JOHNSONBURG, Pa. – Jordan Wasko forced overtime with a 3-pointer at the horn in regulation, and ECC outscored homestanding Johnsonburg 4-1 in overtime to pull out a 51-48 AML win.
Wasko’s triple completed a comeback from six down, 38-32, for the Crusaders heading to the fourth quarter.
It was a comeback fueled by six points from Wil Wortman and five from Wasko.
Then, in overtime, Colby Nussbaum hit a shot and Timmy Brannock made two free throws to give ECC the win.
It was a strange game for the Crusaders, who scored 21 first-quarter points and led 21-18 at the end of the opening eight minutes before being held to an un-Elk-like two points in the second quarter while getting behind, 28-23, at halftime.
Four ECC players reached double digits and a fifth was a point away.
Wasko and Nussbaum each had 11 points, Wortman and Brannock both chipped in 10 tallies, and Lance O’Neill finished with nine points.
Isaiah Jackson paced Johnsonburg with 18 points but saw 14 of those come in the first half.
Luke Zimmerman added nine points for the Rams, and Cade Peterson and Noah Stauffer each scored eight points.
CLARION 51, UNION 42
CLARION, Pa. – Clarion used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to hold off visiting Union, 51-42, in KSAC action.
Rewatch the game
The Bobcats had squandered an 11-point lead late in the first half and trailed 36-35 following a Dawson Camper basket with 1:06 to play in the third quarter.
But Mason Burford got the Clarion run started with a 3-pointer with 55.5 seconds to go in the third, and two Gabe Simko free throws were followed by a 3-pointer by Devon Lauer and a 2-pointer from Lauer to put Clarion ahead, 45-36, with 5:06 to play.
Union closed within five twice – 45-40 and 47-42 – but a Dawson Smail layup and two Lauer free throws sealed the win.
Lauer finished with a team-high 13 points with Simko adding 10.
Lauer was named the Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Game and talked about the victory on the Cole Orthodontic Associates Postgame Interview.
Clarion led 32-21 with 1:05 to play in the first half and still led 32-23 at halftime.
But Union started the second half with an 11-0 run tying the game on a Trey Fleming 3-pointer with 3:32 left in the third quarter and then taking its first lead, 34-32, on a Camper offensive rebound and putback with 2:26 left.
Camper had a monster night with 17 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a blocked shot.
Tanner Miller ended Clarion’s scoreless streak with a 3-pointer with 2:16 left in the third quarter, but a Camper jumper from just outside the foul line with 1:06 left in the third gave Union its final lead, 36-35.
Trey Fleming added 12 points for the Golden Knights with Hayden Smith chipping in eight points, five rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
WARREN 67, HARBOR CREEK 47
WARREN, Pa. – Brady Berdine scored 20 points as Warren pulled away from Harbor Creek for a 67-47 win.
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Warren led 33-26 at halftime and outscored Harbor Creek 34-21 in the second half.
Berdine scored 10 points in each half on his way to Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Game honors.
“Just being able to play our style of basketball in terms of pushing the ball up the floor,” Berdine said during the Cole Orthodontics postgame interview about one of the keys to Warren’s 5-0 start to the season. “We’ve come out with a lot of energy to start which has been great for us and we’ve just been really knocking down shots.”
See Berdine’s full interview:
Harbor Creek actually led 17-15 after the first quarter, but Logan Crissey knocked down a pair of 3’s as part of an 18-9 Warren run to take the lead.
Tommy Nyquist had a double-double with 13 points while dishing out 11 assists for the Dragons, while Brayon Barnes added 14 points and Crissey and Konnor Hoffman nine each.
Braylen Wilson had a big game for Harbor Creek with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
GIRARD 62, CORRY 48
GIRARD, Pa. – Nate Edwards poured in 25 points to lead Girard to a 62-48 win over Corry.
Edwards scored 12 points in the first half and 13 in the second half.
Ryan Carr was also in double figures for the Yellow Jackets with 12 points.
Markus Lambert had a big game in the loss for Corry with 25 points.
SHARON 75, MERCER 66
SHARON, Pa. – Sharon broke a 57-57 tie after three quarters with an 18-9 run to close the game in a 75-66 win over Mercer.
