Dec 6, 2006 By The 6 min read

Kiski Area rallies past Laurel Highlands Kiski outscored Laurel Highlands 16-6 in the final period to pull out a 70-69 win over the Mustangs in non-section boys basketball action at Harold “Horse” Taylor Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

Laurel Highlands was behind 70-67 when Mike Iannamorelli was fouled while making a driving basket, but he missed the free throw. The Mustangs had one last chance in the final seconds, but a potential game-winning shot rolled off the rim.

Laurel Highlands, which played without Kaleb Ramsey, led 13-10, 34-30 and 63-54 at the breaks.

Nick Thomas led the Mustangs with three 3-pointers and a game-high 24 points, and Eric Fudala followed with 19 points, including a trey.

Brad Lookabaugh paced the Knights with 15 points. Brad Pacific and Eric Gadola followed with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Laurel Highlands begins Section 3-AAA play on Friday at Ringgold.

Frazier 71, Beth-Center 58 – Vince Conti poured in a game-high 25 points and Greg Johnson added 19 points and 13 rebounds as Frazier opened its season with a non-section win over visiting Beth-Center.

Coach Larry Mikesell’s Commodores led 15-9 after one period and 37-32 at halftime, but the Bulldogs pulled to within 44-43 after three frames.

Frazier out-scored B-C 27-15 over the final eight minutes, however, to pull away for the win.

Ryan Niemiec hit three 3-pointers in scoring 24 points for Beth-Center, which lost its first game after opening with a pair of wins. Jeff Bodnar also made three treys and totaled 11 points for the Bulldogs.

Conti and Johnson both hit three 3-pointers, and Jim Traynor contributed 14 points and 10 assists for the Commodores. Mike Vziak grabbed 15 rebounds and Tim Holt pulled down 12.

Frazier travels to Carmichaels next Tuesday, while Beth-Center hosts the Mikes on Friday.

California 61, Brownsville 26 – Chris McVicker hit both of his 3-pointers and scored 10 of his game-high 16 points in the first period as California charged out to a 17-5 lead and never looked back in a non-section victory at Brownsville.

Coach Phil Pergola’s Trojans (2-1) led 31-11 at halftime and 44-17 after three periods.

Travis Vanolst dropped in 11 points for California, which put 10 different players in the scoring column. Mike Galis and Mike Hrivnak had seven points apiece.

Terrance McCoy led the Falcons with 10 points, but no one else scored more than four for Brownsville.

California hosts Charleroi next Tuesday, while the Falcons travel to Geibel Catholic to play the Gators for the second time this season.

Fort Cherry 54, Jefferson-Morgan 36 – A cold shooting spell in the second period was costly to Jefferson-Morgan in its non-section loss to visiting Fort Cherry.

The Rockets jumped out to a 15-11 lead after one frame, but were outscored 23-2 in the next eight minutes to fall behind 34-17 at halftime. The Rangers led 43-26 after three periods.

Zack Belhy hit off four of Fort Cherry’s 3-pointers in scoring 22 points, and Scott Wharton followed with 16.

Mike Mox led Jefferson-Morgan with 11 points, including a 3-pointer.

Coach Jim Romanus’ Rockets host Waynesburg Central on Thursday.

Turkeyfoot Valley 78, Conemaugh Valley 68 – Tim Wass rang up 23 points, 12 rebounds and four assists as Turkeyfoot Valley hit 30 of 51 shots in defeating West-Pac foe Conemaugh Valley.

The Rams led 19-14, 36-32 and 54-51 at the breaks before pulling away with a 24-17 edge in the final frame.

Nathan Glass scored 19 points for Turkeyfoot, Cody Colflesh added 17 and Bill Chatman chipped in with 16.

Robert Gunby and Kyle Marshall tallied 19 points apiece for Conemaugh.

The Rams travel to Conemaugh Township on Friday.

Yough 75, Southmoreland 52 – Yough jumped out to a 20-9 advantage in the first period and never looked back in picking up a Section 3-AAA win at Southmoreland.

The Cougars led 41-20 at halftime and 58-34 after three frames.

Andrew McCauley led a balanced scoring attack for Yough with 15 points and two 3-pointers. Ben Hoffer hit three treys in tallying 13 points, Craig Sedenov also made a trio of 3-pointers in scoring 12 points, and Justin Shaffer also had 12 points.

Bill Geyer dropped in a game-high 20 points for the Scotties (2-1, 0-1). Josh Millslagle and Heath Handford followed with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Avella 53, Waynesburg Central 32 – Dominic Denicola led Waynesburg Central with 11 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Raiders lost a non-section game at Avella.

Shea Georgette paced the Eagles (2-1) with 11 points to tie for game-high honors. Jimmy Bracken and Nate Klem each scored 10 points for Avella.

Waynesburg (0-3) travels to Jefferson-Morgan on Thursday.

Greensburg Salem 88, Belle Vernon 57 – Greensburg Salem rolled past visiting Belle Vernon in a Section 3-AAA game to remain unbeaten at 3-0.

The Leopards fall to 0-3.

Women’s basketball

California, Pa. 68, Salem International 56 – Kim Nowakowski scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in recording her sixth double-double of the season to lead California University of Pa. over visiting Salem International in a non-conference clash.

Freshman Jaleesa Coleman hit three 3-pointers in tallying 19 points with four steals for the Vulcans (6-2), and Bre Dillon added 12 points, including two treys, with five assists.

The game was tied 12-12 in the first half when a basket by Nowakowski sparked a 12-point run that propelled Cal to a 31-21 halftime lead.

The Tigers fought back and took a 52-51 lead on a jumper by Jeannie Saunders with 6:14 left. After Nowakowski and Salem International’s Tapre Young exchanged baskets, Nowakowski hit a pair of free throws with 5:21 remaining to put the Vulcans in front to stay.

Young led the Tigers with 18 points.

Cal has two weeks off for final exams before their next game against West Chester on Dec. 19 at 6 p.m.

Girls swimming

Elizabeth-Forward 97, Uniontown 81 – Uniontown could muster only two first-place finishes in a loss at Elizabeth-Forward.

Holly Nedley won the 50 freestyle for the Lady Raiders (2-1) with a time of 27.36 seconds, and Jess Dzara topped the field in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:01.83.

Uniontown was coming off a pair of 76-55 victories over Connellsville and Uniontown on Friday. The Lady Raiders host Thomas Jefferson next Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Boys swimming

Elizabeth-Forward 97, Uniontown 62 – Elizabeth-Forward took first place in every event in defeating Uniontown.

The Red Raiders (0-3) host Thomas Jefferson next Tuesday at 6 p.m.