Davis’ layup sends Bethel Park past S. Fayette
Shawn Davis made a driving layup at the buzzer to help Bethel Park (12-11) gain a 3432 upset win against host South Fayette (14-9) Monday night in the first round of the WPIAL 5A playoffs.
Bethel entered the game as a No. 11 seed, while South Fayette was a sixth seed.
A big reason Bethel Park won the game was it held South Fayette’s Michael Plasko to just five points. Plasko was the fourth leading scorer in the WPIAL during the regular season at 25.6 a game. Davis led Bethel with nine points. South Fayette’s Gavin Orosz had a game-high 11 points.
More 5A
Moon 73, Woodland Hills 39: Elijah Guillory had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, helping topseeded Moon (20-3) gain an easy win against the visiting Wolverines (9-14). Moon connected on 59% of its shots from the floor (33 of 56) and outrebounded Woodland Hills, 38-16. Moon held a 40-23 halftime lead as Aiden Reesman backed up Guillory’s big game with an 18-point effort.
Franklin Regional 67, Mars 50: The second-seeded Panthers (20-2) got big games from Colin Masten ( 20 points), Cooper Rankin 19) and Cam Rowell (18) as they tamed the Planets (10-13). Franklin Regional led 30-21 at halftime and increased the margin in the second half. Ryan Ceh led Mars with 26 points and went pas the 1,000-point mark in his career.
Kiski Area 58, Peters Township 51: The visiting Cavaliers (15-7), a 12th seed, took a 26-19 halftime lead and held on for an upset win against the fifth-seeded Indians (176). Isiah Gonzalez led Kiski with 15 points. Cam Mills topped Peters Township with 15. Thomas Jefferson 72,
Penn-Trafford 53: The fourthseeded Jaguars (20-3) led the visiting Warriors (11-12) by just 30-29 at halftime, but outscored their upset-minded opponent in the second half, 42-24, to win going away. Evan Berger (18 points) and Noah Prosser (16) led a balanced Thomas Jefferson offense that saw five players reach double figures.
Shaler 73, Chartiers Valley 71: The third-seeded Titans (21-2) avoided an upset from the visiting Colts (11-12) in a tight game at Shaler. Sam Himrod led Shaler with 20 points. Jayden Davis had a game- high 21 points for Chartiers Valley.
Class 3A
Derry Area 54, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 53: Nate Papuga scored a game-high 25 points and partially blocked an OLSH shot in the final seconds to help the 12th-seeded Trojans (14-6) upset the fifthseeded Chargers (18-5) at Fox Chapel. Derry entered the game having never won a first- round WPIAL playoff game. The Trojans were 1-12 all-time in playoff games, the one win coming in a preliminary-round game in 2021. OLSH, on the other hand, had been to seven consecutive WPIAL title games. But Monday night, the Trojans made the big plays when they had to. The contest had 12 lead changes and no one ever led by more than six points. Papuga, the third leading scorer in Derry history with more than 1,100 points, was the seventh leading scorer in the WPIAL during the regular season at 24.9 a game. His 25point effort, including 6 for 6 from the free throw line, was backed up by 6-5 freshman Stanley Rajkovich who tallied 16 points, 12 rebounds. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was led by freshman Tiernan McCullough with 19 points.
Shady Side Academy 79, Beaver Falls 62: The 14th seeded Tigers (7-15) started quickly and owned a 21-15 lead late in the first quarter, but Shady Side Academy (167) went on a 22-3 run to grab a 37-24 lead by halftime. Shady Side’s Eli Teslovich had a big night in the game at Shaler, scoring 40 points. Di’Nari Harris had 33 points for Beaver Falls.
Burrell 55, Seton-LaSalle 50: Tucker Bitar had 21 points and Macky Bennis 15, leading the11th seeded Bucs (14-5) to an upset win against the sixth seeded Rebels (167) at Thomas Jefferson. Burrell, which made 13 of 15 free throws, held a 31-23 halftime lead and hung on in the second half.
Deer Lakes 62, Sto-Rox 32: Top-seeded Deer Lakes (184), the defending WPIAL 3A champions, led the visiting Vikings (10-13) by 38-12 at halftime. The Lancers outrebounded Sto- Rox, 32- 15.
Deer Lakes was led by Collin Rodgers with 16 points and Nate Moore with 14 points, 9 rebounds.
Mohawk 74, McGuffey 39: Bobby Fadden tallied 25 points, connecting on seven 3-pointers, helping the host Warriors (16-7) top the Highlanders (14-9). It was Mohawk’s first playoff win in the first round since 2002.
Neshannock 66, Mount Pleasant 40: David Kwiat had a game-high 22 points, including four 3-pointers, leading the fourth-seeded Lancers ( 19- 3) past the visiting Vikings (8-13).
Yough 53, South Park 30: Terek Crosby, the second leading scorer in the WPIAL during the regular season at 25.8 a game, added another 25 points, leading the host Cougars ( 19- 4) past the Eagles (13-9).
Ellwood City 53, Washington 36: Joseph Roth tallied a game-high 18 points as the ninth-seeded Wolverines (167) stopped the eighth-seeded Prexies (15-8).