PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – Despite not scoring a field goal in the last 7:14, Elk County Catholic held off Punxsutawney, 31-29, in a D9 League game in groundhog country.
Michael Jacobs scored on a layup at the 7:14 mark of the fourth quarter to put the Crusaders, who led 24-21 going to the fourth quarter, ahead 26-23.
Punxsutawney got back within one three more times, the latest at 30-29 on a layup by Noah Weaver with 3.7 seconds left.
In between, ECC hit 4 of 5 free throws with all five shots coming with under 50 seconds to play to get to 30 points. The last two came on two charity shots from Wil Wortman with 16.4 left.
After Weaver’s layup with just 3.7 left, the Chucks somehow got their hands on the ball twice with the potential to tie or win the game.
After Wortman hit the backend of a two-shot foul with 2.6 seconds left to put ECC up 31-29, Punxsutawney threw a baseball pass out of bounds bringing the ball all the way back towards the Cursaders’ hoop with ECC inbounding with still 2.6 left.
Beau Thomas then came up with a steal for Punxsutawney when he picked a loose ball up off the floor, but his last-second, full-court heave wasn’t close to the hoop.
ECC led 15-11 at halftime and still held the three-point lead going to the fourth quarter before a Weaver jumper 10 seconds into the quarter made it 24-23.
Colby Nussbaum led ECC with 10 points with Jordan Wasko, who had a big defensive play with 1:20 to play when he forced a held ball with the possession arrow in favor of the Crusaders and ECC up one, 26-25, added six points.
Weaver had a game-high 15 points for Punxsutawney with Cooper Hallman adding eight.
Weaver had a chance to give Punxsutawney the lead with 19 seconds left but his jumper from just inside the arc from the left elbow was off the mark.
A big reason for the lack of fourth-quarter scoring was ECC was given the opportunity by Punxsutawney to hold the basketball on two different occasions in the quarter. The second time, the Crusaders took off over two minutes before missing a layup with 1:37 left.
RIDGWAY 50, KANE 35
KANE, Pa. – Alex Merritt and Aaron Sorg combined to score 25 points to lead Ridgway to a 50-36 win at Kane.
Merritt netted 14 points with Sorg adding 11.
Ricky Zampogna paced Kane with 13 points.
WILLIAMSBURG 61, CURWENSVILLE 45
CURWENSVILLE, Pa. – RJ Boyer scored 19 points to lead Williamsburg to a 61-45 win at Curwensville.
Also for the Blue Pirates, Rowan Gorsuch and Zach Kagarise each scored 14 points.
Davis Fleming scored 15 points for Curwensville with Dan McGarry adding nine and Parker Wood eight.
EISENHOWER 52, SHEFFIELD 47
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Clinging to a 1-point lead with three minutes to play, back-to-back layups by Kael Hunt and Kris Bunk gave Eisenhower breathing room and the Knights earned a 52-47 win at Sheffield.
Rewatch the game:
The Knights, who led by 10 at one point in the third quarter, were ahead 42-41 with 3:38 to play and averted disaster. Bunk was attempting to hit Wyatt Lookenhouse on a long pass from under the Sheffield basket, but the ball slipped and dribbled into the key. Connor Finch dove for the ball, but slid too far on the floor and was called for a travel.
On the other end of the court, Hunt drove and made an up-and-under layup to push the lead to three. Hunt then corraled a loose ball rebound from Mason Silvis’ shot. He tried to go coast-to-coast but ran into multiple defenders and lost control of the ball. The ball bounced right to Bunk who put it off the glass and in to give Eisenhower a 46-41 advantage.
Eisenhower was able to stretch the lead to seven moments later and held on for the victory.
“We played well,” Eisenhower’s Kyler Black said. “We came back and we battled. It was a good win.”
See Black’s full post-game interview here:
Leihden Wotorson’s 3-pointer brought the Wolverines within two at 41-39. Casey Seymour went 1-2 from the line to push the lead back to three before Finch’s layup made it 42-41.
Sheffield, which hadn’t played since winning its holiday tournament last week, was able to take the early advantage against an Eisenhower team playing on the road for the second straight night. The Wolverines jumped out to a 5-2 lead and were ahead 9-7 after the first eight minutes.
Black’s offensive rebound and put back with just over five minutes to play in the second gave Eisenhower its first lead, 15-13. Dylan Hardwick’s jumper with 3:20 to play brought the Wolverines even at 17-17.
Lookenhouse’s layup started an 8-0 run that gave Eisenhower a 25-17 halftime lead.
“The momentum was huge, especially coming to play away,” Black said. “That’s what you need. You need momentum carrying into every single quarter.”
The Knights carried that momentum into the third, building a 10-point lead, 33-23, with 3:30 to play in the frame. The Wolverines slowly began chipping away and trailed by just five, 35-30, heading to the fourth.
Wotorson and Finch each finished with 14 points. Wotorson had five rebounds while Finch had six rebounds and six blocks.
Lookenhouse led four Knights in double figures with a game-high 15 points. Hunt had 12 points, while Black and Bunk had 10 points each.
OIL CITY 48, BRADFORD 29
OIL CITY, Pa. – Connor Highfield and Cam VanWormer scored 11 points each as Oil City earned its second win of the season over Bradford, 48-29 in D9/10 crossover action.
Oil City, which built a 23-11 halftime lead en route to the win, also got 10 points from Sayyid Donald and eight from Jake Hornbeck.
Chase Wineberg had 10 points to pace Bradford, while Brendan Warner added eight.
