Jan 31, 2024 By the Herald-Standard 7 min read

Vinny Manzella and Noah Neil led California to a 77-66 victory Tuesday night against visiting Mapletown to clinch a Section 2-A playoff berth.

The Trojans improve to 4-3 in the section and 5-13 overall. Mapletown slides to 1-6 in the section and 2-14 overall.

Manzella scored 21, including four 3-pointers, of his game-high 31 points in the Trojans’ 24-point second quarter.

Neil picked up the offense in the third quarter with 16 of his 20 points in the quarter. California scored 20 points in the quarter.

The Maples’ Braden McIntire scored 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Roger Gradek finished with 20 points.

Monessen 58, Jefferson-Morgan 55 – The Greyhounds held on for a Section 2-A road victory against the Rockets.

Monessen (14-3) maintained a share of the top spot in the section with a 6-1 record. Jefferson-Morgan slips to 4-3 in the section and 12-7 overall.

The Greyhounds led 15-12 after the first quarter and 28-27 at halftime. The lead grew to 48-42 after three quarters.

The Rockets’ rally fell short in the final eight minutes with a 13-10 advantage.

Monessen’s Lorenzo Gardner poured in a game-high 30 points. Timothy Kershaw finished with 12 points.

Jase Bedillion (15), Dayten Marion (12), Houston Guesman (11), and John Woodward Jr. (10) all scored in double figures for the Rockets.

West Greene 70, Geibel Catholic 53 – The Pioneers kept pace with Monessen in the Section 2-A standings with a road win over the Gators.

West Greene improves to 6-1 in the section and 11-6 overall. Geibel falls to 0-7 in the section and 0-19 overall.

West Greene trailed after the first quarter, 10-8, but rallied for a 33-24 halftime lead. The advantage grew to 52-46 after three quarters.

The Pioneers’ Lane Allison (25) and Parker Burns (22) combined for 47 points.

Gary Tarbuk led the Gators with 22 points. Evan Jellots finished with 14 points.

Peters Twp. 79, Connellsville 23 – Peters Twp. scored 20 or more points in each of the first three quarters for a Section 1-AAAAA road victory.

Jack Dunbar scored a game-high 19 points for Peters Twp. (6-2, 12-5). Mickey Vaccarello finished with 17 points and Dylan Donovan added 16 in the win.

Jayden Mickens, Anthony Piasecki and Tyler Burkus all scored five points for the Falcons (1-6, 2-16).

Thomas Jefferson 95, Ringgold 69 – The Jaguars rolled to a Section 1-AAAAA victory over the visiting Rams.

Daryl Tolliver paced Ringgold (0-7, 3-15) with 19 points. Szyair Dungee added 18 points.

Evan Berger (19), Noah Prosser (18), Brody Evans (13), Joe Mendyk (10), and Nicholas Trklja (10) scored in double figures for Thomas Jefferson (7-0, 15-3).

Belle Vernon 69, Uniontown 65 – The Leopards converted 9-of-14 foul shots in the fourth quarter for a Section 3-AAAA victory over the visiting Red Raiders.

Belle Vernon (5-2, 10-5) led 50-49 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Leopards converted 17-of-22 foul shot attempts. Uniontown (6-1, 15-3) made 9-of-12 foul shot attempts and did not shoot a foul shot in the fourth quarter.

Belle Vernon’s Zion Moore scored a game-high 25 points and had eight assists. Trevor Kovatch made four 3-pointers to finish with 19 points. Tommy Davis contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.

The Red Raiders’ Jeremiah Hager scored 21 points, including six 3-pointers. Jamire Braxton finished with 17 points and Notorious Grooms added 12.

Elizabeth Forward 83, Southmoreland 64 – The Warriors scored over 20 points in all but the second quarter for a Section 3-AAAA home victory.

Elizabeth Forward (4-3, 12-6) held quarter leads of 26-8, 32-25 and 60-42.

Isaiah Turner led the Warriors with a game-high 27 points. Charlie Meehleib scored 16 points and Cy Herchelroath added 14.

Ty Keffer led the way for the Scotties (3-4, 14-5) with 16 points. Noah Felentzer (13), Ronnie Collins (12), and Wyatt Richter (12) also scored in double figures.

Yough 43, Washington 35 – The Cougars pulled into a tie for first place in Section 4-AAA with Prexies with a Section 4-AAA home win.

