Feb 8, 2026 By the Herald-Standard 5 min read

Nick Tometsko scored 15 points and St. Joseph pulled out a close win at Geibel Catholic, 47-45, to beat the Gators and secure the fourth and final WPIAL playoff spot in Section 2-A boys basketball action on Saturday.

The Spartans (5-5, 8-12) led 17-13 after the first quarter, the Gators (3-7, 10-12) surged to a 27-22 halftime and then the two wound up tied at 31-31 after three. St. Joseph held a 16-14 edge in the fourth to claim the victory.

Kyle Lecker had 14 points for the Spartans and Ryan McCarthy added 12.

Evan Strimel, who finished the regular season as the area’s leading scorer, led Geibel with a game-high 20 points.

SOUTHMORELAND 63, BROWNSVILLE 41 — The first-place Scotties wrapped up a sweep of Section 4-3A play with a victory at Brownsville.

Southmoreland (10-0, 14-7), which repeated as section champions, led 25-10, 45-21 and 58-30 at the quarter breaks.

Ty Whoric led the Scotties with 15 points and was followed by Stanley Chapman (12) and Brock Pritts (12).

Freshman Daeron Clayton topped the Falcons (1-9, 2-17) in scoring with 12 points and Jalen Blair added 11.

YOUGH 56, WAYNESBURG CENTRAL 52 — Tyler Smith scored 20 points to help left the host Cougars past the Raiders in a non-section clash Saturday.

Yough (3-18) led 11-7 after the first quarter, Waynesburg took a 26-25 halftime lead and held a 40-39 advantage after three before the Cougars rallied for the win with a 17-12 edge in the final frame.

Wyatt Kazna (16) and Hayden Smith (13) also hit double figures for Yough.

Cole Headlee racked up a game-high 25 points for the Raiders (6-15), who also got 15 points and seven rebounds from Dane Woods and seven assists from Jackson Dean.

JEANNETTE 71, FRAZIER 28 — Markus McGowen dropped in 16 points in the host Jayhawks’ Section 1-2A win over the Commodores.

Kymone Brown was next with 12 points and Jayce Powell had 11 for first-place Jeannette (14-0, 19-1).

Kolby Stewart scored a game-high 18 points for Frazier (2-11, 7-14).

BURGETTSTOWN 79, MAPLETOWN 18 — The host Blue Devils stormed out to a 26-4 lead in the opening quarter on the way to a Section 3-2A victory over the Maples.

Lance Duran had 27 points for Burgettstown (3-11, 6-16) and Cooper Lucas chipped in with 11.

Colton Taylor scored six points for Mapletown (0-14, 0-22).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

GEIBEL CATHOLIC 67, AVELLA 13 — Emma Larkin poured in 31 points in her final regular-season game as the Lady Gators clinched a shared of the Section 2-A championship with a win at Avella.

Mallory Clemmer followed with 21 points for Geibel (13-1, 20-1).

Emma Day paced the Lady Eagles (1-13, 4-18) with nine points.

FRIDAY

BOYS BASKETBALL

MOUNT PLEASANT 71, WAYNESBURG CENTRAL 57 — Ray Arrigo came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 19 points as the visiting Vikings triumphed over the Raiders in a Section 4-3A game.

Jordan Grieff followed with 15 points and Andrew Brodak had 11 for Mount Pleasant.

The Vikings led 14-13 after the first quarter, Waynesburg went ahead 35-33 by halftime but Mount Pleasant took control in the second half, out-scoring the Raiders 19-14 in the third and 19-8 in the fourth.

The Vikings, who went winless a season ago, sank 12 3-pointers in improving to 2-8 in the section and 6-16 overall.

Waynesburg (4-6, 6-14), which had already sewn up fourth place and a postseason berth going into the night, was led by Dane Woods with a game-high 29 points and seven rebounds. Cole Headlee added 10 points and Austin Surber contributed five assists.

BENTWORTH 50, FRAZIER 18 — Ben Hays scored 15 points and the visiting Bearcats blew open a close game with an 18-4 advantage in the third quarter in defeating the host Commodores in a Section 1-2A game.

Bentworth (9-5, 14-6) led 9-6 after the first quarter and 18-12 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

Ryan Moessner had 12 points and Levi Urcho contributed 11 for the Bearcats.

Kolby Stewart notched a double-double for Frazier (3-10, 7-13) with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

MONESSEN 60, GEIBEL CATHOLIC 44 — Rodney Johnson scored a game-high 17 points as the host Greyhounds locked up a share of second place in Section 2-A with a win over the visiting Gators.

The result had no effect on Geibel Catholic’s hopes for a playoff spot as Saturday’s home game against St. Joseph decided which of the two would earn fourth place and the final berth either way.

Monessen (6-4, 11-8), coached by Dan Bosnic, led 20-8, 32-19 and 47-25 at the quarter breaks.

Tayvin Craggette followed Johnson with 16 points for the Greyhounds and Kayden Kolbeck added 10.

Eahn Stevenson paced the Gators (3-6, 10-11) with 16 points and Evan Strimel tossed in 14.

CANON-MCMILLAN 66, CONNELLSVILLE 48 — Roman Koenemund tallied 30 points and the Big Macs gradually pulled away from the visiting Falcons for a Section 2-6A win.

Canon-McMillan (3-11, 7-14) led 14-9, 31-25 and 49-36 at the quarter breaks.

Keegan Williams added 11 points for the Big Macs.

Christian Thomas paced Connellsville (0-14, 5-16) with 12 points.

LATROBE 80, ALBERT GALLATIN 60 — The Wildcats (7-7, 9-12) secured a WPIAL playoff spot in Section 1-5A with a victory over the visiting Colonials (0-14, 2-19).

RIVERVIEW 67, CALIFORNIA 35 — Prince Govan and Rex Roberts each scored 13 points as visiting Riverview triumphed over the host Trojans in a Section 1-2A game.

Ben Franciscus added 11 points and Liam Tomlinson had 10 for Riverview (4-10, 6-15) which led 13-10, 35-19 and 52-27 at the quarter breaks.

Alan Dennis led the way for California (0-14, 1-21) with 13 points.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

CANON-MCMILLAN 58, CONNELLSVILLE 29 — Madison Clair had 14 points and Samantha Miller followed with 11 as the first-place Lady Big Macs (9-1, 17-4) knocked off the visiting Lady Falcons in a Section 2-6A game.

Natalie Jacobs led Connellsville (1-9, 5-16) with 14 points to tie for game-high honors.

ELLIS SCHOOL 48, FRAZIER 43 — Angelina Jones scored 21 points as Ellis School defeated the host Lady Commodores in a Section 4-2A battle.

Frazier led 10-5 after the first quarter and 22-18 at halftime. Ellis (1-9, 3-14) fought back to tie it at 32-32 after three quarters and out-scored the Lady Commodores 16-11 in the fourth to earn the victory.

Syree Spencer had 18 points for Ellis.

Chloe Harger topped Frazier (1-9, 4-15) in scoring with 17 points.