High school roundup for March 8, 2022: Penn Hills knocks off undefeated District 3 champ

By: Tribune-Review
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 | 12:33 AM

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Jaden Dugger scored 18 points and Penn Hills, the seventh-place team out of the WPIAL, rolled to a 62-39 victory over undefeated District 3 champion Lampeter Strasburg in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A boys basketball playoffs Tuesday night.

Noah Barren had 14 points and Robert Thomas added 12 for Penn Hills (19-5), which will face East Stroudsburg South in the second round Friday. Ben Wert led Lampeter-Strasburg (27-1) with 10 points.

Bishop Canevin 73, Johnsonburg 40 – Kai Spears scored 14 points as Bishop Canevin (21-4) rolled to a PIAA Class A first-round win. The Crusaders will face DuBois Central Catholic in Friday’s second round. Jefferson Freeburg led Johnsonburg with 14 points.

Central Mountain 51, Hampton 45 – Cayde McCloskey scored 20 points including six 3-pointers and Jack Hanna added 11 to lead Central Mountain (14-11) over Hampton (13-12) in a Class 5A first-round win. Central Mountain will face New Castle in the second round Friday. Eric Weeks scored 12 points and Liam Mignogna had 10 for Hampton.

Elk County Catholic 49, Rochester 47 – District 9 champion Elk County Catholic (23-5) edged out Rochester (9-13) in the Class A first round and will face Farrell in the second round Friday.

Fairview 61, Burrell 39 – James Sitter scored 16 points to lead District 10 champion Fairview (24-2) past Burrell in the Class 4A first round. Fairview will face Lincoln Park in the second round Friday. Coulter Christie had 11 for Burrell.

Farrell 67, Geibel 55 – Lamont Samuels scored 21 points to lead Farrell (16-8) to a Class A first-round win. Omar Stewart added 14 points, Kabron Smith 13 and Nasir O’Kane 10 for the Steelers, who will meet Elk County Catholic in the second round Friday. Jaydis Kennedy led Geibel (18-7) with 18 points. Trevon White had 13 and Trevell Clayton 12.

Gateway 58, DuBois 32 – Gateway (16-6) rolled past District 9 champion DuBois (17-7) in the Class 5A first round and will face Hershey in the second round Friday.

Hershey 71, Shaler 45 – District 3 third-place finisher Hershey (20-7) defeated Shaler (14-11) to earn a second-round Class 5A matchup with Gateway on Friday.

Imani Christian 79, Berlin-Brothersvalley 70 – Imani Christian (16-6) knocked off District 5 champ Berlin-Brothersvalley (17-9) in the Class A first round to advance to a second-round matchup with Willamsburg on Friday.

Laurel Highlands 55, Elizabethtown 33 – Joe Chambers led with 18 points, Keondre DeShields had 12, and Rodney Gallagher added 11 to lead Laurel Highlands (26-0) past Elizabethtown (16-11) in the first round of Class 5A playoffs. Laurel Highlands will face Highlands in the second round Friday. Matthew Gilhool led Elizabethtown with 18 points.

Lincoln Park 86, Central Martinsburg 67 – Brandin Cummings led with 26 points, L.A. Pratt followed with 25, and Meleek Thomas added 23 to lead Lincoln Park (18-7) over Central Martinsburg (19-7) in a Class 4A playoff win. Lincoln Park will face Fairview in the second round Friday. Eli Libenfelter led Central Martinsburg with 21 points.

Montour 63, Oil City 42 – Diaun Pinkett scored 19 points and Vason Stevenson added 16 to help Montour (21-5) to a Class 5A first-round win over Oil City (16-10). Tyriq Eleam and Jake Wolfe each scored 10 for Montour, which will meet Penn Cambria in the second round Friday.

New Castle 63, Northeastern 50 – Mike Wells scored a career-high 33 points as New Castle (24-2) bounced back from a WPIAL finals loss to win a Class 5A first-round game. Isaiah Boice and DaJuan Young added eight points each. New Castle will meet Central Mountain in Friday’s second round. Karron Malloy scored 18 and Chase Kloster had 15 for Northeastern (16-13).

Union 57, Southern Fulton 25 – WPIAL runner-up Union (23-3) defeated District 5 runner-up Southern Fulton (19-8) in the Class A first round and will take on District 6 champ Bishop Carroll in the second round Friday.

Girls basketball

Bellwood Antis 44, OLSH 35 – Chelsea McCaulsky scored 18 points, Lydia Worthing had 12 and Bellwood Antis (22-6) rallied from five points down at halftime to win a PIAA Class 2A first-round game. Bellwood Antis will meet West Middlesex in the second round Friday. Emily Schuck led OLSH (21-6) with 16 points.

Bethel Park 62, Mifflin County 52 – Emma Dziezgowski scored 19 points and Mary Boff had 16 to lead Bethel Park (13-10) to a Class 6A playoff win over Mifflin County (18-7). Bethel Park will face Mt. Lebanon in the second round Friday. Marissa Gingrich led Mifflin County with 26 points.

Central York 46, Upper St. Clair 43 – Bella Chimienti led Central York (22-6) with 14 points in a Class 6A playoff win over Upper St. Clair (20-6). Central York will meet Spring-Ford in the second round Friday. Rylee Kalocay scored 17 points and Mia Brown had 14 for Upper St. Clair.

Chestnut Ridge 53, Waynesburg 29 – Madison Hughes scored 20 points, Belle Bosch had 15, and Caylie Conlon added 12 to push Chestnut Ridge (14-11) past Waynesburg (17-6) in a Class 3A first-round win. Chestnut Ridge will meet River Valley in the second round Friday. Clara Paige Miller scored 10 points and Kaley Rohanna had eight for Waynesburg.

Cumberland Valley 63, North Allegheny 60 (2OT) – Jill Jekot scored 31 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in the second overtime, to lead Cumberland Valley (21-5) to a Class 6A first-round win. Dejah Hill added 12 points for Cumberland Valley, which will meet Easton in the second round Friday. Jasmine Timmerson scored 18 points and Taylor Rawls had 14 for North Allegheny (21-4).

Freedom 44, Westmont Hilltop 31 – Renae Mohrbacher scored 19 points and Shaye Bailey had 14 to lead Freedom (19-5) over Westmont Hilltop (15-10) in a Class 3A first-round playoff win. Freedom will face Greenville in the second round Friday. Olivia Berg led Westmont Hilltop with 11 points.

Greenville 41, Keystone Oaks 37 – Anna Harpst scored 17 points and Grace Cano added 13 to lead Greensville (20-5) to a Class 3A first-round win. Greenville will meet Freedom in the second round Friday. Eriona Neal scored 15 points and Janya Scott had 11 for Keystone Oaks (13-11).

Homer-Center 50, Burgettstown 18 – District 6 champion Homer-Center (24-4) defeated Burgettstown (18-5) in the Class 2A first round and will take on Serra Catholic in the second round Friday.

Lakeview 34, Avonworth 27 – Reese Gadsby scored 15 points to lead Lakeview (22-4) to a Class 3A first-round win. Lakeview will face North Catholic in the second round Friday. Rebecca Goetz led Avonworth (19-4) with 11 points.

Laurel 49, Redbank Valley 44 – Danielle Pontius scored 19 points and Johnna Hill had 12 to lead Laurel (14-11) over Redbank Valley (20-6) in a Class 3A first-round playoff win. Laurel will face Forest Hills in the second round Friday. Alivia Huffman scored 21 points and Claire Clouse had 11 for Redbank Valley.

Mt. Lebanon 50, Red Lion 19 – Ashleigh Connor led with 18 points and Payton Collins added 11 for Mt. Lebanon (24-1) in a Class 6A playoff win over Red Lion (19-7). Mt. Lebanon will face Bethel Park in the second round Friday.

Neshannock 46, Penns Manor 23 – Meghan Pallerino scored 21 points and Neshannock (25-2) used a 14-2 run in the third quarter to pull away for a Class 2A first-round win over Penns Manor (21-6). The Lancers will meet Cambridge Springs in the second round Friday.

North Catholic 52, Penn Cambria 36 – North Catholic rode a balanced scoring attack, led by Alayna Rocco’s 16 points, to a victory over Penn Cambria in an opening-round game of the Class 3A playoffs. It was North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann’s 500th victory at the school. WPIAL champion North Catholic (20-5) advances Friday to play District 10 runner-up Lakeview in the second round. Tori Drevna added 15 points and Dacia Lewandowski chipped in 14 for North Catholic. Emily Hite’s 10 points paced Penn Cambria (17-10), the fourth-place team in District 6.

Serra Catholic 52, Clarion-Limestone 37 – Cate Clarke scored 17 points and Brianna Battles added 16 to lead Serra Catholic (21-2) to a Class 2A first-round playoff win over Clarion-Limestone (12-11). Serra Catholic will face Homer Center in the second round Friday. Kendall Dunn and Alex Ledbetter scored 13 points each for Clarion-Limestone.

Seton LaSalle 54, Maplewood 51 – Mallory Daly hit for 37 points to lift Seton LaSalle (18-7) to a Class 2A first-round win. The Rebels will meet Shenango in the second round Friday. Izzy Eimer led Maplewood (21-5) with 18 points.

Shenango 49, Northern Bedford 45 – Shenango (15-9) beat District 5 champion Northern Bedford (17-9) in the Class 2A first round and will meet Seton LaSalle in Friday’s second round.

West Middlesex 68, Apollo-Ridge 44 – Carlie Beatty led with 20 points, Caitlin Stephens followed with 19, and Kennedy Beatty added 10 to lead West Middlesex (21-3) over Apollo-Ridge (16-7) in a Class 2A first-round playoff win. West Middlesex will face Bellwood Antis in the second round Friday. Sophia Yard scored 19 points and Brinley Toland had 15 for Apollo-Ridge.

Hockey

Franklin Regional 10, Butler 2 – Matty Knizner and Luke Lavrich scored two goals each to lead Franklin Regional past Butler in a Class 2A Penguin Cup playoff win. Chase Williams had a goal and four assists and Zach Abdallah added a goal and three assists. Franklin Regional will face South Fayette in the semifinals on Friday March 15. Kyle Grasha scored the two goals for Butler.

McDowell 3, North Catholic 2 (OT) – Kurt Johnson scored his second goal of the game with three seconds left in the first overtime to lead No. 7 McDowell to an upset of No. 2 North Catholic in the Class A quarterfinals. Braeden Martin scored, Nico Catalde had two assists and Cam Baniewicz made 30 saves for McDowell, which will meet Quaker Valley in the semifinals March 16. Tay Melis scored in the first period and Ryan Berry tied the score in the final minute of regulation for North Catholic.

Neshannock 6, Elizabeth Forward 2 – Patrick Cionni scored two goals and Tommy Malvar had a goal and three assists to lift No. 3 Neshannock to a quarterfinal win in the Varsity Division 2 playoffs. Neshannock will meet Ringgold in the semifinals March 17. Ben Ruskay scored twice for No. 6 Elizabeth Forward.

North Allegheny 8, Bethel Park 1 – Connor Chi scored four goals to lead North Allegheny over Bethel Park in a Class 3A Penguin Cup win. North Allegheny will face Seneca Valley in the semifinals Monday. Matt Lucido scored for Bethel Park.

Penn-Trafford 5, Meadville 2 – Xavier Soloman scored two goals, and Alex Sciullo, Bryce Kropczynski and Josh Goldberg scored one goal each to lead Penn-Trafford over Meadville in a Class 2A Penguin Cup win. Penn-Trafford will face Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals on March 15.

Peters Township 6, Baldwin 2 – Ben Kovac scored two goals and William Tomko and Austin Malley had one goal and two assists each for Peters Township in a Class 3A Penguin Cup win. Peters Township will face Pine-Richland in the semifinals Monday. Trevor Belak and Ryan Sulinski scored for Baldwin.

Ringgold 4, Avonworth 2 – Steve Macheska scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and Kenny Cadwallader had two goals and an assist to lead No. 2 Ringgold to a quarterfinal win in the Varsity Division 2 playoffs. Hunter Hodgson added a goal and an assist and Ethan Saylor had three assists for Ringgold, which will meet Neshannock in the semifinals March 17. Austin Gatti and Avery Leffler scored for No. 7 Avonworth.