Westmoreland high school notebook: Latrobe basketball stars compete in 3-on-3 tournament

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 30, 2018 | 5:10 PM

For the second year in a row, Latrobe juniors Reed Fenton and Bryce Butler teamed to play in the USA Basketball 3 vs. 3 U18 National Championships last weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Fenton and Butler played for team Western PA Elite and went 6-1, including a 5-0 mark in pool play.

Familiarity made the trip less stressful and more business-like for Fenton and Butler.

“It was a great experience both times, and it definitely did help our success knowing all the rules and some tricks from last year that we learned,” Butler said.

The tournaments were played at the United States Olympic Training Center. Teams consist of four players each — think of them as mini AAU teams — and games were three-on-three.

Other WPIAL players also played in the event. Team Cubs Hoops had Geoff Helm of Greensburg Central Catholic, Belle Vernon's Cam Nusser, Freeport's Isiah Bauman and Stephen Watson of The Kiski School. Hampton's Isaac DeGregorio and Ryan Meis of Bethel Park played for Team Alpha.

Pine-Richland's Dan Petcash and Ethan Porterfield of Sharon were going to play with Butler and Fenton but had to withdraw when their PIAA playoff games were moved because of last week's snowstorm.

Michael Palmer of Mt. Lebanon and Thomas Melonja of Lincoln Park replaced Petcash and Porterfield.

On the girls side, Team Bruins featured Maggie Moore of Southmoreland, Bethel Park's Maria Cerro, Jenna Clark of Thomas Jefferson and Gillian Piccolino of Keystone Oaks.

Ambridge's Aniya Walker is on team Northeast Ohio Elite.

The half-court games were played to 21, or the highest-scoring team won after 10 minutes of play. Teams got a point for each basket inside the 3-point line, but shots behind the arc were worth two.

The Wright stuff

A former WPIAL basketball star recruited a current one.

Tanisha Wright, who played at West Mifflin and Penn State before a 12-year professional career, is an assistant coach with Charlotte. Wright helped to get a recent verbal commitment from Southmoreland junior Cali Konek, who began drawing Division I attention as a freshman scoring phenom at Imani Christian.

Konek gave the 49ers the nod last week. She averaged 17.9 points this season for the Scotties after transferring from Riverdale Baptist in Maryland. She routinely scored 50 or more points in games at Imani.

Wright once scored 51 points in a WPIAL title game. She finished her prep career with 2,477 points.

Stealing the show

Penn-Trafford senior Mackenzie Aunkst is known for her speed and athleticism on the soccer pitch, but she left her initials on the basketball program. Aunkst, despite a knee injury that cost her a large portion of her senior basketball season, finished second all-time in steals at Penn-Trafford with 196. She was fourth in assists (225).

Coach John Giannikas said Aunkst averaged less than one turnover per game over four seasons.

Aunkst will play soccer at West Virginia.

Rizzo bags two more offers

Norwin junior football player Gianni Rizzo received Division I offers Wednesday from Robert Morris and Yale.

A wide receiver and linebacker, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Rizzo also has offers from Fordham and Bucknell.

Holler offered

Latrobe football lineman Trent Holler received an offer from Albany, his first Division I scholarship offer. Albany is an FCS program that competes in the Colonial Athletic Association. Holler (6-foot-2, 280 pounds), a junior, plays center and defensive end for the Wildcats.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Latrobe, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland