High school roundup for March 7, 2020: Cornell cruises past Saltsburg

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Saturday, March 7, 2020 | 12:08 AM


The Cornell boys basketball team bounced back in a big way on Friday night.

A week after falling short in the WPIAL championship game, the Raiders routed Saltsburg, 74-29, in the first round of the PIAA Class A tournament at Kiski Area.

The Raiders (19-7) held the Trojans (13-12) to a lone second quarter point.

Zaire Harrison led Cornell with 23 points, followed by Kaden DiVito, who had 22. John Calandrella led Saltsburg with six points.

Cornell will play Elk County Catholic (27-1) in the second round Tuesday at a time and site to be determined.

Milton Hershey 78, Chartiers Valley 74 — Despite 26 points from Jared Goldstrom and 25 from Brayden Reynolds, Chartiers Valley (19-6) lost a PIAA Class 5A first-round game to Milton Hershey (21-4) at Central Dauphin East.

The Colts led 24-16 after the first quarter and 41-38 at halftime. Behind 35 points from Josh Parra, Milton Hershey closed the game on a 29-20 run.

Muhlenberg 72, South Fayette 66 — Kade St. Ledger scored a game-high 21 points, but South Fayette (16-9) lost in the PIAA Class 5A first round at Milton Hershey.

Jake Stoudt had 15 points for Muhlenberg (22-6).

New Oxford 80, Thomas Jefferson 48 — New Oxford (22-5) opened a 22-9 lead and rolled to a PIAA Class 5A first-round win over Thomas Jefferson (16-9) at Dallastown.

Huntingdon 70, Blackhawk 57 — Ryan Heckathorn scored 18 points and Ryan McClymonds added 17, but Blackhawk (13-12) fell short in the PIAA Class 4A first round at Altoona.

Lancaster Catholic 59, Ringgold 56 — Ross Conway scored 21 points to help Lancaster Catholic (24-3) top Ringgold (14-11) in the PIAA Class 4A first round at Warwick.

Christ Peccon had 20 points for the Rams.

Berlin Brothersvalley 73, Geibel 35 — Ryan Andreson and Drew Howard each scored 11 points for Geibel (15-10), which lost a PIAA Class A first-round game at Pitt-Johnstown.

Bishop Canevin 87, Commodore Perry 35 — KeVaughn Price had 28 points, and Nevan Crossey and Dom Elliott each scored 11 to guide Bishop Canevin (19-6) to a PIAA Class A first-round win at Slippery Rock.

Bishop Canevin will play Cameron County (21-5) in the second round Tuesday.

Elk County Catholic 56, Imani Christian 36 — Elk County Catholic (27-1) opened a 26-15 lead at halftime and used a 30-11 run to take control and top Imani Christian (15-10) in a PIAA Class A first-round game at Clarion.

Shade 63, Nazareth Prep 56 — Shade (25-3) closed the game on a 21-8 run to secure a PIAA Class A first-round win over Nazareth Prep (17-9) at Pitt-Johnstown.

Nazareth Prep led 39-33 at halftime.

Vincentian Academy 93, Allegheny-Clarion Valley 63 — WPIAL champion Vincentian Academy (22-4) rolled to a PIAA Class A first-round win over Allegheny-Clarion Valley (16-10) at Valley.

Girls basketball

Altoona 60, Mt. Lebanon 56 — Adalyn Cherry scored 10 of her 17 points in overtime to give Altoona (14-10) a PIAA Class 6A first-round win over Mt. Lebanon (18-7) at Mt. Aloysius.

Mt. Lebanon’s Ashleigh Connor scored 23 points, including three free throws with 1.6 left in regulation to send the game to overtime.

Baldwin 43, Central Dauphin 35 — Baldwin (13-10) used a 26-16 advantage in the second half to upset Central Dauphin (26-2) in the PIAA Class 6A first round at Milton Hershey.

Baldwin will play Plymouth Whitemarsh in the second round.

