Mustangs rally for 57-52 win in OT
Back-to-back field goals by Jake Swartz gave the Mustangs the lead in overtime, and four free throws by Bryce Laskey iced the game away as Laurel Highlands rallied for a 57-52 overtime victory Tuesday night in Section 4-AAA action against visiting Elizabeth-Forward.
The Mustangs improve to 3-2 in the section and 7-5 overall, while the Warriors slip to 1-4 in the section and 3-10 overall.
Laskey had a last shot to win in regulation, but his attempt fell short to force overtime.
Vincent Mitchell, who scored 17 points, gave Elizabeth-Forward the lead with the first basket in overtime, but Swartz scored two field goals to give the Mustangs the advantage for good.
Laskey then scored his game total from the foul line to seal the victory.
The Warriors trailed by two heading in the the fourth quarter in the seesaw affair, but outscored Laurel Highlands in the fourth quarter, 9-7, to force overtime.
Hudson Novak and Swartz shared game-scoring honors for the Mustangs with 18 points apiece.
William Sorton finished with 13 for the Warriors. Connor Paoletti added 11.
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Belle Vernon 37, Ringgold 36 – Belle Vernon trailed by two points heading into the fourth quarter Tuesday night, but the Leopards rallied in the final eight minutes to edge visiting Ringgold, 37-26, for their first Section 4-AAA victory.
The Rams (2-3, 5-5) led 11-5 after the first quarter and 27-18 at halftime.
The Leopards (1-4, 2-7) started to rally back with a 12-5 advantage in the third quarter and completed the comeback with a 7-4 fourth quarter.
Noah Bukowski scored 10 points for Belle Vernon. Dakota Browning scored a game-high 14 points for the Rams.
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Albert Gallatin 99, West Greene 25 – Monessen opened with 28 first-quarter points Tuesday night as the Greyhounds rolled to a 99-25 Section 3-A victory against visiting West Greene.
Monessen (4-0, 8-3) led 63-17 at halftime.
Lavalle Rush had a triple-double for the Greyhounds with a game-high 23 points, 11 steals and 10 assists. Jaden Altimore had a strong all-around performance with 18 points, six steals and six rebounds. Dwight Moore scored 15 points, while Justice Rice finished with 13 points, five assists and five steals.
Craig Weaver led the Pioneers (2-2, 5-6) with 12 points.
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California 105, Mapletown 21 – The Trojans’ offense started strong and never let up Tuesday night as California rolled to a 105-21 victory in Section 3-A action against visiting Mapletown.
California improves to 5-0 in the section and 7-3 overall, while the Maples slide to 0-4 in the section and 0-10 overall.
The Trojans scored at least 20 points in each quarter, while the Mapletown offense failed to reach double digits in any quarter.
Kass Taylor scored a game-high 24 points for the Trojans. Jaycee Conaway (15), Braden Petrucci (14), and Ben Wilson (12) were also in double figures. All 15 players scored for California.
Alix Gennette led the Maples with 10 points.
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Penn-Trafford 79, Connellsville 51 – Penn-Trafford scored 51 points in the second and fourth quarters Tuesday as the visiting Warriors defeated Connellsville, 79-51, for a Section 1-AAAA road victory.
Penn-Trafford (3-1, 8-3) led 18-8, 43-23 and 53-34 at the quarter breaks.
Sean Stinelli scored a game-high 14 points for the Warriors. Sean Kelly and Brendan O’Toole both finished with 12.
Hunter LoNigro scored 12 for the Falcons (1-4, 4-8).
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Hempfield 60, Albert Gallatin 32 – Hempfield built on its 14-point first-quarter lead for a 60-32 Section 1-AAAA victory Tuesday at Albert Gallatin.
The Spartans (3-1, 5-6) led 41-25 at halftime and 50-29 after three quarters.
Braden Brose finished with a game-high 22 points for Hempfield. Mitch Golden finished with 14 and Zach Queen added 12.
