Mikey Jenkins and Ishaga Barre each scored 12 points to lead Carlynton’s boys basketball team to a 61-48 victory over Washington Tuesday night, clinching a spot in the WPIAL Class 3A tournament for the Cougars.
The win left Carlynton with a 4-5 mark in Section 2 play and an overall record of 9-11 going into Friday’s regular-season finale at Keystone Oaks.
Washington took an 11-10 lead after one quarter, but Carlynton used a 16-8 second-quarter advantage to build a 26-19 halftime lead. Barre scored five of his 12 points in the quarter.
The Cougars then put the game away by outscoring the Prexies 18-8 in the third quarter, extending their lead to 44-27. Carlynton used excellent balance on offense, as three players scored four points apiece.
Devonte Dean added 10 points for Carlynton and Julian Torres connected on three 3-pointers for nine points.
Carlynton coach Dan DeRose not only was pleased to see his team reach postseason play in his first season at the helm, but he also extended his personal streak of guiding a team to the playoffs to more than 30 years. That includes stints at the college and high school level.
“The kids played really hard tonight,” he said. “They really wanted a shot to get in the playoffs and they were committed to playing hard and sticking to the game plan.
“It’s really good to make the playoffs.”
Seedings and brackets for postseason play in all classes will be unveiled at 2 p.m. Monday.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 60, Rochester 29
Tiernan McCullough scored 17 points as the Chargers rebounded from Tuesday’s loss to Shenango by beating the Rams in a Class 2A Section 4 game.
OLSH improved to 16-5 overall and 11-2 in the section with the win and remains in second place, one game behind Neshannock with one game remaining. OLSH finishes section play Thursday against South Side, which is 5-8 in section play, while Neshannock (12-1) plays Union (10-3) Friday.
An OLSH win Thursday and a Neshannock loss Friday would give OLSH a share of the Section 4 title.
Jake Johnson added 14 points for the Chargers, who led 26-15 at halftime and put the game away by outscoring Rochester 20-8 in the third quarter.
Lucca Grisafi contributed 10 points in the win, half of which came in that third quarter.
Nate Bills paced Rochester with 17 points.
Bishop Canevin 63, Keystone Oaks 46
Jackson Maddix and Damar Olds each scored 17 points as the Crusaders beat the Eagles to wrap up the outright Class 3A Section 2 championship.
Bishop Canevin stretched its unbeaten section record to 9-0 and improved to 12-8 overall.
Keystone Oaks put up a spirited fight through the opening half, trailing just 27-25 at intermission.
But the Crusaders caught fire in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 19-6 to take control.
Drew Allen added 10 points for the winners. Erond Jakupi paced Keystone Oaks with 29 points.
Montour 80, Thomas Jefferson 60
Colton Straight buried six 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 35 points to lead the Spartans past the Jaguars in a non-section game.
The victory extended Montour’s winning streak to 13 games and left the Spartans 19-1 overall. Montour, which already clinched the Class 5A Section 4 title, closes out section play Friday at home against Moon.
Ama Sow added 15 points and 15 rebounds for Montour, which led 38-29 at halftime and then outscored the Jaguars 27-14 in the third quarter.
Kaleb Platz also contributed 15 points for the winners. Nick Trkja scored 21 points to lead Thomas Jefferson and Noah Kaszer added 20.
Moon Area 56, West Allegheny 28
The Tigers used a 17-1 first-quarter blitz to spoil the Indians’ Senior Night festivities and they went on to post an easy win in a Class 5A Section 4 game.
Carter Tumulty equaled West Allegheny’s scoring total as a team, pouring in 28 points to lead Moon.
Amir Turner added 10 points for the Tigers, who improved to 8-3 in the section and 17-4 overall with one regular-season game remaining – Friday against section champion Montour. Moon already has clinched a spot in the WPIAL tournament.
Ty Blatz led West Allegheny with 12 points.
McGuffey 63, Sto-Rox 42
Aydan Cunningham scored a game-high 24 points, 14 of which came in the opening quarter, to help the Highlanders to a Class 3A Section 2 victory over the Vikings.
McGuffey sprinted to a 19-10 first-quarter lead and then took complete control by outscoring Sto-Rox 21-7 in the second quarter.
MJ Thomas scored 10 points to lead Sto-Rox, which fell to 2-19 overall and 0-9 in the section.
Nazareth Prep 84, Cornell 35
Eduardo Benitez scored 17 points for the Raiders, who kept things close for one quarter before being outscored 30-12 in the second quarter of their Class 1A Section 1 matchup with the Saints.
Nazareth Prep led 18-13 after eight minutes of play before erupting for 30 points in the second quarter. That sent Cornell on the way to its 17th loss in 20 starts and dropped the Raiders to 1-8 in section play.
Mikey Keys led Nazareth Prep with 20 points.
Photos by Mike Longo Jr.
Be First to Comment