Jackson Bauman’s fourth 3-pointer of the second half proved to be the difference Friday night as Moon Area edged defending WPIAL Class 5A champion Chartiers Valley, 52-49, in a key Section 4 boys basketball matchup at Moon.
The loss was the first in section play for Chartiers Valley, which is ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL among Class 5 schools and No. 3 in the state by TribLive. The Colts, who downed the Tigers 46-43 in the first meeting between the two teams, are now 15-2 overall and 8-1 in section play.
Moon, ranked No. 4 in the WPIAL, improved to 13-3 overall and 5-3 in the section.
The game was tight throughout, with neither team leading by more than five in the second half. With the score tied at 49-49, Moon inbounded the ball with 23.5 seconds to play. Bauman took possession with 13 seconds left, drove across the top of the key, headed down the left side of the lane, reversed his dribble, causing a Chartiers Valley defender to fall, and drained a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds to play to give Moon a 52-49 lead.
Chartiers Valley inbounded and after advancing to midcourt, called a timeout with 2.7 seconds left. The Colts’ ensuing inbound pass nearly sailed out of bounds, but Julius Best saved it to Luca Federico, whose 3-point shot was off the mark at the buzzer.
Bauman led all scorers with 20 points and was hot from long range, connecting on five 3-poitners, including four in the second half. His younger brother, Brody, contributed 15, including back-to-back 3-pointers that erased a 47-42 Colts lead midway through the final quarter.
Jackson Bauman’s free throw extended Moon’s lead to 49-47 before Federico converted a pair of free throws with 1:06 to play. That set the stage for Jackson Bauman’s game-winning shot.
Moon coach Gino Palmosina said the Tigers ran a play on that final possession that broke down, but the Chartiers Valley defense broke down as well, and that left Bauman wide open for the 3-pointer beyond the arc to the left of the top of the key.
“He drilled it,” Palmosina said of Jackson Bauman. “You have to give him credit. It was a big moment, and he hit the big shot.”
Palmosina said he liked the way his team played on both sides of the ball.
“We homed in on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “We don’t like to play in the 60s or 70s – our goal is to hold teams to 45. We didn’t reach that, but we still got the job done. We locked down on defense and executed.
“Offensively we limited our turnovers, and that’s been a big story. Turnovers have killed us in some of these bigger games. For us not to turn the ball over or limit our turnovers was super important on the offensive side.”
Chartiers Valley’s Julian Semplice nearly matched Jackson Bauman’s long-range shooting heroics, as he connected on three 3-pointers in the third quarter and added another in the final quarter to finish with 16 points. Federico and Logan Helfrick each added nine for the Colts.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 64, Union 45
Jake Johnson poured in 25 points, including 14 in the first half, as the Chargers whipped the Scotties in a Class 2A Section 4 game at OLSH’s Angela Activities Center.
OLSH led 32-25 at halftime and used a big fourth quarter, outscoring Union 20-9 to put the game away and improve to 13-4 overall and 8-1 in section play.
Tiernan McCullough added 19 points for the Chargers, 11 of which came in that final quarter.
Landon Eckert’s 18 points led Union.
Montour 57, Blackhawk 45
Mark Carter scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the final eight minutes to help the Spartans hold off the Cougars in a Class 5A Section 4 game at Montour.
The Spartans led 29-23 at halftime and 45-38 heading into the fourth quarter and maintained their lead to improve to 5-12 overall and 3-6 in the section.
Loic Kalau added 10 points and Robert Schmitt chipped in nine for Montour, which snapped a five-game losing streak.
Marco Fusetti led Blackhawk with 19.
Bishop Canevin 42, Washington 37
Drew Allen led all scorers with 24 points as the Crusaders downed the Prexies in a Class 3A Section 2 game at Washington.
Bishop Canevin built a 27-19 halftime lead and held on to improve to 10-7 overall and 6-0 in the section. Allen scored eight of his points in the final quarter for the winners.
Tristan Reed’s 18 points led Washington and William Callan added 12.
Keystone Oaks 69, Sto-Rox 55
Erond Jakupi and Joseph Colton combined for 38 points as the Eagles built a 10-point first-half lead and went on to beat the Vikings in a Class 3A Section 2 game at Sto-Rox.
Jakupi finished with 21 points for Keystone Oaks and Colton added 17. Treshon Gilliam chipped in 14 for the Eagles, who improved to 12-3 overall and 5-1 in the section.
Marquis Thomas led Sto-Rox with 13 points while Marcus Griffin added 11 and LJ Washington 10. The Vikings fell to 6-11 overall and 2-4 in the section.
McGuffey 46, Carlynton 40
Sam Stout led all scorers with 21 points as the Highlanders edged the Cougars in a Class 3A Section 2 game at McGuffey.
Stout scored 13 of his points in the second half as McGuffey outscored Carlynton 30-25 to secure the win.
Graydon Harvey scored 12 points to lead Carlynton, which dropped to 5-12 overall and 1-5 in the section.
Cornell 67, Beaver County Christian 48
Eduardo Benitez struck for 27 points and Zy’Air Dupree added 17 to help power the Raiders to a Class 1A Section 1 win over the Eagles.
Terrance Collington aided the cause with 11 points, eight rebounds and seven steals and Jakil Turner added eight points for the Raiders, who improved to improved to 4-12 overall and 2-4 in section play.
Cornell led by just three at the end of one quarter but outscored the Eagles 20-8 in the second quarter and that proved to be the difference in the game.
Ethan Schmidt led Beaver County Christian with 21 points.
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