High school roundup for Feb. 28, 2023: Fox Chapel grabs PIAA playoff spot

By: Tribune-Review
Wednesday, March 1, 2023 | 12:43 AM

Jefferson Moorefield-Brown scored 19 points to lead No. 11 Fox Chapel to a 64-45 victory over No. 12 McKeesport in the seventh-place game Tuesday night, claiming the WPIAL’s seventh and final spot in the PIAA playoff field in Class 5A.

Caden Kaiser added 11 the Foxes (15-11). Aemond Knight and Lamont Perkins scored nine points apiece for the Tigers (11-13). McKeesport top scorer Travarese Rowe scored seven points in the first half before leaving with an injury.

North Hills 67, Gateway 51 – Royce Parham scored 37 points and Jake Pollaro added 10 as 3 North Hills (20-6) won the third-place game in Class 5A. Kaleb Pryor and Tra Williams scored 13 points each, Jaydon Carr added 11 and Alex Dunsmore had 10 for No. 4 Gateway (17-7).

South Fayette 56, Mars 36 – No. 8 South Fayette (16-10) defeated No. 7 Mars (16-01) in the fifth-place game in Class 5A.

Carlynton 79, Geibel 39 – No. 3 Carlynton (17-7) took care of No. 4 Geibel (17-8) in the Class A third-place game.

Neighborhood Academy 78, Aquinas Academy 75 – Cortney Wallace scored 22 points, John Wilkins added 17 and Shamar Simpson had 16 as Neighborhood Academy (20-5) won the fifth-place game, claiming the fifth and final state playoff berth in Class A.

Vinnie Cugini scored 36 points, Jake Guillen added 15 and Jude Truschel had 13 for Aquinas Academy (20-6).

Cugini, the WPIAL’s all-time leading scorer, ends his high school career with 3,189 points, fourth-most in state history. He finished behind Northern Bedford’s AJ Nastasi (3,833), Mansfield’s Tom McMillen (3,608) and Carlise’s Billy Owens (3,299). Cugini moved past West Reading’s Ron Krick (3,174) during Tuesday’s game.

PIAA subregionals

Dubois 44, Obama Academy 37 – Tyson Kennis scored 20 points to lead DuBois to victory in a PIAA Class 5A District 8-9-10 subregional. Seth Small led Obama Academy with 10 points.

Erie 62, Allderdice 58 – Jay Smith scored 19 points to lead Erie to a comeback win over Allderdice in a PIAA Class 6A District 6-8-10 subregional.

Girls basketball

Shady Side Academy 60, Neshannock 52 – Top-seeded Shady Side Academy (23-3) won the Class 3A third-place game over No. 3 Neshannock (18-8).

OLSH 69, Keystone Oaks 41 – Kyleigh Nagy scored 17 points and Mia Grisafi added 15 to lead No. 5 OLSH (19-7) in the fifth-place game in Class 3A. Erionna Neal scored 15 points and Abby York added 10 for No. 7 Keystone Oaks (17-9).

Waynesburg 44, Mohawk 43 – Josie Horne made a baseline jumper at the buzzer to give No. 8 Waynesburg (21-5) a win in the Class 3A seventh-place game and the WPIAL’s seventh and final berth in the PIAA field. Kaley Rohanna led the Raiders with 16 points. Horne had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Alexa Kadilak led No. 11 Mohawk (15-11) with 10 points.

Burgettstown 50, Aliquippa 30 – Kaitlyn Nease and Jill Frazier each scored 14 points to lead No. 5 Burgettstown (20-6) in the Class 2A third-place game. Frazier hit four 3-pointers. Yaree Carter led No. 11 Aliquippa (12-11) with 13 points.

Greensburg Central Catholic 67, Serra Catholic 37 – Mya Morgan scored 27 points to lead No. 4 Greensburg Central Catholic in the Class fifth-place game. Erica Gribble added 19 points and Avery David had 15 for the Centurions (21-5). Abby Genes had 12 points and Cate Clarke added 11 for the No. 3 Eagles (18-4).

Brentwood 47, Chartiers-Houston 43 – Brianna Foley scored 19 points and Paige Boehm added 10 as No. 8 Brentwood (14-11) won the seventh-place game in Class 2A. Mia Mitrik led No. 7 Chartiers-Houston (16-10) with 15 points. The top eight teams make states in 2A.

Hockey

Penguins Cup playoffs

Kiski 4, Avonworth 3 – Kyle Guido scored the tying goal short-handed 12 seconds into the third period and Ethan George netted the game-winner with 4:28 to play as Kiski defeated Avonworth in a Class A play-in game. Kiski will meet North Hills in the quarterfinals Monday.

Shaler 3, North Catholic 2 – Joseph Laquatra scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period as Shaler topped North Catholic in a Class A play-in game. Shaler will face Greensburg Salem in the quarterfinals March 9.

Regular season

Cathedral Prep 4, Upper St. Clair 3 – Brayden Sprickman had a goal and an assist to lead Cathedral Prep (12-8) to a Class 3A win. Liam Nickerson, Alex Brown and Mathius Sprickman also scored. Benjamin Semenov had a goal and an assist and Peyton Gillespie and Aaron Stawiarski also scored for Upper St. Clair (11-8-1).

Connellsville 14, Trinity 2 – Max Sokol had a hat trick and Evan Sokol, Jesse Hodge and Titan Bekerleg each scored twice to lead Connellsville (12-5-1) to a Varsity D2 win. Liam Porter and Seamus Coyle scored for Trinity (0-18).

Peters Township 7, Bethel Park 1 – Ben Kovac had a hat trick and Will Tomko and Austin Malley each had a goal and two assists as first-place Peters Township (16-3-1) won in Class 3A, knocking Bethel Park (5-14-1) out of playoff contention. Anthony Karner scored for Bethel Park.