Santino Piccirilli scored 11 points in each half to lead Sharon with 21 points. Mister Ham scored eight of his 12 points in the second half, while Derek Douglas added 11 points and Owen Schenker scored all 10 of his points in the first half.
Ham also had eight rebounds for Sharon.
Cole Cunningham scored a team-high 20 points for Mercer, while Dae Mattocks had 13 and Christian Grossman 12.
NORTH EAST 55, FORT LEBOEUF 44
NORTH EAST, Pa. – Noah Crozier connected for 24 points to lift North East to a 55-44 win over Fort LeBoeuf.
North East opened the game on a 16-5 run in the first quarter and maintained its lead throughout the game.
Carter Crozier netted 15 points in the win for North East.
Dom Russo knocked down six 3s on his way to 18 points to lead Fort LeBoeuf, while Hunter Villa added 10 points.
EISENHOWER 55, IROQUOIS 50
ERIE, Pa. – Trailing 36-35 going to the fourth quarter, Eisenhower went on a 20-14 run in the fourth quarter to top Iroquois, 55-50.
Kyle Black scored six of his 10 points in the fourth quarter to help spark the Knights to the win.
Austin Hanson led Eisenhower with 13 points, while Casey Seymour also added 10 and Kris Bunk nine.
Roman Caporale led Iroquois with 18 points and Devin Brink added 10.
OIL CITY 44, GROVE CITY 35
GROVE CITY, Pa. – Leading 22-20 at halftime, Oil City outscored Grove City 22-15 in the second half to earn a 44-35 win.
Sayyid Donald scored six of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Oilers, while Will McMahon scored six of his eight points in the second half.
Brett Loughry scored 17 points to lead Grove City and Nathan Greer was also in double figures with 11.
GENERAL MCLANE 62, NORTHWESTERN 23
EDINBORO, Pa. – Greyson Rhodes scored all 20 of his points in the first half as General McLane beat Northwestern, 62-23.
Jacob Zietz had 17 points for GM in the win, while Logan Anderson added eight.
Cole Mikovich had five points for Northwestern.
ERIE 51, CATHEDRAL PREP 42
ERIE, Pa. – Jaheim Mims scored 15 points as Erie beat Cathedral Prep in the Region 7 opener for each team, 51-42.
Layveon Gore had 11 points for the Royals, while Adrien Tate added six.
The Royals led 33-21 at halftime on their way to the win.
Nando Mirarchi had 17 points for Cathedral Prep
COCHRANTON 47, WEST MIDDLESEX 40
WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. – Cochranton rallied from a 17-3 first-quarter deficit to beat West Middlesex, 47-40.
The Cardinals got the game within five, 27-22 at halftime and outscored the Big Reds 25-13 in the second half.
Walker Carroll scored 15 points for Cochranton, while Dawson Carroll had 12.
John Partridge led West Middlesex with 19 points.
SAEGERTOWN 57, REYNOLDS 31
TRANSFER, Pa. – Luke Young led four Saegertown players in double figures with 14 points in a 57-31 win over Reynolds.
Colin Jones and Jackson Scott had 10 points each for Saegertown, which led 34-13 at halftime en route to the win.
Andrew McCloskey led Reynolds with eight points.
CONNEAUT 62, MAPLEWOOD 31
GUYS MILLS, Pa. – Alex Brady and Shakiir Jordan combined for 52 points to lift Conneaut to a 62-31 win over Maplewood.
Brady scored 22 of his 30 points in the first half for the Eagles, while Jordan finished with 22 points.
Jacob Woge led Maplewood with 11 points.
NEW CASTLE 69, HICKORY 63
NEW CASTLE, Pa. – Ralphie Blundo scored 32 points as New Castle picked up a 69-63 win over Hickory.
Hickory trailed 42-20 at halftime but rallied to get the game to single digits thanks in large part to Ryan Robich, who scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half.
Rylan Dye also scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half for Hickory, while Trevor Borowicz added 13 points and pulled down five rebounds for the Hornets.
Damian Harrison added 18 points for New Castle.
MCDOWELL 77, BRASHEAR 52
PITTSBURGH – Tyler Grove scored 28 points as McDowell went to Pittsburgh and picked up a 77-52 win over Brasher of the City League.
Kamden Kramer also had a big game for the Trojans with 18 points.
Garrett White led Brashear with 18 points.
