Dec 30, 2006 By The 5 min read

California improves to 9-2 with victory over C-H Chris McVicker led a trio of double-digit California players with 18 points as California edged past Chartiers-Houston 63-60 in overtime at the Mason-Dixon Challenge Friday in boys basketball action.

Twelve of McVicker’s 18 points came from beyond the three-point arc.

Teammates Mike Hrivnak and Jon McVicker added 14 and 10 points.

The Trojans held a 22-point lead at halftime, but allowed Chartiers to work its way back into the game in the second half.

Jordan Cyper led all scorers with 22 points and Jared Cyper added 10.

California (9-2) is back in action Wednesday at home against East Allegheny starting at 7:30 p.m.

Clay-Battelle 62, Jefferson-Morgan 52 – Travis Hulmes poured in a game-high 18 points as Clay-Battelle cruised to a win over Jefferson-Morgan in the Mason-Dixon Challenge.

The Rockets were down 50-47 with 2:51 left in the game, but Clay-Battelle peeled off 12-of-16 free throws down the stretch for the win.

Tyler Barnette also scored in double figures with 17 points, including 6-of-9 from the line.

J.W. Popielarcheck led J-M with 13 points, six of which were from three-point land.

Teammate Ben Humble scored 12 points and went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe.

Jefferson-Morgan (2-9) is in action again next Friday when it plays Geibel Catholic.

Girls basketball

Hundred (W.Va.) 47, Waynesburg Central 31 – Nancy Cumberledge and Chelsea Kuhn scored 13 and 12 points en route to a Hundred (W.Va.) win over Waynesburg Central in the Mason-Dixon Challenge.

The Lady Raiders jumped out to an early 12-7 first-quarter lead, but it was all Hundred after that as they held Waynesburg to single-digit scoring in the final three periods.

Miatta Toothman led Waynesburg with 13 points.

Abby Toothman was next in the scoring column with eight points.

Waynesburg (0-13) looks for its first win on Jan. 2 at Thomas Jefferson.

Geibel Catholic 81, Chartiers-Houston 41 – Five Geibel Catholic players eclipsed the double-digit mark en route to an easy win over Chartiers-Houston at the Mason-Dixon Challenge.

Natalie Hozak led the way with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Sarah Erdely was next in the scoring column with 12 points.

Julianne Speeney, Breanne Dowden and Nicole Ardabell each added 10 points.

Chartiers-Houston’s Katie Rosemeier led all scorers with 17 points.

The Lady Gators (6-3) visit Jefferson-Morgan Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Norwin 56, Laurel Highlands 45 – Kayla Hilko lit up the scoreboard with a game-high 27 points as Norwin rolled past Laurel Highlands in the Betsy Tournament held at Elizabeth-Forward H.S.

Deadlocked at nine after the first period, Norwin turned it up a notch in the final three periods highlighted with a 22-point burst in the third.

Heather Burton tossed in 10 points for the Fillies, including two from three-point land and a perfect 4-of-4 outing from the foul line.

Teammate Maressa Guynn also scored 10 points.

Laurel Highlands (1-8) looks to put one in the win column Tuesday at Derry.

Jefferson-Morgan 53, Clay-Battelle 46 – Three Jefferson-Morgan players scored in double digits highlighted by Rachel Weaver’s 25 points as they defeated Clay-Battelle in the Mason-Dixon Challenge.

Lindsay Olson tossed in 12 points and Maddie Snyder 10. Both Olson and Snyder made the all-tournament team.

Clay-Battelle made a late charge in the fourth quarter with a 23-point burst, but the Rockets held on for the win.

Geibel Catholic is next up on the J-M schedule Jan. 4 in the home section opener.

Woodland Hills 85, Connellsville 52 – Woodland Hills improved to 4-8 with an easy victory over Connellsville in the Hempfield Tournament.

The Lady Falcons fall to 2-9.

Men’s basketball

Bellarmine 82, California (Pa.) 75 – California senior guards James Petty and John Owens scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, but the Vulcans went cold down the stretch and suffered an 82-75 loss to Bellarmine Friday in the opening round of the Porreco Cup men’s basketball tournament at Gannon University.

Reserve forwards Osborne Gardner and Ron Banks added 10 and eight points, respectively, for the Vulcans (6-3) and shared game-high rebounding honors, each with eight.

Guard Adam Brames tallied a game-high 20 points, including four long-range shots, and shared game-high rebounding honors with eight caroms to lead Bellarmine (5-5).

Matt Otte added five three-point goals on the way to 17 points while Dzaflo Larkai (12 ) and Ryan Tiesi (11) each reached double digits for the winners.

The Vulcans held a one-point lead (68-67) with 6:54 left in the game when Owens hit his fourth three-point goal of the game.

But it was Cal’s final lead as the Vulcans went 1-for-9 from the field the rest of the way.

Cal outscored Bellarmine 12-7 in the opening minutes of the second half, taking a 51-47 lead on a Petty trey with 16:47 left in the game. Bellarmine then answered with three-straight three-point goals to regain control of the game.

The Vulcans stayed with Bellarmine for the next 10 minutes, taking a one-point lead twice and tying the contest on three occasions.

The last deadlock was with 3:11 left (72-72) on a pair of free throws by Connellsville graduate James Hairston.

The Vulcans return to action Saturday at 6 p.m. against the loser of the second game of Friday’s first-round doubleheader between host Gannon and Roberts Wesleyan.