Jan 14, 2026 By the Herald-Standard 7 min read

Isaac Ellsworth drilled six 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 30 points and Uniontown earned a key Section 1-5A victory over visiting Franklin Regional, 64-56, in boys basketball action on Tuesday night.

The Red Raiders improved to 3-4 in the section and 7-7 overall while the loss knocked the Panthers (5-2, 9-4) out of first place.

Gateway (6-1) now sits alone atop the standings with Franklin Regional second, McKeesport and Penn-Trafford (both 4-3) tied for third and Uniontown and Laurel Highlands tied for the fifth and last playoff spot.

“It was a big win,” Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky said. “To beat the first-place team was big for us.”

Uniontown was coming off a 71-61 win over crosstown rival Laurel Highlands on Friday.

“We played well and had another great team win tonight,” Kezmarsky said.

Uniontown trailed 18-16 after the first quarter and 33-32 at halftime but surged to a 48-46 advantage in the third. The Raiders out-scored the Panthers 16-10 in the final frame.

Cam Dugan followed Ellsworth with 16 points for Uniontown and Nolan Baker added 10.

“The players did a very good job playing man-to-man,” Kezmarsky said. “Isaac had 30 and Cam played a great floor game. Anthony Sheffey, Payden Fitzgerald and Nolan helped us control the boards.”

Logan Walker led Franklin Regional with 15 points and was followed by Alec Masten (12) and Colin Holt (10).

Laurel Highlands 64, Penn-Trafford 62 — Kayden Smith scored a game-high 19 points and hit five free throws in the final minute as the Mustangs held on for an important Section 1-5A road victory over the Warriors.

Laurel Highlands (3-4, 9-5) used a 19-10 advantage in the second quarter to take a 35-27 halftime lead. Penn-Trafford (4-3, 5-8) pulled within 49-44 after three quarters and whittled the gap to one point with just under a minute to play.

Smith made one of two foul shots with 40 seconds left then made two of two with 11 seconds on the clock after a steal by Luke Martin for a 62-58 lead.

Peyton Mastro’s two foul shots with six seconds left sliced the margin to two but Smith countered with two more free throws with five seconds remaining. Mastro scored with under a second left to set the final score.

Martin tallied 16 points for Laurel Highlands and Tyrone Burton added 10 points.

Zach Feldman led Penn-Trafford with 18 points. Mastro contributed 15 and Caleb Dubyak had 11.

Canon-McMillan 69, Connellsville 58 — The Falcons battled back in the fourth quarter, but the deficit was too large in a Section 2-6A setback to the Big Macs at Connellsville Area High School.

Canon-McMillan had a 21-5 lead after the first quarter, and extended its advantage to 42-23 at halftime. After both teams scored 12 points in the third quarter, the home team won the final frame, 23-15.

The Big Macs’ Roman Koenemund led the game in scoring with 29 points. Teammates Blake Simmons (17) and Keegan Williams (12) were also in double figures.

The Falcons were led in scoring by Lucas Hardwood, who put in 19. Rocco Farrell added 13.

Latrobe 67, Albert Gallatin 44 — The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead and earned a decisive victory over the Colonials in Section 1-5A play at Albert Gallatin.

Latrobe had a 21-13 lead after the first quarter and extended its advantage to 41-22 at halftime. The Wildcats had a 17-9 edge in the third quarter, while the Colonials won the fourth, 13-9.

Latrobe’s Ian DeCerb led all scorers with 21 points. Rob Young (13) and Andy Tasch (11) were in double digits for the visitors.

Ethan Kennedy paced Albert Gallatin with 13 points.

Waynesburg Central 53, Mount Pleasant 45 — The Raiders rallied from an early deficit to top the Vikings in Section 4-3A play at Waynesburg Central High School.

Mount Pleasant had a 17-10 lead after the first period, but Waynesburg took a 27-20 advantage into halftime after outscoring the visitors, 17-3, in the second period. The Vikings cut the deficit to one after a 15-9 edge in the third, but the Raiders finished strong with a seven-point advantage in the fourth.

Cole Headlee led Waynesburg and the game in scoring with 26 points. The Raiders’ Jackson Dean had 11 and Austin Surber 10.

Mount Pleasant’s Jonah Townsend had 13 and Greg Valone 12.

