Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Ligonier Valley makes habit of playing close games

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, January 15, 2026 | 4:54 PM

Ligonier Valley did it again. Once more, the Rams not only showed a propensity for playing in tight games, but also how to win one.

Noah Knupp made a 30-foot jumper to lift the Rams to a 51-49 win Friday over Waynesburg in Section 4-3A.

Two games prior, Michael Wisniewski’s pull-up jumper in overtime sank Greensburg Central Catholic, 43-41, in the Greensburg Salem holiday tournament.

The Rams (8-6, 3-2 Section 4-3A) have played in three OT games and have three losses of four points or fewer.

They are in second place in their section behind Southmoreland.

“Play in enough one- possession games, and you’ll learn how to win them,” Ligonier Valley coach Dante Porter said. “There are not many close situations can rattle us at this point. We’ve seen it all.”

The Rams have also seen some highlights. They had three slam dunks in an 80-41 rout of Penns Manor. Greyson Daugherty, a 6-foot-7 forward, had two, and Michael Vargulish-Graver added one.

400 for Rocco

Former Penn-Trafford coach Jim Rocco, now coaching at North Catholic, posted his 400th career win Tuesday night in an 80-67 victory at Deer Lakes.

Rocco had 54 of those wins at Penn-Trafford, where he coached for five years (2016-20) before taking over at North Catholic.

He had 257 wins in 19 seasons at Penn Hills and has 89 victories at North Catholic.

Cougars rally

Yough lost its first nine games but has won two of its last four, the latest victory coming in dramatic fashion.

New coach Devin Owen’s second win saw the Cougars rally from down 40-28 at halftime. They erupted for 27 in the fourth quarter to squeeze past East Allegheny, 53-51.

Four Yough players scored in double figures: Wyatt Kalna with 14 and Jackson Pore, Hayden Smith and Tyler Smith with 10 apiece.

Always coaching

Jeannette was leading by 40 points late in a mercy-rule win over rival Greensburg Central Catholic when once of coach Adrian Batts’ assistants asked him, “Why are you still coaching?”

Batts didn’t break character.

“We’re up by almost 50,” Batts said. “I wanted our (backup) guys to be coached in a game like that. To be honest, I don’t pay attention to the score.”

The Jayhawks are 12-1 and ranked No. 2 in WPIAL 2A, No. 3 in the state.

McGowan nears milestone

Jeannette junior guard Markus McGowan is in line to be the next Jayhawk to score 1,000 career points.

McGowan needs 37 points heading into Friday night’s game against visiting California.

Earlier this season, his teammate, Kymon’e Brown, reached the milestone.

Jeannette has not had two 1,000-point scorers on the same team since Jordan Thomas and Donnie Binda in 2005.

Before that, David Bone and Alvin Maloy reached 1,000 in 1995.

Rajkovich close

Derry’s Stanley Rajkovich is only a junior, but the 6-7 forward is also nearing the 1,000-point mark.

Rajkovich, a Division I prospect, needs 39 points to reach the milestone.

Warriors head east

Penn-Trafford likes to take road trips. The team has been to Virginia, West Virginia and York in recent seasons, and they made what has become an annual trek to eastern Pennsylvania.

They played at Warwick Friday night, falling 56-49. The team practiced at York College and attended a York game Saturday.

Friday hoops

The second round of section play begins Friday for some local teams.

The schedule includes Hempfield at Mt. Lebanon and Norwin at Connellsville in Section 2-6A; Franklin Regional at Penn-Trafford, and Latrobe at Gateway in Section 1-5A; Belle Vernon at West Mifflin, East Allegheny at Derry and Greensburg Salem at Yough in Section 3-4A; and California at Jeannette, and Frazier at Greensburg Central Catholic in Section 1-2A.

Nonsection matchups to watch include Apollo-Ridge at Mt. Pleasant, Ligonier Valley at Shady Side Academy and Southmoreland at Elizabeth Forward.

Layup lines

Derry handed Elizabeth Forward its first Section 3-4A loss Tuesday with a 72-66 victory. The Trojans led by as many as 16. … Danny Husenits had a double-double in a 71-57 win at Norwin, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He also had six assists. … Jeannette (12) and Hempfield (10) have reached double-digit wins.

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

Tags: Hempfield, Jeannette, Ligonier Valley, Norwin, Penn-Trafford