Dec 16, 2006 By The 5 min read

Late rally lifts Connellsville past P-T Connellsville rallied from eight points down in the final three minutes to defeat Penn-Trafford, 55-51, in the Section 1-AAAA opener for both teams in boys basketball action on Friday night.

The host Warriors trailed 15-13 after one period, but surged to a 31-27 halftime lead and held a 44-36 edge after three periods.

Penn-Trafford was still up by eight with less than three minutes on the clock when coach Nick Bosnic’s Falcons charged back behind Johnny Dilworth, who was 6 for 6 from the foul line down the stretch. Dilworth made a pair of free throws to put Connellsville ahead to stay and the Falcons went on to win by four.

Dilworth led the Falcons (3-2, 1-0) with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Mason Leos made a pair of 3-pointers in scoring 10 points for Connellsville and Robbie Egan chipped in with nine points.

Dan Dininno and Jordan Cunningham paced the Warriors (2-4, 0-1) with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

The Falcons host Latrobe on Tuesday.

Charleroi 38, Brownsville 31 – Charleroi took a 9-4 lead in the opening period and hung on from there to top Brownsville in a Section 5-AA defensive battle.

John Bristol led the Cougars with 21 points.

Charleroi (4-2, 1-0) led 16-8 at halftime before the Falcons pulled within 25-20 at the end of three period, but Brownsville couldn’t get over the hump in falling to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in the section.

Terrance McCoy paced the Falcons with 13 points and Dimetrius Williams hit a pair of 3-pointers in scoring eight points.

Avella 77, Carmichaels 72 – Avella out-scored Carmichaels 9-4 in overtime to pull out a non-section road win.

The Eagles led 19-14, 37-29 and 54-48 at the breaks until the Mikes rallied with a 20-14 advantage in the fourth period to force the extra frame.

Shea Georgetti poured in a game-high 27 points for Avella (5-3). Cole Heckman followed with 11 points and Lee Theiroff chipped in with 10.

Jeromy Ganocy rang up 23 points to lead the way for Carmichaels (1-5). Phillip Judy tallied 13 points for the Mikes, while Ian McCombs and Joby Lapkowicz added 12 and 11, respectively.

Burgettstown 69, Waynesburg Central 43 – Kenny Blackwell hit a pair of 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 19 points, but it wasn’t enough as Waynesburg Central lost to visiting Burgettstown in a Section 5-AA game.

The Lions (2-2, 1-0) were paced by Sean Tunno, who made four treys in totaling 17 points. Justin Lonchar followed with 12 points.

Burgettstown led 15-8, 27-18 and 44-29 at the breaks.

Dominic Denicola had eight points and 14 rebounds for the Raiders (1-5, 0-1), and Matt Burris also scored eight points.

Waynesburg travels to Charleroi on Tuesday.

Portage 67, Turkeyfoot Valley 62 – Tim Wass had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Nathan Glass totaled 24 points and 10 boards in a losing effort as Turkeyfoot Valley fell to host Portage in a Westpac match-up.

Portage built a 31-24 halftime lead and held on from there.

John Hodges topped Portage in scoring with 19 points. Ryan Perryshak and Roger Walkovich followed with 15 and 14.

Cody Colflesh contributed 11 points for the Rams (3-2, 2-2), who host Union on Monday.

Monessen 102, Beth-Center 70 – Beth-Center tried to keep up with Monessen early on, but the Greyhounds had too much firepower in pulling away for the Section 5-AA victory as Josh Arnold ripped the nets for 51 points.

Ryne Niemiec played an outstanding game in a losing cause for the Bulldogs (4-3, 0-1), totaling 30 points and 16 rebounds. He made four 3-pointers. Jeff Bodnar tossed in 13 points for Beth-Center and Matt Stotka added 10.

Monessen (4-3, 1-0) led 27-22, 51-40 and 79-56 at the breaks.

Arnold, who made four 3-pointers, was followed in the Greyhound scoring column by Tim Tyree, who had 17. Joe Heath and Vince Campbell chipped in with 11 points apiece.

The Bulldogs travel to Burgettstown on Tuesday.

Latrobe 82, Albert Gallatin 58 – Latrobe cruised to an easy victory over visiting Albert Gallatin in the Section 1-AAAA opener for both teams.

The Wildcats improve to 3-3 overall.

The Colonials (3-2, 0-1) played without star center Jawaan Alston, who was suspended one game by the WPIAL after being ejected from Albert Gallatin’s game at North Catholic on Wednesday.

Girls basketball

West Mifflin 78, Waynesburg Central 10 – West Mifflin showed Waynesburg Central no mercy in romping to a Section 4-AAA victory.

The Lady Titans’ defense held the Lady Raiders scoreless in the second period and limited them to only two baskets and five points in the second half.

Kaitlin Lemley hit a pair of 3-pointers to lead Waynesburg (0-8, 0-3) with six points and Miatta Toothman accounted for the other four points.

Ashley Bergman and Ayla Sparks led West Mifflin (7-1, 4-0) with 25 and 21 points. Raven Metz tallied 11 points, Terrica Jones contributed 10 points and Megan Thomas chipped in with eight points. Those five accounted for all but five of the Lady Titans’ points.

The Lady Raiders travel to Keystone Oaks on Monday.

McGuffey 78, California 30 – McGuffey improved to 2-4 with a non-section win over host California, which fell to 0-7.

Boys wrestling

Belle Vernon 42, Uniontown 36 – Belle Vernon survived three forfeit losses to knock off host Uniontown in a Section 2-AAA match.

Uniontown got pins from Bob Holt, Jason King and Derek Dranguard, which fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the section.

Among the winners by fall for the Leopards were Jacob Weslager, Don Tasser, Pat Tasser and Jesse Gauden. Belle Vernon evened its section record at 1-1.

West Greene 48, Center 24 – West Greene rode seven pins to a Section 1-AA victory over visiting Center.

The Pioneer falls were by Colton Blumer (112), Garett Johnston (125), Travis Stoneking (135), Tucker Conklin (152), Patrick Morris (171), Chris Horr (189) and Danny Herrington (215).

West Greene (3-1, 2-1) continues section play on Wednesday when it host Chartiers-Houston.