Trojans rally in fourth quarter for first win of season
Jahlem Derns’ field goal and clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch Wednesday night carried California to its first win of the season with a 66-63 Section 2-A victory against visiting West Greene.
The Trojans (1-0, 1-9) trailed by 11 in the fourth quarter, but forged into the lead after Derns converted a steal into the go-ahead basket with less than 25 seconds left in the game.
California made four foul shots to clinch the win in the section opener.
Jacob Ziolecki paced the Trojans with a game-high 20 points, including five 3-point goals. Noah Neil finished with 18 points. Caden Monticelli scored 13 points. Vinny Manzella contributed 11 points, 10 assists and six steals.
Lane Allison led the Pioneers (0-1, 5-6) with 17 points. Matt Wassil and Parker Burns both scored 14 points. Pat Durbin added 13 points.
Jefferson-Morgan 40, Mapletown 36 – The Rockets controlled the middle two quarters for a Section 2-A home victory.
Jefferson-Morgan (1-0, 8-3) outscored the Maples in the second and third quarters, 28-14.
Dayten Marion and John Woodward Jr. both scored 13 points for the Rockets. Jase Bedillion finished with 10 points.
Roger Gradek scored a game-high 14 points for Mapletown (0-1, 1-7).
Monessen 73, Geibel Catholic 48 – The visiting Greyhounds scored all the points they needed in the first half to open Section 2-A play with a road victory.
Monessen (1-0, 7-1) led 23-7 after the first quarter and 55-16 at halftime.
Monessen’s Lorenzo Gardner scored a game-high 27 points. Rodney Johnson (15), Devontae Robinson (10), and Matt Sawa (10) also scored in double figures.
Tommy Kolencik led the Gators (0-1, 0-1) with 20 points. Gary Tarbuk added 14.
Belle Vernon 59, Southmoreland 57 – The Leopards held off the Scotties’ second-rally to hand the visitors their first loss of the season.
Belle Vernon (1-0, 6-2) led 13-3 at the end of the first quarter and 28-19 at halftime. Southmoreland sliced into the deficit, trailing 47-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
Zion Moore led the Leopards with 18 points. Trevor Kovatch finished with 13 points and seven assists. Alonzo Wade scored 10 points and Tommy Davis grabbed 10 rebounds.
Wyatt Richter paced the Scotties (0-1, 10-1) with a game-high 20 points. Noah Felentzer scored 17 points and Ty Keffer added 15.
Beth-Center 61, Carmichaels 55 – The Bulldogs rallied into the lead in the third quarter for a Section 4-AA home win.
The Mikes (0-2, 3-7) led 30-27 at halftime. Beth-Center pulled into a 46-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Brody Tharp hit four 3-pointers to share game-scoring honors for Beth-Center (1-1, 3-6) with 20 points. Jason Zellie scored 18 points and Santino Revi finished with 10 points.
Dom Colarusso led Carmichaels with 20 points. Liam Lohr finished with 18 points and Aydan Adamson added 10.
Girls basketball
Mapletown 46, Jefferson-Morgan 38 – The Lady Maples rallied from a first-quarter deficit for a Section 2-A road victory.
Jefferson-Morgan (0-1, 2-9) led 10-6 after the first quarter. Mapletown led 23-17 at halftime.
The Lady Maples’ lead grew to 36-26 after three quarters.
Treslee Weston had a solid performance for Mapletown (1-0, 4-6) with 10 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists. Isabella Garnek scored a team-high 15 points and McKenna Lotspeich finished with 13 points.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Kayla Larkin scored a game-high 20 points.
Boys bowling
Connellsville 5, Belle Vernon 2 – The Falcons won 2-of-3 matches and had the top team pin total for a Section 10 (Southeast) home victory at Yough Lanes.
Connellsville (3-2) won the first match, 887-834, and the second, 905-771. Belle Vernon (1-3) rallied to take the third match, 887-812. The Falcons held the edge in total pins, 2,604-2,512.
Connellsville was led by Toby Soltis’ three-game total of 554. Nick Barkley finished with 532. Shawn Phipps bowled 510 and Jonathan Ansell shot 492. Elijah Pleva shot a two-game total of 390 and Asher Voss bowled 126 in the third match.
Belle Vernon’s Jordan Sisley had medalist honors with 574. Luke Martin bowled 547 and Colton Barklovich finished with a three-game total of 506. Joseph Dodd had a three-match total of 455.
Girls bowling
Belle Vernon 7, Connellsville 0 – Belle Vernon picked up the easy Section 10 (Southeast) road win at Yough Lanes with the home team unable to field a full squad.
The Lady Leopards finished with a three-match total of 1,020. Kendrah Dawson (251), Anna Resendes (349), and Makenzie Siegler (420) bowled for Belle Vernon.
Girls wrestling
North Allegheny 48, Connellsville 20 – Connellsville held the early lead, but the visiting Lady Tigers recorded six pins and received two forfeits for a road victory.
The Lady Falcons’ Kylee Christman won by fall at 112 pounds. Teammate Trinity Moore scored a 15-0 technical fall at 118 pounds. Janayah Nobles had a first-period pin at 136 pounds, and Olivia Shultz won her 170-pound bout by a 7-2 decision.
Boys wrestling
Connellsville 77, McKeesport 0 – The Falcons celebrated Senior Night with a Section 4-AAA win over the visiting Tigers.
Nicholas Rohal (172), Christopher Cook (215), Tyler Gallis (285), Nolan Rice (107), Zachary Franks (121), Chase Sparks (127), Kai Vielma (133), Julian Ruggieri (139), Evan Petrovich (145), and Carter Wilson (152) all won by fall.
