayden Sierocky had 13. BJ Harvey led Valley (1-18, 1-9) with 21.

Lincoln Park 70, Hopewell 53 – L.A. Pratt led with 25 points, Brandin Cummings had 20, and Dorian McGhee added 11 to help No. 4 Lincoln Park (12-3, 9-2) to a Section 2-4A win over Hopewell (4-14, 1-10). Zack Kovell scored 19 and Nick Kristian had 18 for Hopewell.

Monessen 64, California 50 – Lorenzo Gardner and Jaisean Blackman scored 18 points apiece while Kody Kuhns added 12 and DeVonte Ross put up 10 to lead No. 5 Monessen (13-4, 7-0) to a Section 4-2A victory. Corey Frick led all scorers with 21 and Hunter Assad finished with 10 for California (4-12, 2-4).

Moon 57, Trinity 48 – Casey Sunday scored 14 points and Elijah Guillory had 11 to lead Moon (6-11, 2-5) to a Section 2-5A win over Trinity (4-13, 0-7). Connor Roberts scored 22 points and Gio Cipoletti had 11 for Trinity.

Mohawk 40, Beaver Falls 37 – Keigan Hopper scored 13 points and Jay Wrona chipped in seven to lead Mohawk (4-13, 2-5) to a Section 1-3A win against Beaver Falls (8-9, 4-3). Jaren Brickner scored 12 points to lead the Tigers.

Neighborhood Academy 74, Aquinas Academy 68 – Courtney Wallace led with 21 points, Nate Hargrove followed with 19, Jalen Moore had 13, and Shamar Simpson added 11 to push Neighborhood Academy (9-4, 4-1) past Aquinas Academy (10-5, 3-3) in Section 3-A win. Vinnie Cugini scored 46 points and Jake Guillen had 12 for Aquinas Academy.

New Castle 90, West Allegheny 60 – Mike Wells scored 23 points, Isiah Boice followed with 20, Michael Graham put up 17, Jonathan Anderson added 11 and Ralphie Blundo chipped in with 10 as No. 2 New Castle (15-1, 7-0) beat West Allegheny (7-10, 2-5) in Section 2-5A play. Scott Bilovus scored 25 points to earn his 1,000th career point and Brandon Bell and Brady Miller each scored 10 for the Indians.

North Allegheny 68, Pine-Richland 62 – Robby Jones scored 21 points and Joe Dopirak had 16 to lead North Allegheny (12-6, 4-6) in a key Section 1-6A matchup. Connor Casten and Matt McDonough had 10 each. Luke Shanahan led Pine-Richland (10-8, 5-4) with 22. Andrew Alexander had 13.

OLSH 79, Shenango 36 – Jake DiMichele had 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead OLSH (15-0, 6-0) to a Section 1-2A win. Bryson Kirschner added 16 and Rocco Spadafora had 13. Brody McQuiston led Shenango (5-13, 3-4) with 18. Dalton Peters had 10.

Penn Hills 70, McKeesport 57 – Daemar Kelly scored 20 points and Noah Barren had 10 to lead Penn Hills (14-3, 7-2) over McKeesport (6-12, 3-7) in Section 3-5A. Travarese Rowe and Kanye Thompson scored 15 points each for McKeesport.

Penn-Trafford 81, Greensburg Salem 35 – Nick Crum and Tyler Freas scored 13 points apiece, Noah Wright put up 12 and Tommy Kalkstein finished with 10 for Penn-Trafford (8-9, 4-3) in Section 3-6A play. Ben Thomas scored 12 points for Greensburg Salem (2-16, 0-7).

Plum 43, Indiana 41 – Nick Killinger scored 19 points, Austin Hereda had 14 and hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to give Plum (6-12, 2-8) the lead over Indiana (3-13, 0-8) in a Section 4-5A win. Stanford Webb scored 11 points and Ethan Kutz had 10 for Indiana.

Quaker Valley 56, Montour 36 – Adou Thiero scored 23 points and Markus Frank had 22 to lead No. 1 Quaker Valley (15-0, 11-0) over Montour (12-4, 7-3) in Section 2-4A.

Riverview 57, South Side 53 – Micah Black scored 18 points and Riverview (6-12, 2-5) rallied from eight points down after three quarters for a Section 1-2A win. Nate Sprajcar added 10. Brody Almashy and Dusty Mackall had 15 each for South Side (6-11, 3-3). Jacob Strnisa had 11.

