Ama Sow scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, and the Montour boys basketball team completed its WPIAL Class 5 Section 4 season unbeaten Friday night by beating visiting Moon Area, 60-50.
The Spartans, who earlier clinched the section title, finished section play at 12-0 and improved their overall record to 20-1. Their lone loss came in a holiday tournament in Florida in late December.
It is believed this is the first time a Montour team has finished section play unbeaten, according to John Giammarco, who heads the Pittsburgh Basketball Club and PBC Hall of Fame and is well-versed in local basketball history.
Montour, which closes out its regular season Monday at home against Ringgold, will learn its seeding Monday afternoon when the WPIAL playoff brackets are unveiled.
The Spartans are the top-ranked Class 5 team in the WPIAL and the state’s top-ranked team in their class according to TribLive.com.
Montour coach Bill Minear said the Section 4 title “was the first step to reaching all the goals we started the season with.”
Moon, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A by TribLive, wound up 8-4 in the section and is 17-5 overall heading into the WPIAL playoffs.
The Spartans started out red-hot, jumping out to a 25-11 lead in the first quarter, with Kaleb Platz scoring 11 points in the quarter. Sow registered a double-double before the end of that quarter, finishing the first eight minutes with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We had a very strong first quarter,” Minear said, “and we were able to manage the lead against a really strong Moon team.”
Montour cooled off in the second quarter, as it turned the ball over five times, but still held a 33-16 halftime lead.
The 6-foot-11 Sow wound up with 12 points and 15 rebounds in the first two quarters.
The two teams battled to a standoff in the third quarter, and the Spartans owned a 46-29 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Platz finished with 14 points and Colton Straight added 13 for Montour. Carter Tumulty’s 18 points led Moon. Braeden Stuart added 11 points and Michael Santicola finished with 10.
Friday night’s contest was the annual “Nucci-Finny Game,” played to honor the memory of former Montour players Brandon “Nucci” Chiarelli and Brian “Finny” Finnegan, who were killed in a vehicle accident on the way to a game at Montour on Feb. 2, 2001. A scholarship fund established in memory of the two boys has raised thousands of dollars. Both of their mothers spoke prior to Friday night’s game.
Bishop Canevin 69, Sto-Rox 37
Damar Olds led a balanced attack with 14 points to help the Crusaders finish their Class 3A Section 2 schedule as unbeaten champions at 10-0.
Olds scored eight first-quarter points as Bishop Canevin established a 15-10 lead and the Crusaders turned it on in the second quarter, outscoring the Vikings 18-5 to take a 33-15 halftime lead.
Lamier Wade added 13 points for Bishop Canevin, which improved to 13-8 overall heading into the WPIAL playoffs. Jackson Maddix contributed 12 and Drew Allen 10 for the winners.
Marcus Griffin led Sto-Rox with 13 points and CJ Washington added nine – all in the second half – for the Vikings, who finished the season 0-10 in the section and 2-21 overall.
Keystone Oaks 65, Carlynton 48
Erond Jakupi and Tulio Watts combined for 43 points to spark the Eagles past the Cougars in a Class 3A Section 2 finale for both teams.
Carlynton jumped out to an early 10-point lead and eventually held a 12-9 edge after one quarter, thanks in part to Ishaga Barre’s eight points. But Keystone Oaks outscored the Cougars 19-7 in the second quarter to build a 28-19 lead at halftime.
Both teams made scoring runs in the second half, but Carlynton couldn’t close the gap and fell to 9-12 overall. The Cougars finished section play 4-6, but they clinched a spot in the WPIAL playoffs. They’ll find out who their first-round opponent is Monday.
Mikey Jenkins led Carlynton with 12 points and Devonte Dean and Barre each added 10.
Jakupi scored 22 points, with 17 of them coming in the second half, to lead Keystone Oaks. Watts also had a big second half, scoring 14 of his 21 points in the final two quarters.
Summit Academy 82, Cornell 67
Robert Young erupted for 33 points and Kyizir Rowan added 25 as the Knights rolled past the Raiders in a Class 1A Section 1 game.
The loss ended Cornell’s season and left the Raiders with an overall record of 3-19 and a 1-9 mark in section play.
Eduardo Benitez scored 21 points to pace Cornell, which trailed 24-15 after one quarter and 38-29 at the half before Summit Academy took control by outscoring the Raiders 25-13 in the third quarter.
Terrance Collington added 17 points and Walter Clarit contributed 11 for the Raiders.
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