Thomas Jefferson holds on in OT
Pushed to overtime against the lowest remaining seed in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs, a title contender pushed right back Friday.
Charlie Scharbo scored 21 points and No. 3 Thomas Jefferson controlled the overtime to defeat No. 11 Blackhawk, 72-67, in a quarterfinal at North Allegheny.
Thomas Jefferson (22-2) advanced to its first semifinal since 2006 and will face No. 2 Central Valley (20-3).
After upsetting No. 6 Knoch in the first round, Blackhawk (12-12) played Thomas Jefferson tough, forcing overtime after missing a 3-point attempt with five seconds left in regulation.
Thomas Jefferson’s Chase Winovich made two free throws early in overtime to put the Jaguars ahead for good.
Winovich finished with 14 points and 20 rebounds.
Free-throw shooting played a big part in Thomas Jefferson’s win. The Jaguars were 13 of 14 from the line in the fourth quarter and overtime. Scharbo made 8 of 9 in that span.
Tyler Engle led Blackhawk with six 3-pointers and 25 points.
Other Class AAA
Chartiers Valley 74, Mars 61: Matty McConnell and Jerrad Tuite scored 29 points apiece to lead No. 1 Chartiers Valley (231) to its seventh semifinal berth in eight years after defeating No. 8 Mars (15-9) at Montour. McConnell scored 24 points in the first half and Tuite scored 24 in the second half. Chartiers Valley jumped to a 26-12 first-quarter lead on the way to winning its 16th game in a row. Mars, which went to overtime to defeat Steel Valley in the first round, got 25 points from Owen Nearhoof and 17 from John Castello.
Uniontown 86, Elizabeth Forward 79: No. 5 Uniontown (21-1) moved into the semifinals for the first time since 2002 after defeating No. 4 Elizabeth Forward (20-4) at Charleroi. Jordan Pratt, Joe Campbell and Xavier Ellis each scored 18 points for Uniontown, which has won 12 consecutive games. Uniontown went ahead, 22-12, in the first quarter and led the rest of the game. JaQuan Davidson scored 23 points and Austin Matta added 19 for Elizabeth Forward. The Warriors were trying to reach the semifinals for the first time.
Class A
Vincentian 88, Clairton 51: A rematch of last year’s title game ended with the same result, as defending champion Vincentian (22-2) took a 44-27 halftime lead and coasted to the win at West Allegheny. Jay Cortese led No. 2 Vincentian with 23 points. Cortese was 5 of 6 from the field and 12 of 14 from the free-throw line. Vincentian made 28 of 39 free throws. Ryan Wolf had 18 points for Vincentian, which advanced to the semifinals for the fourth year in a row. Jaquan Ford led No. 10 Clairton (10-7) with 20 points.
Lincoln Park 95, Western Beaver 44: Maverick Rowan poured in 37 points to lead No. 1 Lincoln Park (23-1) to its third lopsided win against Section 1 foe Western Beaver (15-7) this season. Lincoln Park will make its fifth consecutive appearance in the semifinals. Rowan had 27 points at the half when Lincoln Park held a 53-18 lead. Elijah Minnie added 17 points for Lincoln Park, which defeated Western Beaver by 51 and 35 points in the regular season. Nick Miller led No. 9 Western Beaver with 18 points.
North Catholic 51, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 49: Ryan Kirby’s buzzer-beating jump shot gave No. 4 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (15-9) the win against No. 5 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (18-6) at Cornell. North Catholic reached the semifinals for the fourth season in a row after trailing by three points after three quarters. Dom Robb led North Catholic with 13 points and Kirby chipped in 12. Cameron Johnson scored 15 points for OLSH, which raced to a 14-6 first-quarter lead. OLSH saw its season end in the quarterfinals for the fifth time in six years.
Monessen 63, Wilkinsburg 49: No. 3 Monessen (19-5) used a strong second half to surge to the victory against No. 6 Wilkinsburg (13-8) at Baldwin. Clintell Gillaspie led Monessen with 21 points and Javon Brown added 18. After trailing, 26-23, at halftime, Monessen outscored Wilkinsburg, 40-23, in the second half. The Greyhounds will have a chance to reach the title game for the third time in four years. The Greyhounds played in the Class AA final in 2011 and 2012. D’Shawn Adair led Wilkinsburg with 22 points.