Washington coach Faust wins 600th
Ron Faust’s first stint as the Washington boys basketball coach lasted from 1981 until 2009, when he retired from teaching and coaching. When the position opened again for the 2014-15 season, he decided to give it another go.
“I was crazy enough to come back,”
Faust joked.
No kidding, Faust hit a milestone win Friday when his Prexies, paced by Dan Ethridge’s 20 points, defeated visiting BethCenter, 56-40, in a Class 3A Section 4 matchup. The victory was the 600th of Faust’s career, putting his all-time record at 600-226. Faust was given the game ball and was honored with a small ceremony alongside his family after the game.
Washington improved to 5-6 overall and 4-1 in the section on the season.
“It feels good, but to be honest, any coach would tell you that when you win 600 times, it’s because you have the better players 600 times,” said Faust. “It’s more of a tribute to the players than to me. It’s been a pleasure coaching them.”
More top games
■ Mt. Lebanon and Peters Township entered Friday riding a winning streak. The Blue Devils’ is still going, now at five in a row, after a 61-49 Class 6A Section 2 triumph against Peters Township. No. 2 Mt. Lebanon (12-2, 4-0) got 20 points from Jake Hoffman and 13 from Blaine Gartley. The Indians, whose streak ended at eight wins, got 16 points from Dax Plosinka. They fell to 9-3 overall and 2-2 in the section. The Blue Devils face unbeaten and thirdranked Upper St. Clair Tuesday in a Section 2 matchup to determine first place.
■ Upper St. Clair big man Tanner Gensler came up large again with a 39-point performance as his Class 6A No. 3 Panthers (130, 4-0) edged Bethel Park, 68-64, in Section 2 play. Ryan Meis netted 23 for the Blackhawks (8-5, 0-4).
■ Top-ranked Latrobe (11-2, 4-0) got another stellar performance from its dynamic duo as the Wildcats ran away from Norwin (6-5, 1-3), 80-51, in their Class 6A Section 3 game. Bryce Butler and Reed Fenton had 29 and 15 points, respectively, for Latrobe.
■ Ethan Morton of Butler (10-3, 3-1) led all scorers with 27 points and helped his team to a 76-57 win against Central Catholic (3-9, 1-3).
■ North Allegheny (7-4, 2-2) outscored Seneca Valley (7-4, 2-2) by 15 points in the second half to earn a 65-47 win in Class 6A Section 1. The Tigers had four players score in double figures, including Mike Egnaczyk with 16. Nathan Bush of Seneca Valley led all scorers with 20 points.
■ Donovan Johnson’s 26 points propelled Class 5A No. 2 Moon (12-0, 5-0) to a 78-47 blowout of Thomas Jefferson (6-7, 15) in Section 2.
■ Class 4A No. 1 Quaker Valley (10-1, 41) was handed its first loss of the season, getting shocked in overtime by Blackhawk (4-8, 2-3), 70-69, in Section 2. Sammy Fusetti put up 21 points to lead the Cougars, followed by James Darno with 19 and Carson Heckathorn with 10. Ryan Stowers had a game-high 36 for the Quakers. Stowers hit a 3-pointer as time expired in regulation to force overtime. Blackhawk had lost three in a row before Friday’s big win.
■ A 20-9 edge in offensive rebounds helped New Castle, ranked third in Class 4A, score second-chance points and pull off a 67-54 Section 2 win against Central Valley (4-8, 2-3). Demetris McKnight paced New Castle (9-2, 4-1) with 25 points and 13 rebounds, eight of which were offensive.
■ Korry Myers had 20 points and Johnny Crise added another 17 for Highlands (7-4, 3-1) in a 76-57 win at Mount Pleasant (211, 0-4) in Class 4A Section 1 action.
■ Montour (7-6, 4-2) held Chartiers Valley (8-3, 4-2) far below its 68.1 points per game average in a 57-49 win for the Spartans in Class 5A Section 2. Jaden Nelson led Montour with 17 points.
■ Ryan Kerr and Arnold Vento netted 18 points apiece for Fox Chapel (8-4, 3-1) in its 69-54 Class 6A Section triumph over PennTrafford (7-5, 2-2). The Foxes have won four in a row. Luke Fabac led the Warriors with 14 points.
■ Ben Ringeisen poured in 26 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, a dominant effort for Hampton (8-4, 4-2) in the Talbots’ 65-49 victory against Armstrong (2-9, 1-5) in Class 5A Section 3.
■ Allderdice, the top-ranked and five-time defending City League champion, raced to a 17-5 lead and never looked back in an 8445 rout of Carrick (6-7, 1-2). Slippery Rock recruit Bobby Clifford drilled four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 25 points for the Dragons (10-2, 3-0).
■ In another City League matchup, Lontae Smith’s 15 points led four players in double figures for Brashear (4-6, 3-0) in a 60-43 win against Obama Academy (6-4, 1-2).
■ Radkeem Byrd’s 23-point effort lifted Westinghouse (3-8, 1-2) to a 60-51 win against Perry (4-8, 0-3) in the City League.
■ Cade Richter netted 11 third-quarter points to give Southmoreland a 21-15 advantage in the period and help the Scotties (6-6, 3-2) get separation in their 56-46 Class 3A Section 4 victory at Brownsville (2-10, 0-5). Richter led all scorers with 25 points.
Stars of the day
■ Jimmy Moon buried five 3-pointers en route to 42 points for Class 2A No. 3 Serra Catholic (9-2, 5-0) in its 64-47 rout of Section 2 host Brentwood (5-7, 2-4).
■ Isiah Warfield connected on 10 of his 17 field-goal attempts for an efficient 42 points for Class 2A No. 2 Sewickley Academy (7-3, 5-0) as it downed Laurel, 73-48, in Section 3. Warfield was the only player to score in double figures for the Panthers.
■ Pine-Richland’s Greg Shulkosky racked up a triple-double of 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Class 6A No. 4 Rams (11-2, 4-0) pick up a 92-67 win at North Hills (4-8, 0-4). Pine-Richland’s Dan Petcash added 29 points, hitting all 12 of his attempts from the free-throw line.
Milestones
■ Cole Kendall made five 3-pointers and scored 25 points, including the 1,000th of his career, for Geibel (6-5, 3-3) in its 77-68 Class 1A Section 2 loss to Bishop Canevin (8-5, 4-1).
■ Seton LaSalle coach Mark Walsh scored the 200th victory of his career by leading the Class 3A No. 3 Rebels (10-1, 50) to a Section 2 drubbing of Carlynton (4-7, 0-4), 80-36.