Penn Hills becomes road warrior

Takes four-hour bus trip, then knocks off Lampeter Strasburg

Stuck in the eastern side of the state bracket, Penn Hills had one of the longest road trips of any team in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A tournament when it made the four-hour trek to Lampeter Strasburg.

Though it might have appeared to be an arduous journey, it turned into a worthwhile adventure for the Indians.

Jaden Dugger had a double-double with a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds and Noah Barren scored 14 as WPIAL seventh-place finisher Penn Hills ( 19- 5) handed District 3 champion Lampeter Strasburg (27-1) its only loss of the season in a 62-39 blowout.

Penn Hills limited the Pioneers, a 3-point-shoting team that lives on the outside jumper, to only 3 of 22 (13.6 percent) from behind the arc and 15 for 50 (30 percent) overall.

Lampeter Strasburg leading scorer Ty Burton, who led the team with a 21.4 point average, had 16 on 7-of-23 shooting.

Other Class 5A Laurel Highlands 55, Elizabethtown 33:

Joe Chambers scored a game-high 18 and Keondre DeShields 12 as Laurel Highlands (26-0) used a 17-2 third quarter to move past the ninth-place team out of District 3.

New Castle 63, Northeastern York 50:

The Red Hurricanes (24-2) took out their frustrations at losing to Laurel Highlands in the WPIAL final out on the Bobcats (1613). Mike Wells scored a game-high 33 points.

Highlands 74, Brashear 46: The Rams ( 19- 7) rebounded nicely from their WPIAL semifinal loss to Laurel Highlands as Cam Reigard scored 25 points. Jimmy Kunst 21 and Bradyn Foster 14 in the win against the City League Bulls (8-11).

Hershey 71, Shaler 45: Hershey might be the Sweetest Place on Earth, but it turned out to be a sour visit for the Titans (14-11), who took the loss against the Trojans (21-6).

Gateway 58, DuBois Area 32:

DuBois led the game, 1612, after the first quarter but only mustered 16 more points the rest of the way.

Central Mountain 51, Hampton 45:

Central Mountain (14-11) has been winning a lot of close games of late and the Talbots (13-12) were just the District 6 champion’s latest victim.

Boys roundup Class 4A Quaker Valley 67, Hickory 51:

Hickory (16-8) isn’t the same team that won the state title last year. The Quakers (24-0), meanwhile, remained undefeated as Markus Frank scored a gamehigh 28, Adou Thiero knocked down 15 and Wil Dunda added 10 in the win.

Lincoln Park 86, Central Martinsburg 67:

Brandin Cummings scored a gamehigh 26 points for Lincoln Park. LA Pratt added 25 points and Meleek Thomas went for 23 as the WPIAL No. 3 rolled over the District 6 runner-up.

Montour 63, Oil City 42: The Spartans (21-5) jumped all over the Oilers as they outscored Oil City 25-4 in the first quarter and never looked back. Diaun Pinkett had four 3-pointers and scored 19, while Vason Stevenson chipped in 16 for Montour.

Penn Cambria 66, Deer Lakes 63:

Armend Karpuzi scored 20 second-half points and pulled down 11 boards, but it wasn’t enough for the Lancers (16-7).

Fairview 61, Burrell 39: Fairview went on a 23-2 run in the third quarter that blew open a close game and sent the Bucs (14-10) home.

Class 1A Union 57, Southern Fulton 25:

The Scotties (22-3) rebounded nicely from their loss to Bishop Canevin in the WPIAL finals and moved into the second round with their win against the District 5 runner-up.

Bishop Canevin 73, Johnsonburg 40:

The Crusaders (21-4) got out fast against the fifth-place team out of District 9. They opened up a 37-10 lead after the first quarter and led 54-21 at halftime before the mercy rule kicked in.

Farrell 67, Geibel 55: Jaydis Kennedy scored 18 and Trevon White 13 for the Gators. But Lamont Samuels hit three 3-pointers and finished with 21 for the Steelers.

Imani Christian 79, Berlin Brothersvalley 70:

The District 5 champions put up a good fight against the Saints (16-6), but the fourth-place team out of the WPIAL had too much firepower. Avery Wesley and Bez Abdul each finished with 20 and Markus Williams tossed in 15 in the win.

Elk County Catholic 49, Rochester 47: The Rams (913) kept it close against the Chargers (23-5), but could not pull it out in the end.