Rochester 55, Nazareth Prep 51 – JD Azulay scored 26 points and Jerome Mullins added 12 to help Rochester (6-7, 5-2) to a Section 1-A win. Nathan Brazil had 17 and Nahum Brazil added 15 for Nazareth Prep (2-14, 1-4).

Seneca Valley 77, Butler 74 – Jameson Grieco led all scorers with 25 including six 3-pointers, Luke Lawson scored 17, Andrew Roy added 15 and Connor Oros followed with 10 to lead Seneca Valley (7-12, 3-7) to a Section 1-6A victory. Devin Carney scored 21, Colin Patterson chipped in 18, and Raine Gratzmiller finished with 15 for Butler (9-8, 3-7).

Serra Catholic 65, Jeannette 62 – Isaiah Petty scored 20 points, Owen Dumbroski added 13 while Brendan Cooley, Joey DeMoss and Elijah Ward scored 10 points apiece to lead Serra Catholic (8-8, 6-1) to a Section 3-2A win over Jeannette (9-9, 3-4). Anton Good scored 22 points while Jalen Bass contributed 16 and Nas Thompson finished with 14 for the Jayhawks.

Seton LaSalle 83, Freedom 45 – Connor Spratt led all scorers with 24 points, John Wilkins added 13 and Emmett Harris and J.R. Jones chipped in 10 points each as No. 3 Seton LaSalle (14-2, 7-0) beat Freedom (2-14, 0-6) in Section 2-3A. Carter Slowinski scored 15 and Carter Huggins put up 12 for the Bulldogs.

Southmoreland 44, South Park 31 – Ronnie Collins led with 12 points and Isaac Trout followed with nine to lead Southmoreland (6-10, 3-6) past South Park (2-13, 1-8) in a Section 3-4A win.

Steel Valley 50, East Allegheny 48 – Makhai Valentine scored 33 points, including a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left, to lead Steel Valley (9-8, 5-5) to a Section 3-3A win. Mike Smith had 22 and Max Schwer added 12 for East Allegheny (7-11, 3-6).

Union 75, Eden Christian 45 – Matt Stanley scored 27 points and Peyton Lombardo had 18 to lead No. 2 Union (16-2, 7-0) to a Section 1-A win over Eden Christian (8-6, 4-2). David Ryan led Eden Christian with nine points.

West Greene 45, Propel Montour 41 – Ian Van Dyne scored 16 to lead West Greene (5-14, 3-4) to a Section 2-A win. Cameron Herdisty scored 10 to lead Propel Montour (3-12, 1-5).

West Mifflin 69, Connellsville 34 – Jiovonni Santella (12), Todd Harrison (11), Mekhi Scott (11), Shai Newby (10) and Nolan Stephsenson (10) all scored in double digits for West Mifflin (9-8, 4-3) in a Section 1-5A win. Donovan Taylor scored 10 points for Connellsville (3-16, 1-6).

Girls basketball

Albert Gallatin 68, Uniontown 31 – Gianna Michaux scored 20 points, Courtlyn Turner followed with 20 and Mya Glisan shipped in 12 as Albert Gallatin (13-3, 8-2) beat Uniontown (5-11, 2-7) in Section 3-5A play. Ava Hair scored nine points for the Lady Red Raiders.

Baldwin 78, Hempfield 43 – Heidi Johnston led with 30 points, Morgan Altavilla had 23, Alyvia Cox added 17 to help Baldwin (9-8, 4-6) to a Section 2-6A win over Hempfield (2-14, 1-9). Brooke McCoy scored 16 points and Mia Shipman had nine for Hempfield.

Chartiers-Houston 49, Northgate 17 – Dominique Mortimer scored 16 points, Kaydan Buckingham added 15, and Ella Richey chipped in with 11 as Chartiers-Houston (9-7, 3-3) beat Northgate (1-14, 0-5) in Section 3-2A play. Shyla Baptiste led the Buccaneers with eight points.

Clairton 68, Avella 35 – Iyanna Wade scored 34 points to power Class A No. 5 Clairton (11-1) to a nonsection win. Jerzee Sutton had 12 and Khalaya Knowell 10. Katie Dryer led Avella (9-8) with 17.

Ellwood City 47, Riverside 15 – Kyla Servick scored 12 points, Saige Chambers added 11 and Emily Sedgwick finished with 10 as Ellwood City (7-9, 4-5) won a Section 1-3A game against Riverside (2-12, 0-7).

