By Chris Rossetti, www.d9sports.com
Special to MaxPreps.com
PITTSBURGH – Terrelle Pryor is best known as one of the most sought-after football recruits in the nation, if not the most coveted.
But the Jeannette senior can play a little basketball as well, and so can his Jayhawk teammates.
Jeannette concluded a perfect 5-0 week with a 62-44 win over Aliquippa Sunday night in the Pittsburgh High School Basketball Classic at Duquesne University’s Palumbo Center.
And it was a week Pryor won’t forget, as he scored 96 points (19.2 ppg) in the five games, joining some elite company by scoring his 2,000th career point and grabbing his 1,000th career rebound.
Pryor reached each mile stone in Jeannette’s 69-43 win over Greensburg Central Catholic on Saturday, when he recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. That left him with 2,003 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He then added another double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds in the Jayhawks win over Aliquippa Sunday, giving him unofficially 2,020 career points and 1,013 career rebounds.
“I’m just here to help the team win,” Pryor told the Tribune-Review following Saturday’s game at Greensburg Central Catholic, Jeannette’s next-door neighbor. “It’s a nice milestone.”
Pryor’s week also including two 20-point games against Burrell (20 in a 63-50 win Monday and 27 in a 62-40 win Tuesday) and 14 points in a 72-58 win at Ford City Thursday.
The game of the week for the 14-3 Jayhawks, ranked No. 2 in Class AA by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was Sunday, when it faced Aliquippa, the Post-Gazette’s No. 3 Class AA team.
And it didn’t turn out to be much of a game because Jeannette built an 18-point halftime lead, 30-12, and cruised to the 62-44 win behind the double-double from Pryor, 19 points from Shaw Sunder and 13 from Jordan Hall.
Jonathan Baldwin, who is averaging 23 points per game, led Aliquippa with 15 points.
In the other two games of the Pittsburgh High School Basketball Classic, Upper St. Clair knocked off Chartiers Valley, 54-43, behind a career game from sophomore Brett McCormick, who bucketed 21 points despite coming into the game averaging just four, and Notre Dame Prep (Mass.) beat American Christian Academy, 87-85, in overtime.
WPIAL Boys Basketball: South Fayette Grabs First Section Title in Nine Seasons
South Fayette won its first section title since 1999 with a 65-52 win at Sto-Rox Friday night. South Fayette also beat Avonworth, 88-45, Tuesday behind 32 combined points from freshman Mike Lamberti (20) and Pat Zedreck (12).
Meanwhile, Belle Vernon is on the verge of its first section title in seven years following a pair of tight wins this week.
The biggest of those victories came Tuesday, when the Leopards beat second-place Steel Valley, 67-61, in overtime to take a two-game lead over SV in the Class AAA Section 5 race. Jacob Dudzinski scored 32 points, including the game-tying basket in regulation and 10 of the Leopards' 12 points in overtime.
Belle Vernon then played another squeaker Friday, outlasting Thomas Jefferson by 52-51 to run its record to 16-5. The Leopards won just 13 games over the last two seasons combined and haven’t won a section title in seven years. That will change with one win in its final two section games or a Steel Valley loss.
In other WPIAL action, Dom Lombardi, the son of IUP coach and former Pitt assistant coach Joe Lombardi, was the hero for Indiana Tuesday, hitting a 3-pointer at the horn to give the Indians a 67-64 win over Hampton. Lombardi scored 19 points in the game. Indiana then beat Valley, 77-70, Friday to move to 15-5 on the year.
Also Friday, Upper St. Clair shot 29 of 31 from the free-throw line but lost by 27, 75-48, to Moon, who clinched at least a tie for the Section 2 Class AAAA title. Brian Walsh scored 18 points to lead the Tigers, who were 15 of 19 themselves from the line, to the win.
Steel Valley’s Ryan Sabo scored his 1,000th career point (1,008) in a win over Elizabeth Forward Friday night.
Schenley Continues to Roll in Pittsburgh City League
Despite having two of last season’s starters starting in the Big East Conference this winter, the Schenley boys basketball team, which won the PIAA Class AAAA title a year ago, continues to roll in Pittsburgh City League (District 8) play and has won 69 straight against fellow City League opponents following an 87-84 win over Brashear Friday night.
Deandre Kane had 28 points for Schenley (18-2), which had to hold off a furious Brashear comeback. The Bulls trailed by 23, 56-33, at halftime but used a 31-11 third-quarter edge to get back into the game. John Wetzel led Brashear with 23 points, while Ed Tinker had 19, giving him 1,507 in his career according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
District 9 Girls Basketball: Clarion, Keystone Take Control of KSAC Races
There were two big girls’ games in District 9’s Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference Friday night: Clarion beat Union-Rimersburg, 51-39, to move into a first-place tie (and basically first place because of a season sweep) in the KSAC-East with the Golden Damsels. And Keystone grabbed a two-game lead in the KSAC-West with a 57-51 win over West Forest, while Venango Catholic upset second-place Cranberry, 39-31.