GIRLS
PORT ALLEGANY 44, NORTHERN POTTER 35
PORT ALLEGANY, Pa. – Evin Stauffer scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, and came away with five steals to lead Port Allegany to a 44-35 win over visiting Northern Potter in NTL action.
The Lady Gators led 18-14 at halftime but used an 18-11 third quarter to take control of the game.
Stauffer, Leigha Nelson, Ella Moses, and Brynn Evens each hit 3-pointers in the third quarter for Port Allegany. .
Kayleigha Dowell added nine points, six rebounds, and four assists in the win with Ella Moses chipping in five points, 10 rebounds, and four blocked shots, and Evens adding five points and seven rebounds.
Rebecca Martin led Northern Potter with nine points and nine rebounds with Kayden Brown adding seven points and four assists.
Also for the Lady Panthers, Molly Cady had six points and 10 rebounds and Reagan Slawson chipped in five points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
OTTO-ELDRED 57, GALETON 15
DUKE CENTER, Pa. – Katie Sheeler hit seven 3-pointers and scored a game-high 25 points while adding four assists and six steals as Otto-Eldred raced past visiting Galeton, 57-15.
Anna Merry chipped in 16 points, five rebounds, and four steals for the Lady Terrors with Bri Heller adding four points, eight rebounds, and four steals, and Heidi Gordon four rebounds and two points. Brooke Close also chipped in six tallies.
Olivia Rohrbaugh paced Galeton with six points.
COUDERSPORT 32, OSWAYO VALLEY 20
COUDERSPORT, Pa. – Homestanding Coudersport got 11 points from Emma Chambers, eight from Sierra Myers, and seven from Hallie Rigas to beat Oswayo Valley, 32-20.
Makenna Manning scored 11 points for Oswayo Valley with Eva West adding seven tallies.
SMETHPORT 48, CAMERON COUNTY 23
SMETHPORT, Pa. – Abby Lutz and Jadyn Goodman combined to score 31 points in Smethport’s 48-23 home win over Cameron County.
Lutz led the Lady Hubbers with 16 points with Goodman adding 15 points, seven rebounds, and four steals.
Elizabeth Hungiville grabbed a team-high 16 rebounds to go with seven assists, five steals, and six points.
Jace Alfieri chipped in nine points in the win.
Aaralyn Robinson scored six of her team-high seven points in the fourth quarter to Cameron County, while Navaeh Spaeth added six points. Renee Earle grabbed seven rebounds and scored two points.
CLARION-LIMESTONE 50, A-C VALLEY 21
FOXBURG, Pa. – Alex Leadbetter had 16 points to help Clarion-Limestone to a 50-21 win at A-C Valley.
KK Sebastian-Simms added 11 points for the Lady Lions with Jenna Dunn chipping in nine points.
Mackenzie Parks had 11 points and eight rebounds for A-C Valley with Keira McVay adding seven points, five steals, and three assists.
CRANBERRY 37, FOREST AREA 26
TIONESTA, Pa. – Kendall Findlay had 18 points to help Cranberry knock off Forest Area, 37-26, at West Forest.
Mariah Wessell added nine points for the Berries.
Amber Guzzi had 10 points, seven rebounds, and five steals for Forest Area with Kaylie Rooke adding 10 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and five blocks.
KARNS CITY 48, CLARION 16
CLARION, Pa. – Brooklyn Taylor scored a game-high 15 points to lead Karns City to a 48-16 win at Clarion.
Chloe Fritch added 13 points for the Lady Gremlins who also got eight points from Emma Daile and seven from Naomi Yenesky.
Natalie Dursih and Aliva Diehl each scored four points for Clarion.
JOHNSONBURG 37, AUSTIN 34
JOHNSONBURG, Pa. – Ella Lindberg scored 18 points to help Johnsonburg top visiting Austin,. 37-34.
Cadence Brechtel added nine points for the Ramettes.
Ella Brewer had 19 points and eight rebounds for Austin with Isabella Rees adding seven steals, eight rebounds, and three points, and Lilly Clinger seven points.
NORTH CLARION 42, KEYSTONE 31
FRILLS CORNERS, Pa. – North Clarion built a 15-point lead going to the fourth quarter on its way to a 42-31 win over visiting Keystone.
The She-Wolves were up 38-23 after the third.
Emma McFarland hit three 3-pointers and scored 14 points to lead a balanced North Clarion offense. Two of those triples came in the second quarter when North Clarion outpaced Keystone 14-5 to take a 27-14 halftime lead.
Lauren Lutz had a big game for the She-Wolves as well with nine points, 13 rebounds, and four blocked shots, while Lily Homan added nine points and seven steals.
Natalie Bowser had 13 points and Emma Gruber eight points for Keystone.
MONITEAU 51, UNION 15
RIMERSBURG, Pa. – Catherine Kelly, Davina Pry, and Kendall Sankey helped Moniteau roll to a 51-15 road win over Union.
Kelly scored a game-high 17 points with Pry adding nine points, 13 rebounds, and three assists, and Sankey chipping in six points, 10 rebounds, and three helpers.
Also for the Lady Warriors, Allie Pry added eight points.
Hailey Theuret paced Union with eight points.
JUNIATA VALLEY 65, CURWENSVILLE 11
ALEXANDRIA, Pa. – Freshman Anna Taylor had 18 points to help Juniata Valley beat visiting Curwensville, 65-11.
Maddie Hopsicker and Mackenzie Coffman each added 15 points for the Hornets.
Natalie Wischuck led Curwensville with four points.
