Trinity too much for Highlands
Senior pours in 31 points to help Hillers charge past 2020 WPIAL 4A champion
It didn’t take long for a returning champion to get bounced from the WPIAL basketball playoffs.
Led by standout senior Michael Dunn’s 31-point performance, No. 13 seed Trinity (10-8) went on the road and stunned No. 4 Highlands in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round game Wednesday night, 7656. The Rams (13-6) captured the WPIAL Class 4A title last year before moving up to Class 5A.
“They just paid a lot of attention to Michael, and he just had a great deal of patience in that first half,” said Trinity coach Tim Tessmer. “We got it to open guys. Our second, third and fourth guys all made shots, which put a lot of pressure on them. Then when they adjusted to that, Michael started getting open.”
Dunn’s strong showing was no surprise, but the Hillers also received a major boost from Kyle Fetcho, who drained six 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 22 points. Highlands began closing the gap after halftime, cutting Trinity’s lead to eight on a 3- pointer by Antoine McDaniel. Not to be outdone, Dunn answered with a buzzerbeating 3-pointer from way behind the line to give the Hillers a 58-47 lead going into the fourth.
Other Class 5A games
Laurel Highlands 67, Shaler 56: The Titans (8-5) gave the defending WPIAL Class 5A champion Mustangs a bit of a scare in their firstround matchup. The teams went into halftime tied before Laurel Highlands ( 13- 3) pulled away. Keondre DeShields and Rodney Gallagher combined for 42 points for Laurel Highlands. Logan Bernesser had 21 for Shaler.
Chartiers Valley 72, McKeesport 54: The topseeded Colts (20-3) used a 33-point night from Brayden Reynolds and a strong fourth quarter to put away the Tigers (7-9).
New Castle 68, Plum 38: Michael Wells scored a gamehigh 21 points and Sheldon Cox finished with 18 to help the No. 2-seed Hurricanes (18-2) to a one-sided win against the Mustangs (9-6).
Gateway 62, Albert Gallatin 59: The Gators led at halftime, 25-16, but the Colonials nearly came back with the help of Nate English
’s game-high 23 points. Gateway had four players score in double figures, including 13 from Ryan Greggerson and 12 from Bryson Pavlik.
Penn Hills 60, South Fayette 27: The Indians (13-4) rolled past the Lions (9-10) and into the Class 5A quarterfinals with a one-sided home victory, keyed by 16 points from Ed Daniels and 15 from Wes Kropp.
Mars 54, Franklin Regional 45: Zach Schlegel scored a game-high 22 points and Mihalo Sfanos added 16 to power the Planets (15-3) into the 5A quarterfinals.
Class 2A
Greensburg Central Catholic 54, Serra Catholic 53:
The No. 2-seed Centurions held on against No. 18 seed Serra (4-12) in a nail-biting first-round win. Greensburg Central Catholic (14-3) got 24 points from Brevan Williams to stave off a fourth-quarter rally by the Eagles.
Fort Cherry 54, Frazier 49: The Commodores (17-4) won their first section title in 31 years, but their storybook season ended as the No. 11seed Rangers pulled off an upset behind 14 points from Owen Norman and 13 from Maddox Truschel.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 92, California 35: Jake DiMichele scored 28 of his game-high 33 points in the first half and Dante Spadafora added 19 in a blowout for the two-time defending WPIAL champion Chargers (18-0).
Shenango 60, Monessen 35: The Wildcats ( 16- 7) breezed past the Greyhounds (10-8) behind a balanced offensive attack that featured four players scoring in double figures, including a game-high 15 points from Reis Watkins.
Sewickley Academy 49, Carlynton 34: Max Belt scored a game-high 21 points to propel the Panthers (10-7) past the Cougars ( 12- 5). George Zheng contributed 17 points in the road win.
Sto-Rox 73, South Side Beaver 63: The Vikings (10-5) withstood a spirited effort from the No. 19-seed Rams (6-12) to advance to the quarterfinals, paced by 19 points from Josh Jenkins.
Jeannette 69, Burgettstown 24: Keith Rockmore scored a game-high 17 points and Anton Good added 15 as the Jayhawks (14-4) romped to a convincing win at home against the Blue Devils (812).