News

The Pine-Richland Rams won their fifth straight game on Friday night, and third in a row in section play, with a 58-44 triumph over the North Hills Indians in the Quad-A Boys Basketball Game of the Week. It also marked the second straight season the Rams picked up a Section 3-AAAA beat the Indians on their home court. Pine-Richland was led by senior Andrew Petcash who poured in a game-high 24 points. The Division I recruit was named the Player of the Game by Quad-A Sports.

The first quarter saw the host Indians build a 16-11 lead thanks in large part to the play of 6-6 senior Ishmael Waldron who consistently beat the Rams up the floor for 10 points in the opening stanza. Despite the hot start, Pine-Richland slowed Waldron down with their bevy of “big men” and limited the Bronx, New York transfer to just seven points for the rest of the game.

While North Hills grabbed the early lead, the Rams turned the tables on the Indians with a 10-1 run and took a 21-17 lead in the early stages of the second quarter. Petcash led the charge by pouring in three of his four 3-pointers in the first half to help Pine-Richland take a 29-25 lead into intermission.

In the second half, the Rams spread out the North Hills defenders who were helpless to stop the ball handlers of Pine-Richland. Also important to the win was PR’s defensive effort, which limited North Hills’ Nick Smith to 13 points. Senior Charles Tortorice did the bulk of the work on Smith, using his 6-3 frame to hinder shots from the talented Indians guard.  With its defense and ball handlers playing keep away from North Hills, Pine-Richland coasted in the second half to the 58-44 win

Pine-Richland sits at 8-4 overall and 3-2 in Section 3-AAAA following the win. North Hills slips to 6-5 overall and 3-2 in section play.

Upper St. Clair vs. Peters Township Game Summary

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	FINAL
Upper St. Clair	4	10	10	11	35
Peters Township	14	7	14	17	52