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BOYS BASKETBALL

6A BOYS QUARTERFINALS

New Castle 59, Norwin 47

Nothing was easy for New Castle (21-2) on Friday night but they were able to finally pull away in the fourth quarter and get to the semifinals with a 59-47 win over Norwin (14-9) Friday night at New Castle High School.

It was a slow start offensively for both teams which is exactly what Norwin wanted to be in the game. Both teams struggled to shoot, and New Castle took a 23-18 lead into the locker room. Things were much different in the second half as both teams exploded. Norwin put in a valiant effort as the score was tied 35-35 with about a minute to play in the third quarter, but a 12-0 run that spanned from the end of the third quarter through the beginning of the fourth quarter was exactly what New Castle needed, and it basically put the game out of reach.

New Castle shot over 50% on the night and 7 of 16 from three-point land. Isaiah Boice had 19 points for New Castle. Jonathan Anderson added 17 points and Da’Juan Young pitched in 12 points. Adam Bilinsky had 24 points for Norwin while Ryan Edwards netted 13 points.

New Castle advances to the WPIAL 6A Boys Semifinals where they will take on Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

Upper St. Clair 45, Seneca Valley 43

Upper St. Clair (15-8) took an 18-point lead into the fourth quarter and survived a frantic Seneca Valley (9-13) comeback attempt as they were able to advance to the semifinals with a 45-43 win on Friday night at Upper St. Clair High School.

Upper St. Clair shot 50% from three-point land in the first half jumping out to a 31-14 lead at the break. They held Seneca Valley from 1/9 from three and forced 13 turnovers. Things got very interesting in the fourth quarter when Seneca Valley went on an 18-2 run to start the fourth quarter. Seneca Valley’s Luke Lawson cut the deficit to 45-43 with a little over a minute to go and things got really interesting. Missed free throws were another big reason why Seneca Valley was able to hang around but they had two opportunities to tie the game in the final 20 seconds and couldn’t get it done and Upper St. Clair survived with the 45-43 victory.

Julian Dahlem led Upper St. Clair with 14 points. Lawson led Seneca Valley with 14 points while Aiden Lyczek added 10 points.

Upper St. Clair advances to the WPIAL 6A Semifinals where they will take on Central Catholic on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

Mt. Lebanon 55, Butler 50

Mt. Lebanon’s (16-7) Riley Farabaugh went 6 for 6 at the free-throw line late in the game and was able to ice a 55-50 win for the Blue Devils over Butler (14-8) at Mt. Lebanon High School on Friday night.

Butler did a great job handling Mt. Lebanon’s two first-team all-section picks in Lucas Garofoli and Michael Pfeuffer as they combined for two points, but Farbaugh stepped up in a big way for Mt. Lebanon to make sure the offense kept churning. Butler was behind most of the night but every time it looked like Mt. Lebanon was going to pull away, Butler would get right back into the game. They got the deficit all the way down to 51-50 with two minutes to go, but a quick response from Mt. Lebanon and free-throws by Farbaugh put the game away Mt. Lebanon claimed the 55-50 victory.

Farabaugh finished with 17 points for Mt. Lebanon while Brody Barber added 12 points. 6A scoring champion Braylon Littlejohn had 19 points while Donovan Carney netted 18.

Mt. Lebanon advances to the WPIAL 6A Semifinals where they will take on New Castle on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

 Central Catholic 80, Baldwin 75 (OT)

Baldwin’s (12-11) James Wesling had a huge night and got over the 1,000 point mark in his career but it wasn’t enough as Central Catholic (14-9) held on for an 80-75 overtime victory Friday night at Gateway High School.

For as good as Wesling was, Dante DePante was with him stride-for-stride for Central Catholic pouring in 34 points for the Vikings. Randy Wilkerson, Debaba Tshiebwe and Cole Sullivan all had 11 points. Wesling finished with 41 points for Baldwin.

Central Catholic advances to the WPIAL 6A Boys Semifinals for the third time in four years. They will take on Upper St. Clair on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.  

5A CONSOLATION GAMES

South Fayette 66, McKeesport 55

Things were tight for most of the night but a 21-14 fourth quarter helped South Fayette (15-10) defeat McKeesport (11-12) 66-55. The win clinches a spot in the state tournament for South Fayette. They will now play Mars on Tuesday in the fifth-place game for state seeding purposes. McKeesport has one more opportunity to make the state tournament as they will play Fox Chapel in the seventh-place game. The winner goes to the state tournament, the loser’s season is over.

Elijah Hill led South Fayette with 28 points. Gavin Orosz added 14 points. Travarese Rowe led McKeesport with 13 points. Shayne McGraw added 11 points and Lamont Perkins netted 10 points.

Mars 75, Fox Chapel 69

Mars (16-9) used a big first half and held off a big Fox Chapel (14-11) second half to come away with the 75-69 lead. Mars saw a 40-23 halftime lead dwindle to single digits but kept Fox Chapel at arm’s length to win the game and clinch a spot in the state tournament. Mars will now play South Fayette in the fifth-place game for seeding purposes. Fox Chapel will take on McKeesport on Tuesday in the seventh-place game with the winner going to the state tournament and the loser’s season ending.

Tasso Sfanos continued his great postseason run with 38 more points. Ryan Ceh had 13 points and Austin Campbell added 11. Jefferson Moorefield-Brown and Erik Wilson each had 18 points for Fox Chapel. Kam Griel netted 14 points and Asher White pitched in 10.