High school roundup for Jan. 8, 2021: North Allegheny rallies past rival North Hills

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Saturday, January 9, 2021 | 12:01 AM


Greg Habib scored 26 points and Matt McDonough added 23 as No. 3 North Allegheny rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to earn an 82-79 Section 1-6A boys basketball victory over rival North Hills as WPIAL basketball action resumed after a four-week shutdown Friday night.

Kyrell Hutcherson added 10 points for North Allegheny (1-1, 1-0). Royce Parham had 19 points and Alex Smith and Matt Seidl 17 each for North Hills (0-1, 0-1).

Albert Gallatin 55, Thomas Jefferson 50 – Nate English scored 21 points and Hunter Sexton chipped in with 12 to lead Albert Gallatin (1-0, 1-0) to a season-opening Section 1-5A win. Aidan Kelly had 14 points and Jake Pugh 13 for Thomas Jefferson (1-1, 0-1).

Belle Vernon 67, Uniontown 41 — Devin Whitlock had 23 points and five assists as Belle Vernon (1-1, 1-0) bounced back from a season-opening loss with a Section 3-4A victory. Tyler Kovatch added 12 points, and Daniel Gordon had 10 points and eight rebounds for Belle Vernon. Damarr Lewis led Uniontown with 15 points. Brian Sykes had 10.

Brentwood 36, McGuffey 27 – Jacob Nigel scored 16 points and Brentwood (2-0, 1-0) used a strong first half to win in Section 4-3A. Nate Witkowsky and Christian Cipoletti scored 10 for McGuffey (1-1, 0-1).

Butler 78, Kiski Area 58 — Devin Carney had a team-high 20 points for defending Class 6A champion Butler (2-0) in a nonsection win over Kiski Area (1-0).

Chartiers Valley 83, Bishop Canevin 68 – Brayden Reynolds poured in 36 points and Garrett Alauzen added 16 to lead Chartiers Valley (2-0, 0-0) to victory in a nonsection matchup of ranked teams. Mark Ingold had 11 for Bishop Canevin (0-1, 0-0). Chartiers Valley was No. 5 in Class 5A in the Trib HSSN preseason rankings. Bishop Canevin was No. 1 in Class A.

Elizabeth Forward 58, Yough 48 — Zach Boyd scored 17 points to lead Elizabeth Forward (1-0, 1-0) to the Section 3-4A win. Vernon Settles added 14 points, and Charlier Meehleib had 13. Terek Crosby led Yough (0-1, 0-1) with 21 points. Gamal Marballie had 13.

Fort Cherry 69, Burgettstown 54 – Maddox Truschel and Owen Norman scored 15 points apiece to lead five players in double figures for Fort Cherry (2-0, 1-0) in Section 2-2A. Lane Miller had 13. Caleb Russell led Burgettstown (0-1, 0-1) with 17 points. Jackon LaRocka had 15.

Frazier 76, Carmichaels 55 – Owen Newcomer scored 21 points to lead five players in double figures for Frazier (1-1, 1-0) to a Section 4-2A win. Luke Santo scored 16 and Colton Arison and Noah Oldham had 12 each. Mike Stewart led Carmichaels (0-1, 0-1) with 15 points. Christopher Barrish had 14.

Gateway 76, Woodland Hills 36 – Will Kromka scored 23 points to lead Gateway (1-0, 1-0) to a Section 3-5A win over Woodland Hills (0-1, 0-1). Dylan Cain, Jaydan Carr and M.J. Stevenson had 10 points each.

Greensburg Central Catholic 74, Propel Braddock Hills 36 — Christian McGowan scored 14 points, and Dylan Parsons added 13 as Greensburg Central Catholic (1-0, 1-0) breezed to a Section 3-2A win. Brevan Williams added 10 points. Chaiem Despert-Johnson led Propel Braddock Hills with 12.

Jefferson-Morgan 52, Bentworth 24 – Tahere Jacobs scored 18 points to carry Jefferson-Morgan (1-0, 1-0) to a Section 4-2A victory. Landen Urcho scored 13 for Bentworth (0-1, 0-1).

Knoch 61, Keystone Oaks 47 — The Knights (1-1, 1-0) earned the first victory of first-year coach Alan Bauman’s career with a Section 1-4A triumph at Keystone Oaks (1-1, 0-1). Knoch led by two points after three quarters but outscored the Eagles, 20-8, down the stretch to pull away.