In the Clarion-Union game, Emily Fillman scored a career-high 19 points while adding six rebounds. The Lady Cats used a 19-10 third quarter to break open a three-point halftime lead.
“I felt like I was in a zone,” Fillman said. “It was fun. But I always say we do it together. The passes, everything, we just clicked.”
Clarion (12-8), which is believed to have swept Union (13-7) for the first time since 1992, now controls its own destiny in the KSAC-East race by the slimmest of margins.
“You love it,” Clarion coach Roger Walter said. “This is the reason you play.”
Shaina McNeil added a double-double for Clarion with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Torri Smith had 14 points to lead Union.
Meanwhile, just down Interstate 80 in Knox, Keystone got hot in the middle two quarters, outscoring West Forest by a combined 29-19 in the second and third periods to get the 57-51 win over the third-place Lady Indians.
Sam Schwabenbauer (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Cassy Hinderliter (14 points, 11 steals, 8 assists) led the way for Keystone (15-2), which has won six straight.
West Forest (13-5), which has lost two straight after winning 12 in a row, got 23 points from Geena Sneeringer and 16 points and seven steals from Jackie Lutz. Sneeringer had also scored 21 points in a win over Moniteau Monday.
The winner of the KSAC-East plays the winner of the KSAC-West in the KSAC title game Feb. 9 at a site and time to be determined. In the first-ever KSAC title game last season, Union knocked off Keystone, 43-42.
Also in District 9 girls’ basketball last week, Sheffield’s Amanda Craker had a game Monday she will never forget, scoring 29 points and hauling in 27 rebounds in the Lady Wolverines 66-57 loss to Elk County Catholic.
Later in the week, Austin’s Rayna Valenti outscored Elkland all by herself (27-25) on Saturday in helping the Lady Panthers to a 52-25 win that gave coach Dick Logue his 175th win as a girls’ coach. On Wednesday, Valenti became the seventh player in school history to record 1,000 career points; she now has 1,035.
St. Mary's freshman Kayla Hoohuli, the leading scorer in District 9 at 21.8 ppg, continued to dominate on Saturday, scoring 29 points, dishing out six assists, coming away with seven rebounds and seven steals and blocking five shots in a 64-39 Lady Dutch win over DuBois.
Other scoring highlights: Johnsonburg’s Abby Grumley (26 points Thursday); Coudersport’s Kristy Kamper (25 points, 7 rebounds Friday and 21 points Wednesday) and Karli Duffee (22 points Wednesday); Karns City’s Allyson Kepple (25 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds Friday and 23 points Monday); Cranberry’s Hannah Heeter (24 points, 12 rebounds Monday); Clearfield’s Sarah Kovalick (23 points, 5 3-pointer in her first varsity start Monday); East Forest’s Alicia Ponegalek (22 points, 4 3-pointers, became second leading scorer in school history Friday); Port Allegany’s Kaitlyn Kio (22 points Wednesday); and Coudersport Redbank Valley’s Lacey Blose (Wednesday vs. Clarion), Northern Potter’s Lacey Hess (Monday vs. Smethport) and East Forest’s Stacie Kandray (Monday vs. Venango Catholic) each hit game-winning shots in the last 10 seconds during the week.
District 10 Basketball: Erie Cathedral Prep Topples General McLane.
Mark Blazek scored 32 points Saturday to lead Erie Cathedral Prep (14-5) to a 72-64 win over defending PIAA Class AAA champion General McLane (17-3) before more than 1,500 at Gannon University’s Hammermill Center.
Blazek was on fire from the field, connecting on 12 of 13 shots in the game while scoring 23 first-half points.
“He carried us, no question about it,” Cathedral Prep coach Brian Flanagan told the Erie Times-News. “He had that look in his eye. We knew he was getting the ball, (McLane) knew he was getting the ball, and he still made some great shots. That’s hard to do.”
Steve Piotrowicz added 20 points for Erie Prep, while Shawn Walker led General McLane with 21 points and Kellen O’Neill chipped in with 17.
In District 10 girls basketball action, Cochranton needed every one of Leann Bortner-Yasay’s 33 points in a 45-44 win over Jamestown Thursday. Bortner-Yasay scored 15 of the Lady Cardinals' 20 baskets in the game.
The Girard boys team knows how Cochranton felt, as the Yellow Jackets needed every one of Andrew Rickard’s 24 points to knock off the WPIAL’s Franklin Regional (15-6), 52-51, Saturday to move to 15-4. Rickard drained four 3-pointers and 10 total baskets in the win.
The North East boys’ team continued to roll Saturday with 53-41 win over Oil City to move to 18-1 on the season. Matt Triana had 20 points for the Grapepickers, while Matt May had 17 for Oil City. May also had 23 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots on Thursday in helping the Oilers to a 54-47 win over Warren.
In girls’ action Saturday, Vicki Majewski scored 19 points to lead Mercyhurst Prep (19-1) to a 49-30 win over Franklin, while two-loss Girard (18-2) got a 57-40 win over Hickory behind 17 points from Liz Rickard.
