Jeannette and GCC boys continue; Mt. Pleasant & Greensburg Salem girls fall
Written by: Westmoreland Sports
February 23, 2012
Tags: Dan Sinwell Ben Klimchock Demetrious Cox Orlando Morgan Alexa Szelong Jordan Toohey Angela Balya
#5 Greensburg Central Catholic 68 #12 Shenango 53 (Boys)
>> Playing for the first time in 12 days, Greensburg Central Catholic had to knock the rust off against Shenango in a Class AA first round match up. GCC found themselves down 10-1 early but after a timeout rallied and trailed 14-12 after the first quarter. The Centurions went on to outscore Shenango 21-12 in the second frame to take a 33-23 advantage into halftime. Despite the Wildcats making it close on a few occassions - within 4 points in the 3rd quarter - GCC shot well from the foul line down the stretch to grab the 68-53 win. Senior Dan Sinwell had a game-high 21 points and connected on key free throws to put the game away. Ben Klimchock finished with 15 points while Brian Graytok tossed in 14. Leading scorer P.J. McLaughlin was limited to just 9 points but pulled down 12 rebounds. The Centurions move on to play #13 Northgate Saturday who upset #4 Summit Academy in double-overtime 90-86.
#10 Jeannette 74 #7 Wilkinsburg 72 (Boys)
>> For those that believe Jeannette's leading scorer Demetrious Cox is thinking about football and not focusing on basketball need not look any further than what happened Wednesday night. Cox got the game-winning layup with just over 2 seconds on the clock and poured in 27 points to lead the Jayhawks past Wilkinsburg 74-72 in a Class AA first round clash. Cox put in 9 points in a high-scoring first quarter with Jeannette leading 26-21 after the frame and 38-34 at the half. After the lead changed hands in the third and fourth quarters, the Tigers tied it up at 72-72 with one minute left. After a Wilkinsburg turnover with 25 seconds remaining, Cox held for the final shot and got it to clinch the win. Jayhawks junior Orlando Morgan also had a monster game with 23 points. Jeannette will next play Beaver Falls who crushed Brentwood 64-39.
#11 New Castle 43 #6 Mt. Pleasant 42 (Girls)
>> Upsets continue in this years post-season as lower-seeded New Castle pulled off a stunner against Mt. Pleasant in a tight game 43-42 in Class AAA first round play. The Red Hurricane trailed the majority of the game until finally earning the lead in the fourth quarter. The Vikings (17-6) had an opportunity to tie the game sophomore Elaina Fearer hit only one of two free throws. Alexa Szelong led Mt. Pleasant with 13 points and Jordan Toohey added 8.
#2 South Park 66 #15 Greensburg Salem 33 (Girls)
>> After a big win in the preliminary round, inexperienced Greensburg Salem was overmatched by South Park - falling 66-33. The Golden Lions (13-11) had no answer for Eagles stand-out Shelby Lindsay who scored 32 points in the contest. Angela Balya led Greensburg Salem with 12 points. It was the first post-season appearance for head coach Janine Vertacnik's Golden Lions since 2006-07.