High school roundup for Feb. 20, 2023: Hampton adapts without top scorer, handles Blackhawk

By: Tribune-Review
Monday, February 20, 2023 | 10:49 PM

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Robert Coll scored 16 points, Liam Mignogna added 14 and Eric Weeks contributed 13 as No. 4 Hampton opened its playoff run without leading scorer Peter Kramer with a 65-50 victory over No. 13 Blackhawk in the WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball first round Monday night.

Jacob Patton put up 15 points and Grant Wissner followed with 10 for Blackhawk (11-12), which was held to five points in the third quarter. The Talbots (21-2) advance to face No. 5 Highlands in the quarterfinals Thursday. Kramer is ineligible due to PIAA transfer rules.

Laurel Highlands 69, Freeport 45 – Rodney Gallagher scored 26 points and No. 2 Laurel Highlands pulled away in the third quarter for a Class 4A first-round victory. Mason Bolish added 15 and Keondre DeShields had 12 for the Mustangs (20-2), who will meet No. 10 Belle Vernon in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Gavin Croney led Freeport (13-10) with 10 points. The Mustangs outscored the Yellowjackets 27-9 in the third quarter.

Lincoln Park 86, West Mifflin 62 – Brandin Cummings led all scored with 34 points and sank four 3-pointers as top-seeded Lincoln Park (22-1) built on a 31-point first quarter to run away from No. 16 West Mifflin (10-13) in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs. Meleek Thomas scored 21 and Dorian Clark McGhee added 13 for the Leopards. Todd Harrison dropped 33 points and Jordan Lucas-Johnson had 15 for the Titans. Lincoln Park advances to play No. 8 South Allegheny in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Mohawk 66, Derry 56 – Bobby Fadden led all scorers with 32 points, Jay Wrona added 13 and Deven Sudziak had 10 for No. 4 Mohawk (20-3) in a Class 3A opening-round win over No. 13 Derry (11-10). Gabe Carbonara scored 21 points while Brady Angus and Ashton Beighley scored 10 points apiece for the Trojans, who cut Mohawk’s lead to two points in the fourth quarter. The Warriors move on to play No. 5 Deer Lakes in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Neshannock 56, Keystone Oaks 43 – David Kwiat dropped 20 points and sank five 3-pointers while Jack Giles added 13 points to push No. 2 Neshannock (17-5) past No. 15 Keystone Oaks (10-13) in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs. Tulio Watts and Ethan Spivak scored 16 points apiece for the Golden Eagles, who were held in check until the fourth quarter when they were able to score 23 points. The Lancers move on to play No. 7 Yough in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

North Catholic 53, Montour 41 – Andrew Maddalon scored a game-high 22 points and Max Rottmann contributed 10 to lead No. 6 North Catholic (17-6) to a defeat of No. 11 Montour (9-14) in the Class 4A opening round. Ama Tening Sow put up 21 points for the Spartans. North Catholic will face No. 3 Uniontown in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

OLSH 75, Beaver Falls 67 – Rocco Spadafora dropped 20 points while BJ Vaughn and Rocco Coladonato scored 13 points apiece to lead No. 6 OLSH (17-5) past No. 11 Beaver Falls (10-10) in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. Jaren Brickner led all scorers with 21 points, Trey Singleton put up 20 and Isaiah Sharp finished with 10 for the Tigers. The Chargers will face No. 3 Shady Side Academy in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Seton LaSalle 59, Washington 57 – Connor Spratt scored 31 points and No. 9 Seton LaSalle (12-10) built on a 20-9 second quarter run to knock off No. 8 Washington (15-7) in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs. Ruben Gordon scored 19 points, Brayce Patterson added 11 and Braiden Wise had 10 for the Little Prexies, who tried to rally by outscoring the Rebels 18-9 in the fourth quarter. Hayden Merchant added eight for Seton LaSalle, which advances to play No. 1 Steel Valley in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Shady Side Academy 43, Brownsville 35 – No. 3 Shady Side (16-7) defeated No. 14 Brownsville (12-9) in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs. The Bulldogs will play No. 6 OLSH in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Uniontown 69, Avonworth 52 – Notorious Grooms scored 17, Bakari Wallace followed with 16, Jamire Braxton put up 14 and Levi Garner added 12 as No. 3 Uniontown (19-3) used a team effort to beat No. 14 Avonworth (8-14) in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs. Rowan Carmichael led all scorers with 24 points for the Antelopes. The Red Raiders will play No. 6 North Catholic in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Cheswick Christian Academy 76, East Liverpool Christian 39 – Grant Rochkind scored 22 points and Joseph Rosio added 15 as Cheswick Christian won a Southwestern Christian Athletic Conference quarterfinal. Sean Louis had 11 and Brady Rochkind finished with 10. Uriah Farley led East Liverpool with 14 and Owen Bouscher added 10. Cheswick Christian will meet Pittsburgh Christian Academy in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Cornerstone Prep.