North Allegheny 57, Manheim Township 33 — Lizzy Groetsch poured in 24 points to help WPIAL champion North Allegheny (23-3) to a PIAA Class 6A first-round win at Sewickley Academy. Jasmine Timmerson added 10 points for the Tigers, who opened a 10-2 lead and pulled ahead 29-10 at halftime.

The Tigers will play State College in the second round Tuesday.

State College 46, Upper St. Clair 36 — Upper St. Clair finished its season 14-9 after a PIAA Class 6A first-round loss to State College at Bald Eagle Area.

Beaver 46, Northwestern 22 — At Sewickley Academy, Emma Pavelek scored 21 points to guide Beaver (22-4) to a PIAA Class 3A first-round win. Beaver led 22-14 at halftime and used a 24-8 run to pull away.

Beaver will play Penn Cambria (16-10) in the second round Tuesday.

Cambria Heights 64, East Allegheny 40 — Cambria Heights (24-3) jumped out to a 21-13 lead and held off East Allegheny (13-12) the rest of the way to earn a PIAA Class 3A first-round win at Central Cambria.

Carlynton 45, Greenville 40 — Carlynton (16-9) used a 24-18 run in the second half to secure a PIAA Class 3A first-round win at Farrell.

The Cougars will play Mohawk in the second round Tuesday.

Mercyhurst Prep 57, Seton LaSalle 39 — Miranda Bly had 22 points, and Emily Thompson added 20 as Mercyhurst Prep (22-4) topped Seton LaSalle (15-9) in the PIAA Class 3A first round at Hagerty Events Center in Erie.

Mohawk 66, United 42 — Page Julian had 24 points, Nadia Lape scored 19, and Karly McCutcheon scored 18 as Mohawk (23-3) won a PIAA Class 3A first-round game at New Castle.

Tyrone 45, Avonworth 37 — Tryone (21-4) used a 13-8 run in the second quarter to take control and secure a PIAA Class 3A win over Avonworth (18-8) at Altoona High School.

Harris Robinson had 13 points and Kat Goetz scored 12 for the Lopes.

Bellwood-Antis 55, Laurel 51 — Ally Campbell scored 31 points to lift Bellwood-Antis (25-2) past WPIAL runner-up Laurel (17-9) in the PIAA Class 2A first round at New Castle.

Faith Gibson had 16 points, and Regan Atkins scored 13 for Laurel.

Bishop McCort 55, Bishop Canevin 44 — Eight days after winning a fourth WPIAL girls basketball championship in the last five years, Bishop Canevin was sick about its PIAA first-round game against a District 6 traditional power.

Sickness swept through the team this past week, limiting one practice to only six players.

Bishop McCort (15-11) jumped out early and pulled away late to eliminate WPIAL 2A champion Bishop Canevin at Peters Township.

The Crimson Crushers led 29-23 at the half and increased their advantage to 34-23 before the Crusaders scored their first points of the third quarter with less than three minutes left.

Bishop Canevin (19-7) cut the deficit to 42-40 early in the fourth quarter and had two possessions to tie the game, however seniors Diajha Allen and Alyssa Pollice missed close shots. Bishop McCort then finished the game on a 13-4 run.

Sophomore Alexis Martin led Bishop McCort with 20 points while freshman Bria Bair added 12 points.

Sophomore Lauren Kirsch led Bishop Canevin with 13 points while Allen and junior Savanah Abbott each had 11 points. Pollice, the Crusaders leading scorer averaging more than 18 points per game, was held to only two points.

Ellis School 39, Maplewood 36 — Ellis School (19-7) fell behind 12-1 but used a 25-16 run in the second half to earn a PIAA Class 2A first-round win at Hagerty Events Center in Erie.

Ellis will play Everett in the second round Tuesday.

West Middlesex 58, South Side 25 — Makennah White scored 15 points to guide West Middlesex (19-6) past South Side (16-9) in the PIAA Class 2A first round at Farrell.

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