Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Hempfield, Jeannette to host tipoff tournaments

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, December 5, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The Hempfield Spartan Field House will be the site of six boys basketball games Friday and Saturday for the 20th Hempfield tipoff tournament.

On Friday, the opening game will mark the return of longtime coach Paul Sapotichne to Greensburg Salem.

The Golden Lions will play Connellsville at 4:45 p.m.

Sapotichne coached Greensburg Salem for 29 years and won 399 games, his last season with the program coming in 2012.

The second game, at 6:15 on Friday, will feature a pair of WPIAL finalists from last year in Franklin Regional (5A) vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (2A).

The third game will see host Hempfield facing Penn-Trafford at 7:45.

Saturday’s schedule has Connellsville vs. Penn-Trafford at noon, Greensburg Central Catholic vs. Greensburg Salem at 1:30 and Franklin Regional vs. Hempfield at 3.

Jeannette also will host a four-team tournament Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, Norwin and Seneca Valley will play at 6 p.m., followed by Jeannette and West Mifflin at 7:30.

Saturday’s schedule includes West Mifflin vs. Norwin at 5 p.m. followed by Steel Valley vs. Jeannette at 6:30.

Jeannette coach Adrian Batts is a Steel Valley graduate.

Rankings

A few area teams made the TribLive HSSN preseason rankings.

Belle Vernon starts the year at No. 4 in Class 4A, Greensburg Central Catholic is No. 1 in 2A after finishing as the WPIAL runner-up and Jeannette is No. 2, intensifying the GCC-Jeannette section rivalry.

Monessen is No. 3 in Class A. The Greyhounds have made the WPIAL playoffs 42 straight times.

Wildcats on the run

Latrobe is looking like its old self, finishing breaks and piling up points on its new floor. The Wildcats (3-0) are averaging 69.7 points, and all of their wins have come at home.

Katarski at Hempfield

Former Seton Hill women’s coach Mark Katarski is assisting Bill Swan at Hempfield this season.

Katarski, the associate athletic director for internal relations at Seton Hill, joined on at Hempfield when Tom Wilkins left to coach the seventh grade boys at Latrobe, where he teaches.

Game winner

Belle Vernon needed a basket late against Gateway on Tuesday night, so it went to “Tommy Gun.”

Tommy Davis, the Leopards’ 6-foot-6 forward, scored on a layup with 1.5 seconds left to lift Belle Vernon to a tough 55-54 victory on the road, its first of the season. Trevor Kovatch fed Davis a pass down the middle of the lane, and the big man finished.

Davis, who can be a force around the rim, also pulled down 13 rebounds.

Zion Moore had a game-high 33 points for Belle Vernon, outdueling the Gators’ Mykel Bruce-McKrommon, who scored 30.

Here's a look at Tommy Davis' game-winner last night in Belle Vernon's 55-54 win at Gateway. Feed from Trevor Kovatch and a layup down the lane.@tommydavis31 @BvasdAthletics @BasketballBVA @TribLiveHSSN https://t.co/0jFDksFuKA

— Bill Beckner (@BillBeckner) December 4, 2024

Cross-over

Franklin Regional’s Connor Crossey found his scoring touch just when the Panthers needed him in a 43-37 win over Seneca Valley to open their annual Mike Rettger Tournament. Crossey scored 15 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. The next night, he helped lead the Panthers to an intense comeback. Crossey hit a layup with 10 seconds left in overtime as the Panthers edged Quaker Valley, 49-48.

The Panthers trailed 40-24 with five minutes left in regulation.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Jeannette, Latrobe