High school roundup for Feb. 16, 2019: South Side earns program’s 1st playoff win

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 16, 2019 | 10:16 PM

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Logan English led South Side Beaver to a 64-59 win over Brentwood in a WPIAL Class 2A first-round matchup Saturday at Peters Township, and helped make program history in the process.

The No. 5-seeded Rams, who led by two at halftime, never trailed in the second half, building up a 14-point cushion midway through the fourth quarter en route to the first playoff win in program history.

English, a 6-foot-4 senior guard/forward, netted 18 of his game-high point total in the second half, including 12 in the third quarter.

He was complemented offensively by senior guards Jake McDougal with 16 points and Trevor Roach with 10 (all in the first half). McDougal connected for 10 fourth-quarter points.

South Side Beaver (17-6), which has won three games in a row and six of its last seven, will play Friday against No. 4 Winchester Thurston (16-5) in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

Brentwood (11-12) was paced against the Rams by the one-two backcourt punch of juniors Zach Keib and C.J. Ziegler, who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively.

John Milcic, a junior forward, chipped in with 12 points for the Spartans, who suffered their third straight defeat and fourth in five games.

SSB sank 14 of 28 free throws overall, including eight of 19 in the final eight minutes.

Brentwood was 0 for 8 at the charity stripe, and didn’t attempt a foul shot in the fourth quarter.

Sto-Rox 72, California 57 — Sto-Rox jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back as it eliminated California in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs at Keystone Oaks.

The Vikings came flying out of the gates against a shorthanded Trojans team and made it look easy as they built up a 25-12 lead after the first quarter. The onslaught continued in the second quarter en route to a 47-28 lead at the half.

California (12-10) did make a run in the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to single digits, but could not make it any closer.

Junior Audjore Nelson led Sto-Rox with 17 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Senior Dre Frenzley added 16 and junior Jamal Williams 15 for the Vikings (14-9), who will face No. 2 Serra Catholic in the quarterfinals Friday.

The Trojans played without the fifth-leading scorer in the WPIAL, Malik Ramsey, who was ineligible for the playoffs because of the PIAA’s new transfer rule. California was led by senior Austin Grillo, who scored 21 points.

Shenango 56, Summit Academy 51 — Ryan Peretti scored 18 points and Reis Watkins added 13 points and 10 rebounds as No. 9 Shenango (11-12) beat No. 8 Summit Academy (10-10) in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs at Fox Chapel. Colin McQuiston added 12 points while teammate Gavin Pagley had 10 points for Shenango, which will face top-seeded OLSH in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Takoma Askew led Summit Academy with a game-high 23 points while Jaleel Christian added 12 points.

Lincoln Park 72, Shady Side Academy 38 — Keeno Holmes scored 26 points to lead No. 1 Lincoln Park (19-4) over No. 16 Shady Side Academy (9-12) in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs at Fox Chapel. Casey Oliver and Isaiah Smith added 18 and 14 points, respectively, for Lincoln Park, which took a 45-18 lead to halftime. Lincoln Park will play Beaver Falls in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Mason Tomlin tallied 12 points in the loss.

Aliquippa 72, Avonworth 50 — M.J. Devonshire scored 17 points and William Gipson added 14 points as No. 2 Aliquippa (15-7) beat No. 15 Avonworth (12-10) in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs at Fox Chapel. Larry Walker added 13 points for Aliquippa, which led at halftime, 40-18. Aliquippa will face Neshannock in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Deon Thomas scored 13 points to pace Avonworth.

Neshannock 56, McGuffey 50 — Jake McCormick’s 16 points paced four Neshannock players in double figures in its WPIAL Class 3A first-round win over No. 10 McGuffey (15-8) at Sewickley Academy. Preston Turk added 13 points for No. 7 Neshannock (18-5) while Niko Rylott and Chris Scott scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. C.J. Cole scored a game-high 25 points to lead McGuffey.

Beaver Falls 55, Steel Valley 41 — Beaver Falls celebrated its return to the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs after a rare miss last season with a first-round victory at Keystone Oaks.

The Tigers jumped out to an early lead and owned a four-point advantage after one quarter that grew to a six-point lead by halftime.

The Ironmen chipped away and pulled to within two points at the end of three quarters before scoring only seven points in the fourth as Beaver Falls pulled away.

Camden Polak, who averaged 24 points this year for Steel Valley, scored 20 to lead the Ironmen but struggled from the field throughout the game. Kam Williams battled early foul trouble and chipped in 11 for Steel Valley (14-8).

Senior Jalen Vaughn led a balanced Beaver Falls attack with 13 points. The Tigers (10-13) will face top-seeded Lincoln Park for a third time in the Class 3A quarterfinals Thursday. The Tigers lost by 12 points and 35 points this season to the Leopards.