Westmoreland County basketball game recaps from Friday, January 23rd, 2026:

BOYS

Central Catholic 61 Hempfield Area 18

Hempfield Area was throttled offensively in a 61-18 loss to Central Catholic in a Section 2-6A tilt. The Spartans scored no more than six points in a quarter and trailed 30-12 at halftime. Enzo Khalil's 16 points lead the Vikings (15-2, 9-1). The Spartans drop to (12-6, 5-5).

Upper St. Clair 71 Norwin 45

Upper St. Clair held a 24-10 scoring edge in the third quarter and pulled away from Norwin to capture a 71-45 Section 2-6A win. Alex Graney registered 15 points for the Knights (9-8, 4-5) while Ryan Robbins scored a game-high 22 points for the Panthers (16-1, 9-1).

Gateway 56 Franklin Regional 41

After losing the first matchup between the teams earlier this season, Gateway turned the tables on Franklin Regional earning a 56-41 victory in Section 1-5A. Webber Rankin produced 13 points and Logan Walters added 10 for the Panthers (11-5, 7-3) who trailed 16-8 through the first eight minutes of the contest. Mykel Bruce-McCrommon went for 21 points for the first place Gators (9-1, 11-5). With the loss, Franklin Regional sits in second place and trails Gateway by two games in the standings.

Greater Latrobe 61 Laurel Highlands 55

Ian DeCerb and Robert Young each tallied 13 points to help lead Greater Latrobe to a 61-55 Section 1-5A victory against visiting Laurel Highlands. The Wildcats (6-10, 4-6) held a 30-23 lead at halftime and then held off the Mustangs in the second half. Luke Martin collected 19 points to lead all scorers for Laurel Highlands (9-8, 3-7).

Penn-Trafford 66 Uniontown 48

Penn-Trafford outscored Uniontown 36-25 in the second half to pull away for a 66-48 Section 2-5A triumph. Ethan McDonald poured in 20 points for the Warriors (8-9, 6-4) with Zach Feldman scoring 12 and Peyton Mastro chipping in with 11. Isaac Ellsworth ended with 20 points for the Red Raiders (9-8, 5-5). P-T is tied for third place with McKeesport in the section.

Kiski Area 49 Hampton 39

Landyn Artman racked up 15 points as Kiski Area downed Hampton 49-39 in Section 2-5A action. In addition to Artman, D.J. Lindenfelser added 11 points for the Cavaliers (9-8, 4-4). Jonas Cupps collected 16 points for the Talbots (8-7, 4-5).

Deer Lakes 70 Burrell 53

Burrell trailed 37-17 at the halftime break and couldn't dig out of the hole, falling at Deer Lakes 70-53 in a Section 1-4A contest. Adam Wass had a big game dropping in 24 points for the Bucs (8-10, 4-5) while Trey Coury added 10 points. Evan Moore lead all scorers with 25 points for the Lancers (9-8, 4-4).

Elizabeth Forward 77 Greensburg Salem 47

Greensburg Salem had no answer for Tyler Basic and Daniel Spence as the Golden Lions dropped a Section 3-4A game to Elizabeth Forward 77-47. Basic and Spence each scored 27 points, accounting for 54 of the 77 points for the Warriors (9-7, 6-2). Brody Burkholder (14) and Solomon Cain (13) each reached double figures for Greensburg Salem (8-9, 3-6).

Derry Area 48 Belle Vernon 46   WATCH BROADCAST

Stanley Rajkovich's twisting jumper at the buzzer in overtime lifted Derry Area to a 48-46 victory over Belle Vernon in Section 3-4A. With the Leopards leading 46-43, Rajkovich connected on a three-pointer with under a minute left in regulation to force overtime. Remarkably, neither team scored in the extra frame until the winning basket by Rajkovich. The junior finished with 20 points for the Trojans (12-6, 7-2) while Luca Ghilani and Vincenzo Francia put in 16 and 11 points respectively for Belle Vernon (11-8, 7-2). There is now a three-way tie atop the section between Derry Area, Belle Vernon and Elizabeth Forward.

West Mifflin 53 Yough 38

Yough led early but couldn't maintain it as the Cougars dropped a 53-38 Section 3-4A match up to West Mifflin. The Cougars went out in front 12-8 after one but were down at halftime 33-18. Hayden Smith notched a game-high 19 points for Yough (2-15, 1-8) while Tyler Smith chipped in 11. Julian Dewberry scored 14 points to pace the Titans (2-16, 2-6).

Southmoreland 75 Charleroi 60   WATCH BROADCAST

Southmoreland shrugged off a slow start and picked up a Section 4-3A triumph over Charleroi by a final of 75-60. Ty Whoric went off for 29 points to power the first place Scotties (10-7, 6-0) while Luke Stinnett and Brock Pritts had 15 and 14 points respectively. Xavion Thomas scored 16 points for the Cougars (9-9, 3-3).

Ligonier Valley 70 Mount Pleasant 45

Michael Wisniewski poured in 23 points as Ligonier Valley topped Mount Pleasant 70-45 in a Section 4-3A contest. The Rams held a slim 16-12 lead through the first eight minutes but took control of the game by outscoring the Vikings 19-3 in the second quarter. In addition to Wisniewski, Michael Vargulish-Graver added 17 points for Ligonier Valley (9-7, 4-2). Kade Hutchinson collected 14 points for Mount Pleasant (5-13, 1-5).

Jeannette 61 Riverview 25

Markus McGowan tallied 20 points as Jeannette cruised to a 61-25 win against visiting Riverview in Section 2-2A play. Along with McGowan, McAlister Steele scored 16 points including four 3-pointers for the Jayhawks (15-1, 10-0). Rex Roberts' nine points paced the Raiders (5-12, 3-7).

GIRLS

Franklin Regional 59 Gateway 26

Katherine Yaniga exploded for 23 points as Franklin Regional picked up a 59-26 win over Gateway in Section 1-5A play. Chloe Pucka also reached double figures as she scored 12 points for the Panthers (8-9, 5-4). The Gators fall to (2-13, 0-8).

Kiski Area 44 Greensburg Salem 24

Jada Blanciak racked up 26 points to lead Kiski Area to a 44-24 victory over Greensburg Salem in Section 2-5A. The Cavaliers (9-7, 3-5) ended the game on an 18-2 run. Mya Heasley's 12 points topped the Golden Lions (7-10, 2-7).

Penn-Trafford 63 West Mifflin 33

Izzie Fontana scored 18 points as Penn-Trafford powered its way to a 63-33 route of West Mifflin in Section 2-5A action. Torrie DeStefano added 11 points for the Warriors (14-3, 9-0). Kendall Lee came in with nine points for the Titans (6-12, 1-7).

Plum 70 Burrell 62

Burrell didn't have an answer for Riley Stephans who scored 30 points to lead Plum to a 70-62 non-section triumph. Casey Brancato tallied 21 points for the Bucs (12-5) while Case Coury had 15. The Mustangs improve to (14-3).