Union Cleaners top California DQ, 67-56

CALIFORNIA — Union Cleaners were able to hold for a win 67-56 over California Dairy Queen Tuesday evening in the J. Budd Grebb Memorial Basketball League boys division.
The win clinches a trip to the playoffs, and Union Cleaners coach Walt Costello said, “Everyone contributed in this game, and they all came through.
“I never realized how good some of these guys really are, like Christian Murphy, because he played amazing. Nathan O’Savage even had a nice game, stepping up when we needed everyone to step up.”
For most of the first half, both teams exchanged blows and the lead a few times, but Union Cleaners (5-2) put up eight unanswered points to go into halftime with a 33-23 lead.
Cal DQ (1-5) battled hard during the second half, coming within five points toward the end of the game, but Union Cleaners held Cal DQ scoreless for the final minutes and ended up scoring six unanswered points for the victory.
After the game, Cal DQ coach Dennis Garrett said, “We need to incorporate the basics more and have fun playing.
“A lot of our guys are first year. They’re playing a little too tight, and they need to loosen up and have fun.”
For Union Cleaners, Joe Sabolek (Belle Vernon) ended the night with 25 points, 26 rebounds, and four assists and Christian Murphy (Belle Vernon) also had an exceptional game with 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Cal DQ was led by John Celaschi (Frazier) with 11 points, four rebounds and one assist and Ben Wilson (California) had 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
As for the other two boys division games being played Tuesday evening, Bee Graphix (2-5) edged out a win over Northwood Realty (2-5), 78-68, with Thomas Hepple (Belle Vernon) leading Bee Graphix with 24 points, 14 rebounds and two assists, followed by Micheal Koroly (Trinity) with 22 points and Joseph Green (Beth-Center) with 13 points.
Dishon Howell (Monessen) led Northwood with 25 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Griffin LaCarte (Belle Vernon) with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Campy’s (6-0) defeated Farmers Insurance (4-3), 82-67, in the final game of the evening with Lyndon Henderson (Monessen) leading Campy’s with an impressive 34 points and three rebounds, followed by Shandon Marshall (Brownsville) with 21 points and Chris Peccon (Ringgold) with 10 points.
Meanwhile, Vaughn Taylor (Monessen) led Farmers with 15 points and six rebounds, followed by Dru Miller (California) and Ronnie Paith (Washington) with 14 points each.