Beth-Center 76, West Greene 67 — The Bulldogs and Pioneers traded two dominant quarters in the first half before Beth-Center pulled away in the second half for a victory in Section 3-2A play at Beth-Center High School.

The Bulldogs had a 25-5 lead after the opening quarter before West Greene closed the gap with a 25-9 advantage in the second frame, and the home team held a 34-30 halftime edge.

Beth-Center took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter after a 22-16 advantage in the third. The Pioneers won the final frame, 21-20.

West Greene’s Landen Hill scored more than half his team’s points with a game-high 308. He also made nine 3-pointers. The Pioneers’ Derren Knight put in 18.

Jason Zellie and Brayden Hull each scored 19 points to pace the Bulldogs. Teammates Parker Amos (16) and Chase Bebout (11) were in double figures.

Monessen 61, Geibel Catholic 48 — The Greyhounds earned a road victory at “The Swamp” in Section 2-1A play following a solid fourth quarter.

Monessen clung to a 43-41 lead after Geibel outscored the visitors 20-15 in the third quarter, but an 18-7 advantage in the fourth brought the Greyhounds to a comfortable win.

Monessen led 16-10 after the opening period and 28-21 at halftime.

The Greyhounds had a trio of double-digit scorers in Torrence Taylor (22), Rodney Johnson (14) and Kayden Kolbeck (10).

Evan Strimel led the Gators in scoring with 15 points. Teammates Seth Dolan (13) and Eahn Stevenson (10) also contributed.

Southmoreland 73, Brownsville 38 — Brock Pritts tossed in a game-high 24 points in the first-place Scotties’ Section 4-3A win over the visiting Falcons.

Southmoreland (5-0, 8-6) led 20-10, 43-19 and 60-34 at the quarter breaks.

Noah Felentzer added 19 points for the Scotties.

Cameron Phillips topped Brownsville (0-5, 1-11) in scoring with 14 points and Jaiden Praster had 13.

Bentworth 56, Frazier 35 — Ben Hays scored 21 points and the host Bearcats took control in the second quarter in earning a Section 1-2A win over the visiting Commodores.

Frazier (2-5, 6-8) held a 3-2 advantage as defense dominated in the first quarter but Bentworth (5-2, 9-3) raced in front with a 22-11 advantage in the second and pulled away from there.

Ryan Moessner (12) and Levi Urcho (11) also hit double digits in scoring for the Bearcats.

Austin Stewart paced the Commodores with 10 points.

Riverview 76, California 25 — Rex Roberts scored 21 points as Riverview triumphed over the visiting Trojans in a Section 1-2A game.

Benjamin Franciscus had 18 points for Riverview (2-5, 4-9).

Alan Dennis topped California (0-7, 0-14) with 12 points.

Burgettstown 67, Mapletown 20 — Colt County scored 16 points in the visiting Blue Devils’ Section 3-2A win over the Maples.

Caleb Matalik had 13 points for Burgettstown (1-6, 4-11), which also got 12 points from Bryce Speer.

Ashton Walker and Kaleb Evosevich each scored five points for Mapletown (0-7, 0-13).

Fort Cherry 79, Carmichaels 26 — Connor Vansickle scored 21 points as the Rangers (5-2, 7-5) defeated the visiting Mikes in a Section 3-2A game.

Alex Toth tossed in seven points for Carmichaels (2-4, 3-8).

Girls basketball

Winchester Thurston 63, Frazier 27 — Jasmine Hollins scored 26 points and DaShae Cochran had 19 as first-place Winchester Thurston knocked off the visiting Lady Commodores in a Section 4-2A game.

Aleah Cooper added 13 points for the Winchester Thurston (4-0, 10-1).

Emerson Roebuck tallied 10 points for Frazier (1-3, 4-8).

Boys swimming

Belle Vernon 26, Steel Valley 17 — Brady Malekovich (100 butterfly), Gaige Watson (100 freestyle) and Derek Milkovich (100 breaststroke) won individual events in the Leopards’ non-section win over Steel Valley.

Belle Vernon also won the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

Girls swimming

Belle Vernon 25, Steel Valley 10 — The Lady Leopards got individual first-place finishes from Megan Shusteric (100 breaststroke), Ali Watson (50 freestyle), Josie Nikolic (100 butterfly) and Abigail Foster (100 freestyle) in a non-section victory over Steel Valley.

Belle Vernon also won the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays.