Jan 17, 2026 By the Herald-Standard 6 min read

McKeesport out-scored visiting Laurel Highlands 20-14 in the fourth quarter to earn a 59-53 Section 1-5A victory in boys basketball action Friday night.

Lamont Perkins paced the Tigers with 16 points and was followed by Darryl McCullough (12) and Brian Jones (10).

Kayden Smith tossed in a game-high 23 points for the Mustangs with Sevi Vecchiolla adding 10 points.

McKeesport (5-3, 8-6) led 16-9 after the first quarter and 28-22 at halftime but Laurel Highlands (3-5, 9-6) rallied in the third to tie it at 39-39.

Smith’s basket to open the fourth quarter put the Mustangs ahead 41-39 but Gionni Grace followed with a 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead 42-41 and they would not trail again.

Southmoreland 64, Elizabeth Forward 49 – Noah Felentzer led all scorers with 24 points in helping the Class 3A Scotties earn an impressive non-section road victory over the Class 4A Warriors.

Southmoreland jumped out to a 20-14 advantage in the first quarter and held leads of 32-21 at halftime and 48-36 after three.

Brock Pritts tallied 14 points for the Scotties (9-6) who extended their winning streak to five.

Kellen Watson had 13 points for EF (8-6), which also got 10 points from Tyler Basic.

Jefferson-Morgan 59, Burgettstown 47 – Jeremiah Robertson poured in 26 points in the Rockets’ Section 3-2A win over the visiting Blue Devils.

Jefferson-Morgan (7-1, 13-1) led 18-12, 30-23 and 39-26 at the quarter breaks.

Brayden Ellsworth followed with 13 points and Dayten Marion added 10 for the Rockets.

Caleb Matalik led Burgettstown (1-7, 4-12) with 12 points and was followed by Blake Neal (11) and Bryce Speer (10).

Beth-Center 78, Mapletown 26 — Jason Zellie tallied a game-high 17 points as the visiting Bulldogs rolled past the Maples in a Section 3-2A game.

Parker Amon and Brayden Hull followed with 16 points apiece and Brayden Ozohonish added 12 for Beth-Center (5-3, 9-6), which shot out to a 27-4 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

Kaleb Evosevich topped Mapletown (0-8, 0-14) in scoring with 12 points and Coltin Halbert chipped in with 10.

Greensburg Central Catholic 57, Frazier 32 – The Centurions out-scored the visiting Commodores 24-5 in the third quarter on their way to a Section 1-2A victory.

GCC (3-5, 3-12) led 14-9 after the first quarter and 28-20 at halftime before pulling away in the third.

Tommy Dlugos scored 17 points for the Centurions with James Botti contributing 15 and Luke Semelka adding 14.

Kolby Stewart tossed in a game-high 19 points for Frazier (2-6, 2-9).

Norwin 81, Connellsville 34 – The Knights exploded for 32 points in the first quarter on their way to a Section 2-6A victory over the host Falcons.

Alex Graney led Norwin (4-4, 9-7) with 15 points and Mario Csukas had 14.

Rocco Farrell led Connellsville (0-8, 4-10) with 10 points.

Jeannette 80, California 33 – Markus McGowen was one of four Jayhawks in double figures with 16 points as Jeannette triumphed over the visiting Trojans in a Section 1-2A game.

Kymon’e Brown followed with 13 points for the first-place Jayhawks (8-0, 13-1), who also got 10 points apiece from Jayce Powell and Xavier Odorisio-Farrow.

Alan Dennis was the top scorer for California (0-8, 0-15) with 10 points.

Greensburg Salem 64, Geibel Catholic 62 – Jackson Stevey scored 22 points and Solomon Cain added 21 as the Class 4A Lions edged the visiting Class A Gators in a non-section clash Saturday.

Geibel (8-6) was ahead 15-13 after the first quarter but Greensburg (8-7) surged to a 32-27 halftime advantage and held a 45-40 lead after three. The Gators out-scored the Lions 22-19 in the fourth but fell two points short.

Ty Harkcom contributed 10 points for Greensburg Salem.

Evan Strimel racked up a game-high 27 points for Geibel and Seth Dolan tossed in 14 points.

Girls basketball

Beth-Center 49, New Castle 35 – Violet Trump turned in another dominant performance with 20 points and 24 rebounds as the Class 2A Lady Bulldogs defeated Class 5A New Castle in a non-section game.

Beth-Center (7-8), which has won three of its last four, led 13-10, 23-16 and 33-27 at the quarter breaks in earning the home win.

Alexia Fischer also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards for the Lady Bulldogs., who also got eight points and six steals from Elliana Revi.

Ka’Mya Thompkins led the Red Hurricane (0-15) with 14 points and Sofia DeVivo had 13.

Carlynton 38, Jefferson-Morgan 26 – The Lady Cougars shut out the visiting Lady Rockets in the first quarter while building a 16-2 halftime lead and held on from there for a non-section win.

Lucy Vetter led Carlynton (5-9) with 18 points.

Ava Wood scored 13 points for J-M (7-8).

Women’s basketball

Geneva 73, Waynesburg 71 – The Golden Tornadoes built a 10-point lead with 7:17 left and hung on from there for a PAC victory over the visiting Yellow Jackets Saturday.

The score was tied 35-35 at halftime but Geneva (2-4, 5-10) took a 55-51 in the third quarter and never trailed in the fourth.

Emily Garvin led the Golden Tornadoes with 15 points and Destanie McCullough followed with 10 points.

Kalista Friday scored a game-high 16 points with 13 rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Yellow Jackets (2-4, 6-9). Julz Mohrbacher totaled 13 points and 15 boards and Mia Henkins added 11 points, including a 3-pointer at the final buzzer, for Waynesburg.

Edinboro 69, PennWest California 45 — Rachael Manfredo scored 20 points and Taylor Blunt added 19 off the bench as the Fighting Scotts marched past the host Vulcans in a PSAC West game Saturday.

Ava Haddad added 12 points for Edinboro (8-1, 11-7).

Kennedy Bankett topped Cal (5-5, 9-11) in scoring with 15 points and was followed by Alicia Young (13) and Hope Hawkins (12)

Men’s basketball

Waynesburg 62, Geneva 43 – Casey Keesee scored 17 points as the Yellow Jackets knocked off the host Golden Tornadoes in a PAC game Saturday.

Waynesburg (2-4, 6-9) built a 25-16 halftime lead and out-scored Geneva 37-27 in the second half.

Jackson Rhodes totaled 14 points and seven rebounds for the Yellow Jackets, who also got 13 points and seven boards from Aiden Blake.

Trey Barker had a game-high 18 points for Geneva (4-2, 7-8).

PennWest California 82, Edinboro 77 — Antoine Arnett’s layup with 30 seconds left put the Vulcans in front to stay as they fought off the visiting Fighting Scots for a PSAC West win Saturday.

Arnett was fouled on his bucket and missed the free throw but Dalman Alexander grabbed the offensive rebound which led to a pair of free throws by Jordyn Buchanan with 22 seconds left to put Cal up 80-77.

Arnett made two foul shots with four seconds left to seal the victory.

Bryson Lucas led the Vulcans (9-1, 12-5) with 23 points and 14 rebounds and Arnett finished with 21 points and five assists. Cal also got 12 points from Alexander and 11 from Buchanan.

Bryce Baez had 23 points for Edinboro (4-5, 8-8) and was followed by Rowan Carmichaels (19) and Evan Berger (11).