Stanley Rajkovich’s 2 dunks highlight Derry’s victory over Connellsville

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 | 10:41 PM

In the viral universe, kids like to say 6-7.

The true meaning of the phrase is mysterious and vague.

Stanley Rajkovich is 6-7. His meaning to Derry is paramount.

Rajkovich put together his own personal scoring run in the second quarter Tuesday night, and it propelled Class 4A Derry past a 6A opponent.

The junior swing forward scored seven straight points, including two emphatic dunks — one of the posterizing variety — as Derry pulled ahead and downed visiting Connellsville, 64-52, in nonsection play.

“I like to play with a lot of energy, that’s my game,” said Rajkovich, who is averaging 25 points and 11 rebounds. “We took a lot of momentum into halftime.”

Rajkovich finished with a game-high 22 points, including 17 in the first half. He also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Trojans (3-2), who are ranked No. 3 in 4A by TribLive HSSN.

The big run and momentum shift gave the Trojans enough equity to hold back the Falcons (2-2), who made a serious move at them several times in the second half.

“Stanley did what we’d expect him to do in the second quarter,” Derry coach Tom Esposito said. “He didn’t settle. He was in attack mode. He had a lot of good looks from the perimeter.”

The second dunk had the crowd going crazy. Rajkovich came off the low block and caught a pass on the wing. He took a dribble and went up and stuffed the ball through as a defender tried to get a hand up.

“I saw him get the first foot up and I went as his soft foot,” Rajkovich said. “I didn’t think he’d try to jump.”

Here's a look at Stanley Rajkovich's jam session tonight against Connellsville.

Two highlight slams by the 6-7 Derry junior. Wave of momentum for the Trojans in second quarter.

Video: @DerryArea @DASDTrojans1 @TribLiveHSSN @Stanleyrajk9 #WPIALhoops pic.twitter.com/gey45T9zjX

— Bill Beckner (@BillBeckner) December 10, 2025

Connellsville, which was coming off a 52-39 loss to Penn-Trafford at the Hempfield Tip-off Tournament, never led against the Trojans, who came in averaging 63.2 points per game.

The Falcons did open the second half with a 10-0 run to shave a 16-point deficit to five.

“They have a lot of similar players,” Esposito said. “They have shooters. Before you know it, they cut it to seven or nine.”

The Falcons also used a 9-2 run in the fourth to cut the lead to 57-48 with just under five minutes to play.

“We work on little things in practice and we (applied) them tonight,” Rajkovich said of playing with the lead. “That carried us.”

Senior Brayden Robinson added 16 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore guard Logan Irvin added 12 points, including three 3-pointers for Derry.

Senior guard Izak Lenhart, a regular starter for the Trojans, missed the game with an illness. Junior Liam McMahen filled in and impressed Esposito with his defense.

Robinson had eight in the third quarter, including back-to-back 3s, which followed one from Irvin, to push the lead back to 14, at 50-36.

Junior Lucas Harwood hit a 3 for Connellsville, but Robinson’s 3 and a buzzer-beating floater from sophomore Hudson Fridley gave Derry a 55-39 lead after three.

“(Connellsville) did a lot of things to exploit us,” Esposito said. “We overhelped a little on defense. That was the first zone we saw all year. Once we got comfortable with the zone, we got in the right spots.”

Rajkovich had 11 of Derry’s 22 points in the second quarter to help stake the Trojans to a 40-25 lead at halftime.

An 8-0 run pushed the lead to double figures, with Rajkovich scoring in the post on back-to-back possessions to make it 27-17.

Hudson Fridley hit a 3 from the corner to put the Trojans ahead by 32-21 before Rajkovich’s run made it a 16-point game (39-23) with 1:01 left in the second quarter.

Senior Christian Thomas led Connellsville with 14 points, junior Tyler Burkus added 12 and Harwood had 11, including three 3s.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Connellsville, Derry Area