Mars 81, Shaler 58 – Anthony Vargo scored 20 points and Tasso Sfanos added 18 to lead Mars (2-0, 1-0) to a Section 4-5A win. Zach Schlegel added 15. Kaden Orga had 12 points and Dylan Schlagel 10 for Shaler (0-1, 0-1).

McKeesport 58, Mt. Pleasant 17 — Duston Strom scored 16 points as McKeesport (1-0) opened its season with a dominant nonsection victory. Brison Kisan and Travarese Rowe had 10 points apiece. Jonas King led Mt. Pleasant (0-1) with five points.

Montour 55, Quaker Valley 54 – Vason Stevenson scored 20 points and Tyriq Eleam added 19 as Montour (1-0, 1-0) knocked off No. 1 Quaker Valley in a Section 2-4A opener. Markus Frank scored 19 and Adou Theiro 18 for Quaker Valley (0-1, 0-1).

New Castle 88, West Allegheny 60 – Michael Wells scored 29 points and Isiah Boyce added 15 as No. 4 New Castle (2-0, 1-0) scored 36 points in the second quarter to pull away for a Section 2-5A win. Nodin Tracy scored 14 points and Nate Nolan 13 for West Allegheny (0-1, 0-1).

Neshannock 47, Ellwood City 39 – Russel Kwiat scored 15 points and Spencer Perry added 11 to lead Neshannock (3-0, 1-0) to a Section 1-3A win. Alexander Roth had 15 for Ellwood City (0-1, 0-1).

North Catholic 75, Burrell 56 — Andrew Ammerman scored a game-high 26 points to help North Catholic (1-1, 1-0) to a Section 1-4A win over Burrell (0-1, 0-1). Travis Bitar led the Bucs with 12 points. Max Rottman contributed 18 points for the Trojans, and Owen DeGregorio scored 12.

OLSH 70, Shenango 53 – Jake DiMichele scored 25 points to lead No. 1 OLSH (2-0, 1-0) to a Section 2-2A win. Bryson Kirschner scored 13 and Dawson Summers 10. Brody McQuiston led Shenango (1-2, 0-1) with 21 points. Zach Herb had 11 and Dalton Peters 10.

Penn-Trafford 57, Peters Township 54 — Led by 16 points from Ben Myers and 15 from Josh Kapcin, Penn-Trafford (2-0, 0-0) used a 19-4 run in the third quarter to pick up a nonsection win. Gavin Cote led Peters Township (0-1, 0-0) with 22 points. Julian Mascio had 10.

Rochester 55, Nazareth Prep 40 – J.D. Azulay and Sal Laure scored 14 points apiece to lead Rochester (1-0, 1-0) to a Section 1-A win. Jerome Mullins added 11 points. Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for Nazareth Prep (0-1, 0-1).

Seneca Valley 85, Pine-Richland 76 – Cole Brooks hit seven 3-pointers and scored 35 points to lift Seneca Valley (2-0, 1-0) to a Section 1-6A win. Connor Lyczek added 22. Joey Dudkowski led Pine-Richland (0-1, 0-1) with 27 points. Luke Shanahan had 16.

South Side 60, Riverview 54 (OT) – Aden Almashy scored 20 points and Dusty Mackall added 17 to lead South Side (1-0, 1-0) to a Section 1-2A win. Micah Black had 13 points and Aiden Sebastian 10 for Riverview (0-1, 0-1).

Trinity 69, Moon 27 – Kyle Fetcho hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 points to lead Trinity (1-0, 1-0) past Moon (0-2, 0-1) in Section 2-5A. Mike Dunn added 17 points, Connor Roberts 13 and Ben Hardy 12 for Trinity.

Upper St. Clair 85, Lincoln Park 53 – Luke Gensler scored 26 points and David Pantellis added 18 to lead Upper St. Clair (1-0, 0-0) past Lincoln Park (0-1) in a marquee nonsection matchup. Ali Brown-Bailey and Brandin Cummings scored 11 apiece for Lincoln Park. Both teams were ranked in the Trib HSSN preseason poll, USC No. 1 in Class 6A and Lincoln Park No. 2 in Class 4A.