District 9 Boys Basketball: Varacallo’s 3-pointer Leads DCC Past ECC
Friday night in DuBois, Dom Varacallo’s 3-pointer with seven second left broke a 33-all tie and lifted DuBois Central Catholic to a 36-34 win over Elk County Catholic in a battle of the previous two PIAA Class A Western champions and two of the top ranked teams in both District 9 and the PIAA Class A.
“The play was made up for me to go to the corner,” Varacallo told the DuBois Courier-Express/Tri-County Sunday. “I thought I was going to be used more as a decoy, but John (Ferraraccio) and Max (Moclock) set a nice screen. I don’t know how, but I was wide open with the ball. It was pretty exciting when it left my hands.”
ECC had one last chance to win the game after DCC purposely followed Nick Wortman to keep the Crusaders from trying a game tying 3-pointer. Wortman hit the first of two free throws with 4.1 seconds left but missed the second one, with the rebound going out of bounds off DCC. ECC’s Kiel Nissel then missed a 3-pointer at the horn that would have won the game for the Crusaders.
“We didn’t finish when we needed to in the last two-and-a-half minutes,” ECC coach Aaron Straub said. “If we would have finished a little better, we would have been fine.”
DCC (18-2) is ranked No. 2 in the RRR Roadhouse/D9Sports.com District 9 rankings and No. 8 in Class A in Pennsylvania by the Associated Press; ECC (16-3) is tied for No. 3 in District 9 and is No. 10 in the state. DCC won last season’s PIAA Western Championship before finishing second to Reading Central Catholic, while ECC won the PIAA title two years ago.
Some other key highlights from District 9 boys’ basketball this past week included David Kalgren hitting a game-winning shot with eight seconds left in helping Curwensville upset Kane, the RRR Roadhouse/D9Sports.com top ranked Class AA team, 55-54 Friday night. Kalgren finished with 22 points.
Big scoring games for the week included: Smethport’s’ Zach Meyers (36 points Tuesday); Union’s Scott Booth (30 points Tuesday, hit game-tying shot to force overtime Thursday); Clarion-Limestone’s C.J. Hesdon (29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals Thursday); St. Mary's Levi Welder (28 points Friday) and Brett Quiggle (28 points, 6 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 4 steals Monday); Moniteau’s Tyler Armagost (28 points Tuesday); Clearfield’s Matt Shiner (27 points Friday); and East Forest’s Corey Snyder (24 points Tuesday and 25 more points Thursday, leaving him two shy of 1,000 career points).
A couple of other notable stats during the week were Bradford’s Ben Lanich going a perfect 9-of-9 from the floor while recording a double-double (19 points, 12 rebounds) Friday, and Keystone’s Cristian Summerville hitting seven 3-pointer while scoring 21 points Thursday. Also, Redbank Valley’s Ryan Radaker hit a game-winning 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt Tuesday with 1.3 seconds left to help the Bulldogs beat Clarion.
The game of the week this week is Rocky Grove at Keystone Wednesday night. Rocky Grove holds a one-game lead over the Panthers for the KSAC-West title, but Keystone owns a 63-43 win at Rocky Grove Jan. 11, the Orioles lone loss of the season.
WPIAL Girls Basketball Highlights
Monessen’s Christina Chukwuedo had a week to remember, scoring 49 points (33 of which came in a win over winless Frazier) to go over 1,000 in her career. Her 16 points Tuesday helped the unbeaten Greyhounds to a 47-43 victory over previously unbeaten Washington.
Another top team, Hampton, continued to roll, beating Indiana and Highlands during the week to run its winning streak to 18 straight. The Lady Talbots (19-2) biggest win of the week came by 54-38 over two-loss Indiana (19-2), with Laurel Hanson recording five points, 21 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. Both Indiana losses this season have come against Hampton.
The WPIAL’s leading scorer, Darche’ Jackson of Wilkinsburg, was outscored 31-26 by Northgate’s Amanda Neely Monday but Jackson and the Tigers had the last laugh with a 54-53 win. Wilkinsburg, which also beat Deer Lakes, 73-33, Thursday, has now won six straight after starting the season 3-7. A four-game losing streak preceded the current win streak that has pushed the Tigers' record to 9-7.
Moon’s Becca Pollack a monster game (26 points and 20 rebounds) in a 49-39 win over Ellwood City Thursday, while Peters Township upset Oakland Catholic, 53-44, Thursday thanks to 26 points from Emily Correal. The strangest game of the week might have been Thursday, when neither Chartiers Valley nor Waynesburg scored a point in the fourth quarter. It didn’t really matter, though, considering that Char Valley outscored Waynesburg by 51-19 in the first three quarters.
Also scoring their 1,000th career points during the week were Washington’s Jenna Phillips, Vincentian’s Jackie Cortese, Mars’ Lily Grenci and Woodland Hills’ Nakia DeBlanc.
