USC sweep puts Canon-McMillan in contention
RJ Bell gets a step on his defender and beats him to the basket during Canon-McMillan’s boys’ basketball game versus Upper St. Clair
Canon-McMillan’s Kenyon Lewis attempts a reverse layup against Upper St. Clair
While the results were as different as night and day, Canon-McMillan moved into contention for the top spot in Section 2, Class 6-A of the WPIAL in boys’ basketball. After sweeping Upper St. Clair, 37-32, and 66-56, in a back-to-back, home-and-away series this past weekend, the Big Macs battled Mt. Lebanon (Jan. 24) for first place in the league. To start the week, Lebo led the division with a 5-1 mark while Canon-Mac was tied with Baldwin for second place, both with 5-2 marks. However, the Big Macs had the best overall record at 12-4, followed by the Highlanders at 11-5 and Lebo at 9-7.
“It’s a grind,” said C-M floor boss Rick Bell of the section, “but we are used to it. You can’t get too down when you lose or too high when you win. You just keep plugging and that’s the good thing about our team.”
Despite hitting a dry spell, the Big Macs plugged away against the Panthers. In the first fray, Canon-McMillan went 13 minutes without scoring yet still triumphed. They opened up an 18-8 lead on a basket from R.J. Bell at the 4:10 mark in the second stanza but did not score again until 1:10 remained in the third quarter. Elliot Waller snapped the drought and Jake Davey drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Big Macs into the lead. Kenyon Lewis also buried the go-ahead-shot for good with 5:21 to play.
“Those were two huge plays. Huge threes for sure,” Bell said.
Bell added that the 13-minute lull in scoring “wasn’t by design” but he couldn’t argue with the results. “We won,” he said. “That is the goal. That is the agenda.”
The Big Macs followed a little more offensive agenda in the 66-56 win at USC the following day. In the triumph, RJ Bell topped out with 15 markers. Britton Beachy finished with 11 tallies, including a 5-for-6 showing from the line in the final frame. Lewis supplied 12 points.
Bell’s son also provided heroics in the first win against the Panthers. The coach’s son scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the first half as C-M stretched a 9-7 first-frame advantage into a 10-point lead. His 3-point with 4:10 to go in the second stanza afforded the Big Macs the 18-8 edge. Bell scored his final seven points in the last three minutes of play. His 3-pointer gave C-M a 35-30 edge and his two free throws with 4.1 seconds to play iced the victory for the Big Macs.
“I’m proud of (RJ) and happy for him but at this stage in his career I expect it,” Bell said of his performance. He’s been through the ringer. It’s not easy being a coach’s son. He’s a pretty mentally tough hombre because of that.”
For the Panthers, Kyle Meinert and Jack Hansberry were the hombres. Meinert registered 16 points in the low-scoring loss while Hansberry tossed in 18 in the second showdown.
Meanwhile, Lebo tuned up for its showdown with the Big Macs by upending Chartiers Valley, 52-45. The Colts are the No. 2 ranked team in Class 5-A. In the win, Mark Lamendola tossed in 17 points for the Blue Devils. Nick Jessloski topped out with 10 for the Colts.
Earlier, CV defeated Montour, 90-81. In the win, the Colts drained 17, 3-point field goals. Coleman Vaughn buried five and finished with 23 tallies. Caleb Zajicek, Joe Pipilo and Ross Wilkerson all converted four, 3-pointers. Zajicek and Pipilo finished with 22 and 17 points respectively.
In other Section 2 action, Peters Township defeated Bethel Park, 71-54. Dax Polskina fired in 18 points, 12 off four treys. Conor Pederson also picked up 18 points. For the Hakws, Brevin Mastovich finished with 12 digits.
In Section 3, while South Fayette fell to Belle Vernon, 66-60, Keystone Oaks dropped a 58-55 decision to McGuffey in double overtime. Trent Belleville and Sean Edlis led the Golden Eagles with 17 ad 16 markers.
Bishop Canevin dispatched Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 51-48, in Section 3-AA play. Walter Bonds dropped in 19 markers, eight in the final frame. Eugene Goodwine buried four, 3-pointers and finished with 18 tallies.
Girls’ action
Mt. Lebanon took over sole possession of first place in Section 3 of Class 6-A in the WPIAL by beating Baldwin, 71-40. With the win, the Lebo ladies improved to 6-0 in the division and 13-4 overall.
Kenzie Bushee led the way with 20 tallies while Kate Sramac followed with 15.
Previously, Lebo lost to Cumberland Valley in non-section action, 47-35. Sramac topped out with 14 points.
Peters Township stayed close to Lebo in the section race by picking up a 52-43 win against Bethel Park. With the win, the Indians moved to 6-1 in the league and 11-4 overall while the Hawks dropped to 2-4 in the section and 10-6 overall.
Makenna Marisa poured in 24 points while Lillian Young pitched in 12 tallies for the Indians. Maria Cerro fired in 16 and Maddie Dziezgowski followed with 11 markers for BP.
The Indians also dispatched Baldwin, 46-41. Marisa dropped in 15 markers in that win.
Earlier, BP beat Oakland Catholic, 49-38. With 11 points each were Kamryn Lach and Dziezgowski.
Canon-McMillan (3-3, 7-8) succumbed to West Allegheny, 67-58, but edged Upper St. Clair, 43-42. For the Lady Macs, Izzy Allen was tops with 22 tallies against the Indians. In the win against the Panthers, she had 11 markers, including the game-winning bucket at the buzzer. Cheyenne Trest led with 16 points. She scored 11 in the decisive fourth frame, when the Lady Macs outscored the Panthers, 20-11. Kate Groninger tossed in 11 points for the Panthers, who snapped a 16-16 halftime deadlock with a 15-7 advantage in the third quarter.
South Park also dispatched Upper St. Clair, 59-42. Cassandra Kartsonas led the Panthers with 10 tallies.
While the Bishop Canevin ladies defeated Seton-La Salle, 59-35, the Crusader lads dispatched Sto-Rox, 77-26.
The Gustines led the way as Kellan topped out with 22 tallies for the boys and Gillan Gustine managed 15 points, all off 3-point field goals. Shamyjha Price supplied 17. For the Rebels, Layni Ziegler finished with 13 markers.
With the win against SLS (4-4, 4-11), the Lady Crusaders stretched their Section 3-AA record to 8-0. They are 12-4 overall.
Thanks to 14 tallies from Sarah Green, Canevin also defeated Slippery Rock, 63-37. In a 40-29 win against Shady Side Academy, Brionna Allen pumped in 12 points.
Despite 14 points from Mia Marzina, Seton-La Salle also lost, 49-47, to Steel Valley.
Keystone Oaks defeated Southmoreland, 47-28. Gillian Piccolino tossed in 20 points for the Golden Eagles. She dropped in 17 in a 56-51 win against Mount Pleasant. With the win, KO improved to 8-0 in Section 3-AAAA while the Vikings slipped to 6-3. KO is 13-2 overall.
Chartiers Valley dispatched Lincoln Park, 73-32, but fell to to Oakland Catholic, 41-33. In the win, Megan McConnell exploded for 21 points. She drained five, 3-point field goals. Mackenzie Wagner tossed in 17 markers. Wagner supplied 14 points in the loss to the Eagles.
Paced by the 15 points of Sam Kosmacki, South Fayette defeated Moon, 3-30.
In Chartiers-Houston’s 67-29 triumph against Washington, Alexa Williamson scorched the nets for 27 points. Jules Vulcano pitched in 17 points.