Girls basketball

Avella 62, Riverview 38 – Ava Frank scored 19 points, Katie Dryer had 13 and Samantha Stritzinger added 12 as No. 10 Avella (13-10) defeated No. 7 Riverview (11-11) to earn a quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 Bishop Canevin on Thursday. Lily Bauer scored 12 points and Katerina Tsambis finished with 11 for the Raiders.

Eden Christian 65, Jeannette 31 – Ella D’Ippolito scored 24 points and Abby Stover added 20 for No. 6 Eden Christian (8-14) in a Class A first-round win. Ava Batch added 11 points for Eden, which will visit No. 3 Aquinas Academy in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Franke Crosby led No. 11 Jeannette (2-20) with nine points.

Peters Township 62, Butler 49 – Natalie Wetzel and Sami Bewick scored 17 points apiece and Peri Cendroski added 16 as Peters Township (13-10) used a 22-point second quarter to secure a first-round win in the Class 6A playoffs. Amelia McMichael led all scorers with 22 points and Syd Patterson finished with 12 for Butler (11-12). Peters Township will play No. 1 Upper St. Clair on Thursday in the quarterfinals.

West Greene 51, Leechburg 23 – Taylor Karvan and Lexie Six scored 14 points apiece and Kendra Tharp added 13 to lead No. 8 West Greene (13-9) to a Class A first-round win. The Pioneers will visit top-seeded Union in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Olivia Vigna led No. 9 Leechburg (7-12) with nine points.

Hockey

Bishop McCort 6, South Fayette 2 – Mykyta Yalovyi and Xavier Lieb each scored twice to lead Bishop McCort (14-6) past South Fayette (13-3-2) in a battle of two of the top four teams in Class 2A. Brennan Krafla and Ivan Safronov scored for the Crushers. Tyler Brandebura scored both goals for the Lions.

Fox Chapel 13, Westmont Hilltop 3 – Nate Sarra and Liam Wiseman recorded hat tricks, Killian Kissane and Grady Cullen scored two goals apiece, and Mason Heininger had a goal and seven assists as Fox Chapel (19-2) peppered Westmont Hilltop (2-19) with 56 shots on goal in a Class A win. Hayden Strittmatter and Danny Downey also scored for the Foxes. Nick Rozich, Brett Hoffmann and Conner Gorman scored for the Hilltoppers.

Franklin Regional 10, Latrobe 1 – Matt Knizner scored five goals as Franklin Regional (10-8-1) defeated Latrobe (11-7-1) in Class 2A. Timothy Brickner, Luke Lavrich, Jack Falkner, Liam Copeland and Max Williams also scored for the Panthers. Fletcher Harvey scored for Latrobe.

Kiski 9, Hampton 1 – Ethan George had five goals and two assists and Kyle Guido had six assists to lead Kiski (15-4) to a Class A win. Matt Drahos scored twice and Ethan Bombalski had a goal and an assist. Sam Modlin scored for Hampton (3-16).

Mars 3, Butler 2 (SO) – Ben Bowser scored the tying goal in the second period, helping Mars (4-15) to a shootout win in Class 2A. Richie Lusk also scored for Mars. Jaxon Salata and Nathan Holland scored for Butler (2-15-2).

Morgantown 5, Wilmington 2 – John Dibartolomeo had two goals and Nate Rodgers, Ayden Sheperd and Brayden Hellen also scored for Morgantown (8-8-1) in a Varsity D2 win. Andrew Cartwright had a goal and an assist for Wilmington (4-13).

North Catholic 3, Avonworth 2 – Beckett Dunn, Chaise Caldararo and Ryan Berry scored to lead North Catholic (13-5-1) over Avonworth (11-8-1) in Class A. Joey Moore and Conner Ralston scored for the Antelopes.

Norwin 6, Shaler 5 (OT) – Alex Thomas completed a hat trick with his game-winning goal in overtime to propel Norwin (15-4-1) to a Class A win against Shaler (9-9-1). Joe Vecchio, Cade Zeravica and Dom Cerilli also scored for the Knights. Logan Thom had two goals and Luca Wallander, Blake Whiteman and Tyler Garasich also scored for the Titans.

Penn-Trafford 3, Meadville 1 – Nate Laughner, Bryce Kropczynski and Robert Thatcher scored for Penn-Trafford (12-7) in a Class 2A win. Rocco Tartaglione scored for Meadville (3-14-1).

Quaker Valley 4, Chartiers Valley 1 – Ben Carlson had a pair of goals and Max Modrovich and Riley Moore also scored for Quaker Valley (13-6-1) in a Class A victory. Brady Nairn scored for Chartiers Valley (6-12-1).