Feb 8, 2025 By the Herald-Standard 6 min read

Evan Strimel poured in 25 points and Seth Dolan hit a tie-breaking free throw with two seconds left as Geibel Catholic edged visiting Monessen, 71-70 in double overtime, in a Section 2-A boys basketball thriller Friday night.

Gary Tarbuk scored 17 points, Dolan finished with 12, including three 3-pointers, and Roman Riccelli added 10 for the Gators (5-5, 13-9) who moved into a tie with Monessen for third place in the section. Both teams had already qualified for the playoffs.

Geibel built a 48-39 lead after three quarters but the Greyhounds (5-5, 13-7) forced overtime by out-scoring the Gators 19-10 in the fourth. Both teams scored eight points in the first overtime. Tarbuk tallied four of Geibel’s five points in the second OT.

Tyvaughn Kershaw tied for game-high honors with 25 points for Monessen which also got 17 points from Devontae Robinson and 12 from Rodney Johnson.

Southmoreland 87, Brownsville 49 – Noah Felentzer scored 20 points, including the 1,000th of his career, as the host Scotties defeated the Falcons in Section 4-3A game.

Southmoreland finished section play with a perfect 10-0 record and improved to 17-4 overall. It’s the Scotties’ first section championship since 1992.

Felentzer entered the night with 997 points and started the scoring with a three-point play, hitting the free throw to reach the 1,000 milestone. He pushed his career total up to 1,017 by game’s end.

Felentzer is the 10th boy and 16th player overall to score 1,000 points at Southmoreland.

Elliot Premus followed Felentzer with 18 points and Stanley Chapman contributed 10 for the Scotties.

Preston Rosado led Brownsville (2-8, 4-17) with 14 points, Jaiden Praster chipped in with 13 and Silas Patterson added 10.

Penn-Trafford 74, Laurel Highlands 67 – Antwan Black rang up a career-high 39 points but it wasn’t enough as the Mustangs fell to host Penn-Trafford in a Section 1-5A clash.

Laurel Highlands (2-12, 5-16) led 20-16 after the first quarter before the Warriors (8-6, 13-9) surged to leads of 35-30 at halftime and 57-30 after three. The Mustangs held a 27-17 advantage in the final frame but their rally fell seven points short.

Brayden Stone topped Penn-Trafford in scoring with 22 points, Zach Feldman followed with 12 and Evan Gross added 11.

Latrobe 86, Albert Gallatin 78 – Max Butler tossed in a game-high 22 points and the visiting Wildcats built a 39-21 lead over the host Colonials in an explosive first quarter that saw the two teams combine for 60 points.

Albert Gallatin (2-12, 7-14) trailed 78-52 after three quarters but out-scored Latrobe (10-4, 18-4) 26-8 in the fourth.

Ian DeCerb had 16 points for the Wildcats and Kyle McNeil chipped in with 10.

Shymere Wilson scored 21 points to lead the Colonials who also got 18 from Ethan Kennedy and 16 from Darrin Ford.

Canon-McMillan 61, Connellsville 59 – Roman Koenemund racked up a game-high 35 points to help the Big Macs nip the host Falcons in a Section 2-6A battle.

The score was tied 14-14 after the first quarter and 30-30 at halftime before Canon-McMillan (3-11, 5-16) moved out to a slim 50-49 advantage after three quarters and held an 11-10 edge in the fourth.

Blake Simmons had 13 points for the Big Macs.

Lucas Harwood tossed in 18 points to pace Connellsville (0-14, 3-18) which also got 14 points from Rocco Farrell and 10 from Jayden Mickens.

Waynesburg Central 76, Mount Pleasant 60 – Alex Eck compiled 24 points and 16 rebounds as the visiting Raiders triumphed over the Vikings in a Section 4-3A game to finish in a second-place tie with Ligonier Valley.

Cole Headlee totaled 17 points and seven assists for Waynesburg (7-3, 9-12) which also got 10 points from Jack Ricciuti.

The Raiders held a 31-29 halftime lead then used a 27-15 advantage in the third quarter to go up 58-44 and stayed in control the rest of the way.

Cole Massari had 21 points to lead Mount Pleasant (0-10, 0-22) which also got 11 from Jordan Grieff.

West Greene 64, Beth-Center 39 – Lane Allison rang up a game-high 29 points and the visiting Pioneers rolled past the Bulldogs to finish in a three-way tie with Jefferson-Morgan and Fort Cherry for second place in Section 3-2A.

West Greene led 26-20 at halftime then exploded to a 26-8 advantage in the third quarter to go up 52-28.

Matt Wassil (11) and Darren Knight (10) also hit double figures in scoring for the Pioneers (10-4, 12-8).

Parker Amos scored 13 points to lead Beth-Center (6-8, 9-13) which has also qualified for the playoffs.

Chartiers-Houston 49, Jefferson-Morgan 36 – Nate Gregory scored 24 points in the first-place Bucs’ Section 3-2A victory at Jefferson-Morgan.

Justus Buckingham added 12 points for Chartiers-Houston (13-1, 19-2) which led by just three before out-scoring the Rockets (10-4, 14-7) 18-8 in the fourth quarter.

Jeremiah Robertson tallied 20 points for J-M which dropped into a second-place tie with West Greene and Fort Cherry.

Bentworth 58, Frazier 44 – Chris Harper scored 23 points and Ben Hays followed with 21 as the host Bearcats knocked off the Commodores in a Section 1-2A game.

Lucas Burt added 10 points for playoff-bound Bentworth (7-7-10-10) which trailed 27-22 before out-scoring Frazier 36-17 in the second half.

Kolby Stewart led the Commodores (2-12, 5-17) with 17 points and Conlan Higbee had 15.

Burgettstown 71, Mapletown 47 – Blake Neal’s 18 points led the way for the Blue Devils in a Section 3-2A win at Mapletown.

Sam Elich added 16 points for Burgettstown (3-11, 6-15).

Lucas Stevenson scored a game-high 19 points for the Maples (0-14, 0-20).

Fort Cherry 73, Carmichaels 32 – Shane Cornali scored 17 points in the Rangers’ Section 3-2A win over the visiting Mikes as Fort Cherry secured a share of second place in the section.

Evan Rogers had 12 points for the Rangers (10-4, 12-8).

Robbie Wilson-Jones paced Carmichaels (4-10, 5-17) with eight points.

Riverview 65, California 28 – Rex Roberts dropped in 19 points and Noah Vespi had 13 in Riverview’s Section 1-2A win over the visiting Trojans.

Levi Roupas chipped in with 10 points for the Raiders (6-8, 8-13).

Jacob Ziolecki led California (0-14, 3-18) with 11 points.

Girls basketball

Chartiers-Houston 50, Jefferson-Morgan 10 – Ava Capozzoli and Allie Wingard each tossed in 13 points as the visiting Bucs (10-0, 18-4) completed a sweep through Section 3-2A play by beating Jefferson-Morgan.

Bailey Cervone scored seven points for the Lady Rockets (0-10, 1-20).

Wrestling

Ligonier Valley 42, Laurel Highlands 11 – The Rams (4-14) defeated the Mustangs (1-6) in a non-section match.