Hot DiRienzo carries Bethel Park to win
Black Hawks led Sto-Rox by 40 points at halftime
Tommy DiRienzo has been one of the hottest shooters in the WPIAL in the early part of the season, and the holiday break did nothing to cool him off.
On Friday, the Bethel Park senior guard hit seven 3-pointers as part of his 27 firsthalf points as the Black Hawks (6-3) reeled off their fourth consecutive victory with a 9757 running-clock victory against visiting StoRox (3-5).
Ryan Meis scored 14, Max Blanc 13 and Anthony Chicott 12 for Bethel Park, which will be off for a week until it returns to Class 6A Section 2 action against Peters Township.
A.J. Nelson did his best to help the Vikings mount a comeback with 12 of his 24 points in the third quarter, but Sto-Rox trailed, 62-22, at the intermission and the game was out of reach.
Other boys games
■ Dom Napper scored a game-high 23 points and Kenlein Ogletree chipped in 10 as Clairton (4-2) overcame a 3point halftime deficit to oust Yough (46), 55-51, in the Charleroi tournament
■ Shaler (5-3) remains the No. 2 WPIAL team in Class 5A, but the Titans had a tough time with Worthington-Kilbourne of Ohio in the Bethel Park tournament as Ayden Parsons led four players in double figures with 22 in a 74-56 win. Mekhi Reynolds led Shaler with 15.
■ Homer Center’s Nick Sardone scored 28 points, but so did Derry senior guard Aidan Bushey, while Tanner Nicely added 16 and Ryan Bushey 13 to help the Trojans (3-5) to a 74-68 win at the Richland tournament.
■ Connor Moss did everything he could against William Penn Charter as the Plum junior guard hit four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 39 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Mustangs (1-7) from dropping their fourth in a row, 78-60, in the Shady Side Academy tournament.
■ Connellsville center Josh Maher went inside for 18 points, while Kolby Keedy dropped in 13 and Ahmad Hooper 12 to lead the Falcons (3-4) to a 60-53 victory over Class 3A No. 3 Washington (5-1) despite 19 points from Tayshawn Levy.
■ New Brighton (1-6) fought back from down eight at halftime to tie things up with South Side Beaver heading to the fourth quarter, but the Rams (3-5), behind 20 points from Trenton Seik, were able to pull away late and eke out a 52-50 victory. JoJo Reynolds led New Brighton with 17.
■ Serra Catholic (4-4) has had almost no success playing outside of Class 2A Section 2 and those woes continued in the Jeannette tournament as the Eagles got 15 points from Jayden Bristol, but were outgunned as Alec Petroff fired off 21 and Chase Walker 20 as Indiana (3-5), which is winless in Class 5A Section 3, pulled out a 62-54 overtime victory. Serra Catholic is 3-0 in section, but 1-4 in non-section matchups.
■ Michael Bigley scored a game high 19 points, including three 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough for Seton LaSalle (4-3) as Noah Pierce scored 17 and Isaac McNeil and Shane Stump had 12 apiece as Thomas Jefferson (4-4) evened its record on the season with a 63-61 win over the Rebels at the Snowball tournament in Southern Garrett, Md.
■ Sophomore Will Wagner had a night to remember as he went for a game-high 30 points for Charleroi, but in the end it wasn’t enough as senior forward Michael Pohlot dropped in 19 to lead four Belle Vernon (63) players in double figures as the Leopards pulled out a 69-66 victory over the host Cougars (5-4).
■ Aliquippa (4-2) may have lost two games to Central Valley (2-3) in football season, but the Quips exacted a little bit of revenge on the hardwood as they pulled out a 60-48 victory over the Warriors.
■ Ben Brooks and Josh Dugan each went for 18 points and helped stake Northgate (1-7) to a nine-point first quarter lead, but the Flames could not hold on and subsequently dropped their sixth in a row as Charoni Mickens scored 21 to lead Carlynton (6-2) to a 64-61 win for the Cougars fourth win in their past five games.
Stars of night
■ Fox Chapel head coach Zach Skrinjar won his 150th career game as J.P. Dockey scored 10 points to help the Class 6A No. 2 Foxes (8-0) to a 45-30 victory over host Shady Side Academy (2-4) at the Indians holiday tournament.
■ Jimmy Hoover did most of his damage from beyond the arc as the Moon (2-4) senior guard hit six 3-pointers for 18 of his game-high 20 points to help the Tigers to a 62-52 win over Brashear. The Bulls (1-3) have now lost three in a row.
■ In his first game back after the team’s trip to Orlando, Fla., Penn-Trafford senior Zach Rocco didn’t show any signs of jet lag as he drilled three 3-pointers and was 9 for 10 from the free-throw line as part of his game-high 32 points in the Warriors’ 56-48 victory over rival Franklin Regional.