Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Seton Hill to host weekend showcase

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, January 25, 2024 | 5:43 PM

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Some good basketball could be in store on “The Hill” this weekend.

The Shootout at Seton Hill, expanded to two days because of its popularity, will be Saturday and Sunday at Seton Hill’s McKenna Center.

There will be 11 showcase games over the weekend, eight boys and three girls.

The boys schedule for Saturday includes Derry vs. Mt. Pleasant at 1:30 p.m., Jeannette vs. Beaver Falls at 3, Monessen vs. Yough at 4:30 and Greensburg Central Catholic vs. Gateway at 7:30.

GCC is ranked No. 2 in 2A, and Gateway is No. 2 in 5A.

Girls games Saturday are Trinity vs. Hempfield at noon and Greensburg Central Catholic vs. McKeesport at 6.

GCC is No. 1 in 2A, while McKeesport is No. 3 in 5A.

On Sunday, boys matchups include Franklin Regional vs. Obama Academy at 3 p.m., Burrell vs. Youngstown East at 4:30, McKeesport vs. Armstrong at 6 and Run The Show Academy (Cranberry) vs. The Kiski School at 7:30.

The lone girls game Sunday is the opener: Franklin Regional vs. Belle Vernon at 1:30.

The Jeannette, Franklin Regional and Burrell boys had their original matchups changed.

Derry-Mt. Pleasant and Monessen-Yough are games that originally were on the regular-season schedule but were rolled into the Shootout slate.

Organizer Allen Deep said he keeps coming back to Seton Hill because of the event’s popularity and the amenities.

“Every year we have more interest,” Deep said. “Teams are always telling me they enjoyed it and want to come back. And Seton Hill, it’s just is a gorgeous venue.”

Wait for us

Greensburg Central Catholic fans may have been surprised to see freshman David Wachinski open the second half against Serra Catholic on Tuesday night with a 3-pointer.

While he appears to have a bright future in the program, Washinski usually doesn’t see varsity time.

As it turns out, GCC was short a couple of starters, and its head coach, when the third quarter started.

“They started without us,” coach Christian Hyland said. “I didn’t realize they were starting. (Scorekeeper Dave Woodward) came downstairs and said there were four minutes left (until the end of halftime).

“I’m coming up and I hear they started without us.”

Senior Franco Alvarez and junior Liam Gallagher also hadn’t come up the steps to rejoin the team after halftime, so assistant Ed Zimmerlink acted quickly and put five on the floor.

“That was weird,” Hyland said. “I was hoping it wasn’t a technical or something. That time went by really fast.”

Second-ranked GCC held back Serra, 61-59, to take the Section 3-2A win, its 15th straight victory at home.

Keffer drops 43

Southmoreland senior Ty Keffer has scored in the 40s before. He had 45 points against Derry last season.

He flirted with that career high Tuesday when he pumped in a season-high 43 in a 72-56 win over Valley.

Keffer made 10 of 18 3-pointers and finished 7 for 7 at the free-throw line.

Keffer’s big night moved him past 1,500 career points.

Three’s company

Kiski Area sneaked past Knoch in an Alle-Kiski Valley thriller Tuesday, 77-76, in overtime.

If you like 3-pointers, this was the game to watch.

The teams combined for 16 3s, including 11 by Knoch.

Colin Keller made five 3s for Kiski Area, while Jackson Bauman and Tegan Finucan each hit four for the Knights.

Layups

Norwin’s Noah Wilson had a career-high 18 points in a 55-38 win over Laurel Highlands. He also had a career quarter: He scored 14 in the fourth. … Southmoreland is the highest-scoring boys team in ths county (66.6 points a game), but not by much. Greensburg Central Catholic is second at 66.5. … Section play must be completed by Feb. 10. The top four teams, and ties, in each section qualify for the playoffs.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Kiski Area, Mt. Pleasant