David Knox led the Colonials (0-4, 6-6) with 13 points.
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Carmichaels 49, Beth-Center 42 – Carmichaels built a 9-point lead through three quarters and the Mikes’ defense made the advantage stand for a 49-42 Section 4-AA victory Tuesday night against visiting Beth-Center.
The Mikes (2-2, 6-4) led 7-6, 22-14 and 30-21 at the quarter breaks. Beth-Center (2-2, 5-3) rallied for a 21-19 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Cody Brown led Carmichaels with 19 points. Liam Shea added 16.
The Bulldogs’ Brady McDonnel tied for game-scoring honors with a team-high 19 points.
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Mount Pleasant 43, West Shamokin 40 – Mount Pleasant held off a fourth-quarter rally by West Shamokin Tuesday night as the Vikings eked out a 43-40 Section 3-AAA road victory.
The Vikings (2-2, 3-6) led 12-9 after the first quarter and 25-20 at halftime. They added a point to their lead in the third quarter.
Keith Kalp scored a game-high 13 points for the Vikings. Aaron Bunting added 12.
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Jefferson-Morgan 49, Geibel Catholic 47 – D.L. Garrett led the way with 17 points, as Jefferson-Morgan earned its first Section 3-A win with a 49-47 verdict over Geibel Catholic at Jefferson Tuesday night.
Gage Clark added 12 for the Rockets, who improved to 1-3 in section games and 2-9 overall. The Miller boys paced Geibel Catholic (1-4, 2-8), as Caleb scored 18 and Bailey added 10.
JM led, 48-47, when Gavin Wood was fouled with 1.4 seconds left. He made one of two free throws to set the final before Geibel Catholic’s half-court desperation shot was off the mark.
Girls basketball
Geibel Catholic 36, Albert Gallatin 32 – Grace Nowicki hit the go-ahead free throw and Gillian Yourish followed her missed foul shot for an insurance basket as the Lady Gators rallied for a 36-32 non-section win Tuesday night against visiting Albert Gallatin.
Nowicki hit a pair of free throws with about 30 seconds remaining to give the Lady Gators (4-7) a 33-32 lead.
Yourish was then later fouled. She made the first, but missed the second. However, Yourish collected the missed shot and made the field goal to ice the victory.
Yourish led Geibel with 13 points. Nowicki added 10.
Emily Moccaldi scored a game-high 15 points for the Lady Colonials (2-10).
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West Greene 76, Hundred (W.Va.) 10 – West Greene closed the first quarter Tuesday night with a 34-0 lead, and the Lady Pioneers cruised from that point for a 76-10 non-section win against visiting Hundred (W.Va.).
West Greene (10-2) led 46-3 at halftime and 65-6 after the third quarter.
McKenna Lampe scored a game-high 19 points for the Lady Pioneers. Her twin sister Madison finished with 17. Kaitlyn Rizor had 15 and Savannah Pettit added 10.
Emily Rine scored four points for Hundred.
Swimming
Norwin (girls) 90, Uniontown 70; Norwin (boys) 101, Uniontown 68 – The Uniontown swim team had a tough non-section meet against visiting Norwin Tuesday night, with the boys losing, 101-68, and the girls dropping a 90-70 decision.
Elizabeth Klingensmith, Molly Rabon and Maeve Carei accounted for the Lady Raiders’ individual first-place finishes. Klingensmith won the 100 backstroke (1:07.59) and 100 butterfly (1:01.61). Rabon finished first in the 100 breaststroke (1:28.25), while Carei won the diving with 192.60 points.
Alexandra Meadows, Rylee Levander, Rachel VanNosdeln and Klingensmith won the 400 freestyle relay in 4:06.
The Red Raiders’ Jonathan Desvarro won the diving with 134 points.
Evan Klatt finished first in the 100 breaststroke (1:26.40).
The 400 freestyle relay finished first in 5:08.08 and the 200 freestyle relay won in 1:41.90.