Freedom 48, Lincoln Park 41 – Renae Mohrbacher scored 27 points to lead No. 4 Freedom (12-4) to a nonsection win. Sarah Scott scored 17 and Makayla Newsome 13 for Lincoln Park (9-7).

Highlands 76, Keystone Oaks 54 – Jocelyn Bielak led with 25 points, Kalleigh Nerone had 17, and Maria Fabregas and Shaleby Wojcik both scored 12 points to lead Class 4A No. 5 Highlands (16-2) past Keystone Oaks (9-8) in nonsection play.

Latrobe 55, Franklin Regional 41 – No. 5 Latrobe (13-2, 9-0) posted its ninth straight win as Emma Blair scored 20 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, Elle Snyder had 16 points, and Bailey Watson grabbed 10 rebounds. Latrobe center Anna Rafferty did not play for a fourth straight game (knee). Franklin Regional (6-12, 2-8) cut a double-digit lead to eight early in the fourth before the Wildcats pulled ahead to stay. The Panthers have dropped seven of eight.

McKeesport 74, Penn Hills 24 – Rachel Manfredo scored 14, Maddie Hertzler added 11 and Brooke Evans put up 10 as McKeesport (15-4, 8-1) won a Section 4-5A game against Penn Hills (1-14, 0-9). Hannah Pugliese scored 11 points to lead the Indians.

Neshannock 80, New Brighton 12 – Avi DeLillio had 14 points to lead five players in double figures for No. 3 Neshannock (16-2, 9-1) in a Section 1-2A win over New Brighton (2-15, 0-9). Aaralyn Nogay had 13, Meghan Pallerino 12 and Neleh Nogay and Addi Watts 11 each.

North Allegheny 61, Butler 46 – Jasmine Timmerson led all scorers with 22, Taylor Rawls added 13 and Emma Fischer chipped in 11 for No. 2 North Allegheny (16-1, 10-1) in a Section 1-6A win. Makenna Maier scored 14 points with four 3-pointers and Justine Forbes finished with 11 for Butler (9-8, 5-6).

Quaker Valley 47, Montour 42 – Nora Johns and Lauren Blackmer scored 13 points each to lead Quaker Valley (10-7, 7-4) to a Section 2-4A win over Montour (12-4, 7-3).

South Side 63, Washington 22 – Grace Woodling scored 16 points and Emilee Boyd followed with 14 to lead South Side (9-8) to a nonsection win. Cayleigh Brown led Washington (1-16) with 10.

Springdale 58, Jeannette 19 – Grace Gent scored 31 points and Caity Stec added 12 to lead Springdale (4-11, 2-4) past Jeannette (0-14, 0-6) in Section 4-2A.

Winchester Thurston 56, Sto-Rox 32 – Nadia Moore scored 29 points for Winchester Thurston (6-6) and Alana Eberhardt had 12 for Sto-Rox (7-8) in nonsection play.

Hockey

Hampton 6, Blackhawk 4 – Adam Dembowski scored two goals and Owen Cirlingione had a goal and two assists as Hampton (7-10) earned a Class A win over Blackhawk (1-13-0-1). Owen Keister scored two goals and an assist and Jake Hofer had a goal and an assist for the Cougars.

Mars 5, Meadville 3 – Jacob Lestitian had two goals and Max Weaver, Wes Scruci and Declan Abbey also scored to lead Mars (4-12) to a Class 2A win over Meadville (11-5).

Neshannock 13, Trinity 0 – Brian McConahy had a hat trick and an assist to lead Neshannock (8-4-2) to a Class B win over Trinity (1-13). Gio Valentine and Colton Chamberlain had two goals and an assist apiece and Micah DeJulia added a goal and three assists. Riley Mastowski made 18 saves.

Peters Township 10, Upper St. Clair 3 – Ben Kovac had two goals and three assists and William Tomko finished with two goals and two assists to power Peters Township (12-4-1) to a Class 3A win. Austin Malley had a goal and two assists. John McShane and Dom Keller had a goal and an assist for Upper St. Clair (5-9-1).

Westmont Hilltop 7, Wheeling Central Catholic 4 – Tony Marano and Nick Rozich each scored two goals and had an assist while Aiden Rice scored two goals and Derek George added another for Westmont Hilltop (8-6) in a Class A win over Wheeling Central Catholic (8-6-1). Austin Nestor scored two goals and Tommy Woods and Nathan Woods each scored a goal for the Maroon Knights.