Commodores, Bulldogs to play for final section berth
Frazier and Beth-Center play in the Section 4-AA final Friday night, and it will be winner-take-all for the final playoff berth after the Commodores lost and Bulldogs won Tuesday night.
Frazier lost at Burgettstown, 72-44, while Beth-Center won on the road against Bentworth, 66-57.
The Commodores slip to 5-6 in the section and 10-11 overall. Beth-Center improves 4-7 in the section and 6-14, and holds the tiebreaker with a win over Frazier.
Burgettstown (9-2, 16-5) held quarter leads of 22-13, 44-23 and 62-31 against Frazier.
Dalian McManus and Trey Whitehead both scored 10 points for Frazier. Brock Alekson grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Blue Devils’ Zach Schrockman finished with a game-high 38 points. Carson Tkalcevic scored 12.
Beth-Center led Bentworth 10-5 after the first quarter and 35-26 at halftime. The Bearcats (2-10, 3-16) cut the deficit to 49-44 after three quarters.
Jason Zellie led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Parker Amos scored 16 and Jonah Sussan added 13.
Bentworth’s Ben Hays scored a game-high 33 points. Teammate Chris Harper added 11.
Fort Cherry 72, Carmichaels 35 – The Rangers scored 31 points in the third quarter and held the Mikes scoreless in the fourth quarter for a Section 4-AA home win.
Aydan Adamson led Carmichaels (1-10, 4-15) with 20 points. Robbie Wilson-Jones added 10 points.
Derek Errett paced Fort Cherry (10-1, 15-5) with a game-high 24 points. Blake Sweder finished with 19 points.
Ringgold 55, Connellsville 47 – The Rams avenged an earlier Section 1-AAAAA loss to the Falcons with a road victory at Connellsville.
Ringgold (1-8, 4-16) led 8-5, 24-21 and 34-33 at the quarter breaks. The Rams secured the win with a 21-14 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Ringgold’s Szyari Dungee scored a game-high 21 points. Maddox Suss added 11.
Bruce Giles led Connellsville (1-8, 2-18) with 15 points.
Belle Vernon 72, Albert Gallatin 61 – The Leopards held off the Colonials’ fourth-quarter rally for a Section 3-AAAA home win.
Belle Vernon (7-2, 12-6) led 60-39 heading into the fourth quarter. Albert Gallatin outscored the home team in the final eight minutes, 22-12.
Belle Vernon’s Zion Moore scored a game-high 27 points, including five 3-pointers. He also had five assists.
The Leopards’ Alonzo Wade had a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, and five assists. Curtis Wade added 12 points.
JJ Jackson led Albert Gallatin (3-6, 8-10) with 17 points, including four 3-pointers. Mykel Belt scored 12 and Blake White added 10.
Southmoreland 55, Laurel Highlands 52 – The Scotties rallied in the fourth quarter for a Section 3-AAAA home victory.
Laurel Highlands (0-9, 2-19) led 40-38 heading into the fourth quarter. Southmoreland outscored the Mustangs in the fourth quarter, 17-12, for the win.
Noah Felentzer led the Scotties (4-5, 15-6) with 19 points. Ty Keffer scored 15 points and Elliot Premus added 11.
The Mustangs’ Ethan Koffler finished with a game-high 20 points. Sevi Vecchiolla scored 11 and Shane Layton added 10.
Yough 40, McGuffey 38 – The Cougars kept their hopes for a share of the Section 4-AAA title by edging the visiting Highlanders.
Yough improves to 9-1 in the section and 16-4 overall. McGuffey slips to 4-7 in the section and 13-8 overall.
Terek Crosby led the way for Yough with a game-high 14 points. Austin Matthews added 10 points.
McGuffey’s Trey McGowan and Ayden Cunningham both scored 12 points.Grayson Wallaced added 11 points.
Charleroi 62, Brownsville 46 – The Cougars scored 41 points in the second half, including 26 in the third quarter, for a Section 4-AAA home victory.
Charleroi (3-8, 8-13) led 21-18 at halftime.
Jackson Keranko paced the Cougars with 19 points. Bryce Large finished with 14 points.
Trent Wible led the Falcons (3-9, 8-14) with a game-high 21 points. Kaden Wimmer added 12 points.
Mount Pleasant 63, Waynesburg Central 54 – The Vikings scored 32 points in the fourth quarter to secure a Section 4-AAA road win.
Waynesburg (2-9, 7-14) led 10-5 after the first quarter and 23-20 at halftime. The lead grew to 36-31 after three quarters.
Connor Pavlochak finished with a game-high 10 points for Mount Pleasant (7-3, 8-11). Chase McCloy added 18 points.
Cole Headlee (15), Alex Eck (14), and Alex Vansickle (10) all scored in double figures for the Raiders. Dane Woods pulled down 10 rebounds.
Monessen 59, Mapletown 48 – The Greyhounds were tough at home for a Section 2-A victory over the visiting Maples.
Monessen (8-1, 16-3) clinched at least a share of the section title. Mapletown slips to 1-8 in the section and 2-16 overall.
Lorenzo Gardner paced Monessen with a game-high 21 points. Tyvaughn Kershaw finished with 14 points.
Mapletown’s AJ Vanata scored 15 points. Jeremiah Mick finished with 12 points and Josh Mick added 10.
West Greene 38, Jefferson-Morgan 30 – The Pioneers kept their hopes for a share of the Section 2-A title with a win over the visiting Rockets.
West Greene improves to 7-2 in the section and 12-9 overall. Jefferson-Morgan goes to 4-5 in the section and 12-9 overall.
Lane Allison scored 14 points for the Pioneers.
California 72, Geibel Catholic 46 – The Trojans returned home with a Section 2-A victory over the Gators.
California (6-3, 7-14) clinched third place with the win. The Gators slip to 1-8 in the section and 1-20 overall.
The Trojans led 45-23 at halftime.
California’s Vinny Manzella made five 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 23 points. Noah Neil scored 16, and Jaquese Derns and Jacob Ziolecki both finished with 10 points.
Tommy Kolencik and Gary Tarbuk shared team-scoring honors for the Gators with 18 points apiece.
Girls basketball
McKeesport 72, Connellsville 22 – The Lady Tigers rolled to a Section 3-AAAAA victory over the visiting Lady Falcons.
Rachael Manfredo (20), Maddie Hertzler (12), and Savannah Blosser (10) all scored in double figures for McKeesport (10-1, 18-2).
Maggie Orndorff scored six points for Connellsville (0-11, 4-15).
West Greene 45, Jefferson-Morgan 32 – The Lady Pioneers pulled away in the third quarter with 23 points for a Section 2-A home win.
Kendra Tharp led West Greene (5-4, 8-13) with 13 points. Kayla Larkin scored a game-high 14 points for the Lady Rockets (1-8, 3-17).
Hockey
Connellsville 6, Central Valley 0 – Nick Daniels-Nimick stopped 14 shots, and Jesse Hodge and Logan Hause scored two goals apiece in the Falcons’ PIHL D2 Division home victory.
The Falcons (7-8-0-0-1) closed to within a point of fourth-place Elizabeth Forward in the Blue Division standings, but the Warriors (8-6-0-0-0) have two games in hand.
Connellsville rolled out to a 3-0 lead in the first period on the strength of Hause’s two goals and one by Braden Rogerson.
Hodge scored a short-handed goal in the second period and a power-play goal in the third period. Elijah Pleva scored a power-play goal in the third period. Ian Zerecheck also scored in the third period.
Gavin Husk stopped 16 shots for Central Valley (8-9-0-0-0).