Weary Quaker Valley uses defense to win
Quaker Valley’s Class 4A Section 2 contest against Central Valley marked the fourth night in a row the Quakers had played. While Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni said that resulted in the team coming out a little sluggish, it certainly didn’t have an impact on the end result.
No. 5-ranked Quaker Valley clamped down defensively and held a good Warriors team to their lowest point total of the season in a 62-33 victory.
“It was one of our better defensive games as far as helping and playing together as a unit,” Mastroianni said. “They are an outstanding team and when it got into a halfcourt game, we were able to defend really well.”
Marcus Frank posted a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds. Frank led the way, but it was an all-around solid effort by the Quakers (10-3, 9-2).
“We got good contributions across the board, which was good for us after playing so many nights in a row,” Mastroianni said.
Jayvin Thompson and Matt Merritt each had 10 points for Central Valley (10-3, 8-3).
More top boys games
• A 14-point performance by Jaymont Green-Miller lifted Sto-Rox (9-5, 9-1) past Carlynton (11-3, 8-2) in 2A Section 2, 37-30.
• Junior forward Lau Thompson scored 8 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to help Shady Side Academy (11-1, 9-1) extend its win streak to five by defeating ApolloRidge (6-3, 4-3) in 3A Section 3, 51-42.
• Chartiers Valley moved into the top spot in the 5A rankings this week and won its 10th game in a row by downing South Fayette (6-8, 2-5) in a Section 2 matchup, 68-48. Brayden Reynolds paced the Colts (17-1, 9-1) with 22 points.
• Brashear fended off Perry down the stretch and escaped with a 51-49 City League victory. Jayden Vincent netted 11 and Jacob Davis had 10 points for the Bulls (1-2, 1-2). The Commodores (1-4, 0-4) got 14 points from Jeremiah Davis and 10 from Tyreese Fearby.
• Allderdice (4-3, 4-0) posted 42 points by halftime before cruising to a 75-57 City League triumph against Carrick. Kiere Henning scored 20 points for the Dragons, followed by
Ray’Quan Young with 14 and Malik Robinson with 10. The Raiders (2-2, 2-2) got 21 points from Vashon Howell and 10 apiece from Amaru Caldwell and Kishawn Jenkins-Jones.
• A 28-3 third-quarter run helped North Catholic (13-4) pull away from Nazareth Prep (3-12) and secure a 76-29 victory in the nonsection clash. The balanced Trojans got 13 points apiece from Max Rottman and Matt Gregor, and 12 from Andrew Ammerman.
• Vernon Settles pumped in 20 points and Zach Boyd chipped in 17 more for Elizabeth Forward (8-3, 8-1) as it outlasted Mount Pleasant (6-8, 4-5) in 4A Section 3, 42-38. The Warriors have won five consecutive games. The Vikings got 14 points from Jonas King and 10 from Nate Kubusky.
• Mt. Lebanon (8-6, 5-0) took control of its 6A Section 2 clash against Canon-McMillan (012, 0-8) with a 24-6 third-quarter run en route to a 66-36 triumph. Jake Reinke led the Blue Devils with 16 points. The Big Macs’ Aiden Berger knocked down four shots from behind the arc and totaled 14 points.
• Class 5A No. 4 Highlands (11-3, 7-1) stuffed the box score by putting 13 players on the score sheet in a 70-33 rout of Indiana (0 -12, 0-9) in Section 4. Sophomore Jimmy Kunst led the charge with 12 points.
• California (4-3, 4-2) raced to a 30-12 halftime lead and cruised past Bentworth (1-10, 07), 57-37, in 2A Section 4. Nate O’Savage paced the Trojans with 12 points, while Landon Urcho led the Bearcats with 14.
Top girls games
• North Allegheny, ranked No. 1 in 6A, trailed Penn-Trafford (10-4, 9-4) after the first quarter, but the Tigers defense clamped down in the second and third quarters to secure the 50-29 victory in Section 1. The Tigers (17-0, 12-0) held a 28-7 scoring advantage in the second and third combined. Lizzy Groetsch paced North Allegheny with 16 points.
• Kathryn Nardo scored more than half of Franklin Regional’s points as she powered the Panthers (3-8) past Kiski Area (3-14), 32-26, in a non-section matchup.
Star of the night
• Owen Newcomer played like a seasoned veteran as he drilled five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 27 points for Frazier (15-3) in its 73-37 non-section rout of Avella (6-10).