Mt. Lebanon advances by defeating Bethel Park
Hoffman leads defending champs with career game
Jake Hoffman celebrated his 18th birthday in October. Saturday, he hit 40. Hoffman’s career-high 40 points vaulted defending champion Mt. Lebanon to a 70-48 win against Bethel Park in a WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal at Canon-McMillan.
A senior guard, Hoffman outscored Bethel Park (14-9) by himself in the first half, pouring in 28 points as Mt. Lebanon (17-6) raced to a 4020 halftime lead. He finished 15 of 20 from the field with five 3-pointers and was 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Blaine Gartley added 13 points for Mt. Lebanon, which shot 56% (25 of 44) from the field. Tommy DiRienzo and Dolan Waldo paced Bethel Park with 10 points apiece.
More 6A
Central Catholic 42, Fox
Chapel 34: Ben Sarson (21) accounted for half of his team’s points as Central Catholic (14-10) upset No. 2 Fox Chapel (21-2) at Plum. The Vikings advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2012 after outscoring Fox Chapel, 10-2, in the fourth quarter. Arnold Vento led the Foxes with 12 points.
Class 4A
Belle Vernon 66, Quaker
Valley 61: Cam Nusser scored 17 points and Devin Whitlock had 14 points and 10 assists to help Belle Vernon (18-6) stun Quaker Valley (17-6) at Plum. Belle Vernon held a 17-10 scoring edge in the fourth quarter. Quaker Valley, which reached the finals the past three seasons, was led by Markus Frank’s 23 points. Blackhawk 69, Uniontown
63 (OT): Ryan Heckathorn made a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to force overtime and scored six of his gamehigh 20 points in the extra period, allowing Blackhawk (1310) to beat Uniontown (20-3) at Canon-McMillan. Blackhawk was 10 of 12 from the line in overtime. Billy DeShields scored 15 for Uniontown. New Castle 56, Knoch 50:
Three--time defending champion New Castle (17-7) advanced to the semifinals for the 10th year in a row by topping No. 2 Knoch (19-4) at North Allegheny. New Castle’s Michael Wells had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Sheldon Cox added 19 points. Knoch’s Scott Fraser had 17.
Highlands 80, Ringgold
56: Top-seed Highlands (203) got 25 points from Korry Myers and 22 from Luke Cochran to roll to the win against Ringgold (14-10) at North Hills. Highlands led by 16 points at the half. Demetrius Butler led Ringgold with 20 points.