Wyatt Hall (189) and Landon Lynn (114) received forfeits, and Lonzy Vielma won a 22-7 technical fall at 160 pounds.
Jefferson-Morgan 45, Fort Cherry 19 – The Rockets ran off to a 22-0 lead and didn’t look back for a Section 1-AA road victory.
Colton Humphreys (139) and Johnny Gilbert (145) won by forfeit, Brenton Barnhart (152) secured a major decision, and Chase Frameli won by fall at 16 pounds to open the match.
Adam McAnany (215) and Carson Sweeney (114) won by fall.
Shawn Robertson (121) won a major decision, and James Dulaney (127) and Ronin Kramer (133) won decisions. Billy Bowen received a forfeit at 107 pounds.
Jefferson-Morgan lost a team point for a technical violation (weight unknown).
Bentworth 42, Beth Center 30 – The Bearcats were tough at home for a Section 1-AA victory over the visiting Bulldogs.
Bentworth’s Owen Ivcic (152), Brayden Taggart (172), Vitali Daniels (215), Drake McClure (121), Chris Vargo (127), and Alex Rusilko (285) all recorded pins. Ben Luketich received a forfeit at 133 pounds.
Beth-Center’s Jake Layhue (189), Alex Medlen (107), Geoffrey Douglas (114), and Rylan McCollum (139) all won by fall. Frederick Sherman (160) and Pablo Bautista (145) won decisions.
Mount Pleasant 49, Frazier 22 – The visiting Vikings won the first five bouts for a key Section 2-AA road win.
Mount Pleasant’s Tristan Wtorkiewicz opened the match at 127 pounds with a 14-5 major decision. Rhyley Kimmel (133), Joseph Longhi (139), Greg Shaulis (145), and Jamison Poklembo (152) followed with pins.
The Commodores’ Ryan Celaschi slowed the run with a major decision at 160 pounds.
The Vikings’ Ty Hornick (172) won a decision, Dylan Pitzer (285) won with a pin, and Nick Stabile (107) and Lowen Springer (114) received forfeits.
Frazier’s Jackson Angelo (189) and Josh Girvin (215) both won by fall, and Tanner Hayes received a forfeit at 121 pounds.
Southmoreland 59, Yough 15 – The Scotties rolled to a Section 2-AA victory at Yough.
Southmoreland’s Landon Delara won by technical fall at 160 pounds. Bryce Greeko (107), Kolten Lewandowski (133), Kashton Bish (139), Hunter Ryan (145), and Shawn Hollis (152) received forfeits. Landyn Queer (127), Ethan Kenney (189), Kaden Shannon (215), and Jacob Govern (285) won by fall.
Yough’s Dominic Liscotti won a decision at 114 pounds. Rocco Zugai (121) and Bryce Harvey (172) both recorded pins.
Burgettstown 54, West Greene 20 – The Blue Devils ran off to a 36-0 lead on their way to a Section 1-AA road victory.
West Greene’s Johnny Lampe broke Burgettstown’s run with a pin at 189 pounds. Colin Whyte followed with a fall at 215 pounds. The Pioneers’ Noah Collins won with a technical fall at 114 pounds, and Seth Burns closed the match with a decision at 127 pounds.
Franklin Regional 33, Ringgold 21 – The Rams had a tough match on the road, dropping a Section 3-AAA decision to the Panthers.
Ringgold’s Cristian Lowther won by decision at 145 pounds, as did Jake Conroy (215) and Evan Tolliver (121). Jack Duncan (160) and James Holmes (285) both won by fall.
Rifle
McGuffey 794-45x, Waynesburg 786-35x – The Raiders dropped Section 1 virtual match to the Highlanders.
McGuffey’s Riley Dunn and Rachel Cox shared medalist honors with a score of 100-8x. Marcus Ray and Rylee Fuller both finished with 100-6x.
Abbi Kidd (98-5x), Faithlynn Vukmanic (99-7x), Emma Lawson (99-6x), Emily Burnfield (99-4x), Wyatt Franklin (99-6x), Joe Withrow (98-5x), Olivia Sulka (95-1x) and Andy Mahle (99-1x) scored for the Raiders.
Men’s basketball
Waynesburg 76, Franciscan 61 – The Yellow Jackets won their third game in a row with a Presidents’ Athletic Conference home victory.
Franciscan (2-6, 5-7) ran out to a 9-0 lead, but Waynesburg countered with a 13-4 run. Franciscan recovered for a 38-31 halftime lead.
The Yellow Jackets regained the momentum after the halftime break and eventually pulled into a 52-43 lead.
Antone Baker paced Waynesburg (4-4, 7-6) with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan McLoyd added 15 points.
West Chester 100, California (Pa.) 97 – The ninth-ranked Vulcans dropped their first game of the season in PSAC Crossover play despite making a season-high 12 three-pointers.
California goes to 11-1 overall, while the Golden Rams improve to 8-4.
KJ McClurg led the Vulcans with 26 points. Donald Whitehead, Jr. scored a season-high 20 points. Jermaine Hall, Jr. finished with 18 points and five rebounds. Zyan Collins also scored 18 points.
Women’s basketball
California (Pa.) 54, West Chester 51 – The Vulcans held the visitors to 16 points in the first half for a PSAC Crossover victory over the Golden Rams.
California improves to 9-3 overall. West Chester goes to 8-4 overall.
The Vulcans’ Alicia Young tied a career high with 15 points. Dejah Terrell had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Iyahnna Williams came off the bench to score 11 points.