Yough and Washington are tied for first place with 8-1 records.

The Cougars (15-4) led 13-4, 25-12 and 30-27 at the quarter breaks.

Terek Crosby paced Yough with 15 points. Zander Aird added 11.

De’Ondre Daugherty scored 14 and Zxavian Willis added 10 for Washington (11-7).

McGuffey 53, Charleroi 41 – The Highlanders returned home with a Section 4-AAA victory.

McGuffey (4-5, 13-6) led 9-2 after the first quarter and 16-11 at halftime.

Bryce Large led the Cougars (2-8, 7-13) with 14 points. Jackson Keranko finished with 13 points.

Chris Ealy scored a game-high 15 points for McGuffey. Ryan Keith finished with 10 points.

Chartiers-Houston 53, Frazier 31 – The Commodores fell behind early and were unable to rally in a Section 4-AA home loss.

The Bucs (7-3, 14-5) led 20-9, 35-16 and 48-19 at the quarter breaks.

Dalian McManus paced the Commodores (4-5, 9-10) with 16 points. Trey Whitehead scored 16 points and Brock Alekson grabbed 12 rebounds.

Chartiers-Houston’s Avery Molek scored 16 points and Nate Gregory added 12.

Burgettstown 65, Beth-Center 32 – The Blue Devils scored 40 points in the middle two quarters for a Section 4-AA road win.

Jonah Sussan, Brody Tharp and Jason Zellie all scored nine points for the Bulldogs (3-7, 5-14).

Zach Schrockman finished with a game-high 26 points for Burgettstown (7-2, 14-5). James Leiuce finished with 17 points.

Carmichaels 47, Bentworth 37 – The Mikes returned home with their first Section 4-AA victory.

Carmichaels is 1-8 in the section and 4-13 overall. The Bearcats slips to 2-8 in the section and 3-14 overall.

Dom Colarusso scored 17 points for Carmichaels. Bentworth’s Ben Hays finished with a game-high 19 points.

Girls basketball

Mount Pleasant 42, Geibel Catholic 39 – The Lady Vikings rallied in the fourth quarter for a non-section win at Geibel.

Mount Pleasant (12-7) outscored the home team in the final eight minutes, 10-5.

The Lady Gators (12-6) led 9-7 after the first quarter. Mount Pleasant pulled into the lead at halftime, 19-18. Geibel regained the lead after three quarters, 34-32.

Mount Pleasant’s Morgan Gesinski made four 3-pointers for 15 points. The Lady Gators’ Emma Larkin scored a game-high 21 points.

Mapletown 40, Avella 38 – McKenna Lotspeich scored 15 points and Mapletown edged host Avella to earn a key Section 2-A win Monday night.

Mapletown trailed by four with 2:50 remaining but fought back to tie the score at 38-38 and then forced a turnover with 1:28 on the clock. The Lady Maples’ Emma Zalar was fouled with one minute left and scored what proved to be the winning point when she hit one of two free throws. Mapletown got the ball back and Isabella Gradek was fouled with 28 seconds left. She also made one of two to set the final score and the visitors hung on from there.

The win moved the Lady Maples (3-4, 6-10) two games in front of the Lady Eagles (1-6, 3-14) and Jefferson-Morgan in the battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the section. A win by Avella would’ve pulled it into a fourth-place tie with Mapletown.

The Lady Maples used a big second quarter to take an 18-10 halftime lead but Avella roared back to grab a 30-28 advantage after three. Mapletown outscored the hosts 12-8 in the final frame to secure the win.

Garnek added nine points and 13 rebounds for the Lady Maples.

Haleigh Rush and Ava Frank paced the Lady Eagles with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Rifle

Waynesburg Central 792-50x, Upper St. Clair 783-35x – The Raiders downed the Panthers for a Section 1 home victory at Waynesburg Sportsman’s Club.

Waynesburg’s Abbi King, Faithlyn Vukmanic and Emma Lawson shared medalist honors with a score of 100-8x. Logan Crouse (99-7x), Wyatt Franklin (98-5x), Joe Withrow (98-6x), Aylah Ford (98-4x), and Corbin Flanagan (99-4x) rounded out the scoring.

Ben Weldron scored 100-6x and Erin Shehab finished with 100-3x for Upper St. Clair.