West Greene 62, Propel Montour 57 – Chase Blake scored 14 points and West Greene (1-0, 1-0) pulled away in the second quarter to secure a Section 2-A win. Caleb Rice had 12 points and Ian VanDyne 11. Darrell White III led Propel Montour (01, 0-1) with 13 points. Cortae Sidberry had 10.

West Mifflin 62, Southmoreland 49 — Nolan Stephenson scored 19 points to lead West Mifflin (2-0, 0-0) to a nonsection win. Ty Keffer had 19 points, and Isaac Trout added 12 for Southmoreland (0-1, 0-0).

Girls basketball

Albert Gallatin 79, Laurel Highlands 34 – Bryn Bezjak poured in 33 points, hitting four 3-pointers, to lead Albert Gallatin (1-0, 1-0) in Section 3-5A. Gianna Michaux added 16 points. Areanna Griffth scored 14 points and Essence Davis 11 for Laurel Highlands (0-1, 0-1).

Latrobe 51, Franklin Regional 38 — Ava Vitula and Anna Rafferty scored 13 points apiece as Latrobe (1-0, 1-0) used a 15-4 third-quarter run to pull away for a Section 4-5A win. Sophia Yaniga had 11 points and Sophia Reitz 10 for Franklin Regional (0-1, 0-1).

Laurel 61, North Hills 28 – Reese Bintrim scored 18 points and Regan Atkins added 17 as Laurel (1-0, 0-0) moved up in class for a nonsection win. Lexie Kotwica led North Hills (0-2, 0-0) with eight points.

Highlands 60, Springdale 15 — Maria Fabregas led three Highlands players in double figures with 18 points in a nonsection win over Springdale (0-1). Kalleigh Nerone and Jocelyn Bielak added 12 points apiece for the Golden Rams (1-0).

McGuffey 49, Bentworth 12 – Keira Nicolella scored 17 points and Abby Donnelly added 16 to lead McGuffey (1-1, 1-0) to a Section 2-3A win. Amber Sallee had 10 points for Bentworth (0-1, 0-1).

McKeesport 53, Belle Vernon 34 — Haley Hertzler scored 15 points, and Malina Boord added 14 as McKeesport (1-0) opened with a nonsection win. Viva Kreis led Belle Vernon with 11 points.

Mt. Pleasant 45, Frazier 41 – Hannah Gesinski scored 14 points and Tiffany Zelmore added 10 to lead Mt. Pleasant (1-0, 0-0) for a nonsection win. Kaelyn Shaporka had 24 points for Frazier (0-2, 0-0).

North Allegheny 75, Butler 47 – Paige Morningstar scored 19 points and Lizzy Groetsch and Jasmine Timmerson added 17 each as No. 1 North Allegheny (1-0, 1-0) won its Section 1-6A opener. Makenna Maier scored 20 and Sarayne Forbes 10 for Butler (0-1, 0-1).

Penn-Trafford 53, Pine-Richland 42 — Allie Pradie scored 13 points and Olivia Pepple had 11 as Penn-Trafford rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit for a Section 1-6A win. The Warriors (2-0, 1-0) outscored the Rams (0-1, 0-1) by a 18-7 margin in the third quarter.

Riverview 43, Propel Andrew Street 21 — Eleni Wyrick scored a game-high 14 points to help Riverview earn a win in its Section 3-A opener. The Raiders (1-0, 1-0) held Propel Andrew Street (0-1, 0-1) to single-digit point totals in each quarter. Thoma Bristo had 13 points for Propel Andrew Street.

Shenango 58, Wilmington 12 – Janie Natale scored 19 points and Emilee Fedrizzi 12 to lead Shenango (1-1, 0-0) to a nonsection win. Kelly Cleaver added 11.

Southmoreland 67, Charleroi 34 — Gracie Spadaro scored 19 points, and Maddie Moore had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead Southmoreland (1-0) past Charleroi (0-1) in a nonsection game. Delaynie Morvosh added 12 points for the Scotties, and Olivia Cernuto scored 11. Maddie DeUnger led Charleroi with 17 points.

Upper St. Clair 60, Canon-McMillan 28 – Molly James led three players in double figures for Upper St. Clair (1-0, 1-0) in a Section 2-6A win over Canon-McMillan (0-1, 0-1). Sam Pruznik had 13 points and Paige Dellicarri 10.

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