TITUSVILLE 60, SHEFFIELD 45
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Isaiah Colon connected for 31 points as Titusville picked up a 60-45 win over Sheffield.
Leading 24-22 at halftime, Titusville outscored Sheffield 36-23 in the second half.
Colon knocked down five 3’s and was 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Hudson Fratus and Cam Kerr had 10 points each for Titusville.
Leihden Wotorson led Sheffield with 18 points, while Dylan Hardwick added eight.
GREENVILLE 70, UNION CITY 32
GREENVILLE, Pa. – Noah Philson scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half as Greenville powered past Union City, 70-32.
Mason Vannoy was also in double figures for Greenville with 18 points as the Trojans built a 54-24 halftime advantage. Soren Hedderick added 10 points for the Trojans.
Trent Parkhurst led Union City with 11 points.
NESHANNOCK 56, SLIPPERY ROCK 46
NEW CASTLE, Pa. – Trailing 22-16 at halftime, Neshannock went on a 24-7 run in the third quarter to take control in a 54-46 win over Slippery Rock.
Talan Anderson and David Kwiat led a balanced effort with 12 points, while Anthony Bonner added 10.
Josh Book had a big game for Neshannock in the loss with 28 points.
A-C VALLEY 64, VENANGO CATHOLIC 44
OIL CITY, Pa. – A 17-1 third-quarter run helped visiting A-C Valley pull away from Venango Catholic, 64-44, in KSAC action.
The Falcons led 39-30 at halftime before taking a 56-31 lead after the third quarter.
Brody Dittman led a trip of A-C Valley players in double digits with 20 points while Jay Clover added 16 points and Zahsheen Levins chipped in 14 points.
Konner Beichner led Venango Catholic with 16 points with Bob Wheeler adding 13 points and Kyle Beicher nine tallies.
KARNS CITY 75, CRANBERRY 52
SENECA, Pa. – Jacob Callihan had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds while also adding five steals and two assists to help visiting Karns City to a 75-52 win over Cranberry in KSAC play.
Taite Beighley and Luke Cramer each added 15 points with Beighley also dishing out six assists and Cramer hauling in eight rebounds while coming up with two steals and handing out two assists.
Hobie Bartoe also had a solid all-around game with 13 points, six steals, three assists, and two rebounds.
Ethan Merryman and Cole Findlay each had 13 points for Cranberry with Blake Marchinke adding 10 points.
MONITEAU 63, KEYSTONE 43
KNOX, Pa. – David Decessino’s double-double led a balanced Moniteau attack in a 63-43 road KSAC victory over Keystone.
Decessino had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors while Ayden Jackson also scored 12 points and Bendin Sankey grabbed 12 boards to go with two points.
Chason Rugg handed out 10 assists and also scored five points, and Andrew Zepeda had five helpers and a team-best 14 points.
Drew Keth netted a game-high 17 points for Moniteau with Eli Nellis adding 15 and Dom Corcetti eight. The latter two are freshmen.
NORTH CLARION 74, FOREST AREA 39
MARIENVILLE, Pa. – The first 20-point game of Ethan Carll’s career helped North Clarion secure a 74-39 KSAC win over Forest Area at East Forest.
Carll scored a career-high 25 points on 10 made baskets – 4 3-pointers – while going 1 of 1 from the free-throw line.
He was one of four Wolves in double digits, as Drake Irwin added 19 points, Colbin Watterson added 13 and Hudson Irwin scored 11.
Daniel Custer led Forest Area with 11 points while Colton Kuntz and Keyon Custer each chipped in nine points.
REDBANK VALLEY 65, CLARION-LIMESTONE 52
STRATTANVILLE, Pa. – Redbank Valley built a 17-point halftime lead on the road at Clarion-Limestone on its way to a 65-52 KSAC victory.
The Bulldogs led 40-23 at the break before C-L closed the gap to 10, 52-42, heading to the fourth quarter,
But Redbank Valley hit 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Owen Clouse led the Bulldogs with 15 points, Ty Carrier and Braylon Wagner each added 12 points, Mason Clouse chipped in 10 points, and Breckin Minich scored nine points.
Jase Ferguson had a game-high 20 points for C-L while Jack Craig added 10 points.
OTTO-ELDRED 65, OSWAYO VALLEY 8
DUKE CENTER, Pa. – Visiting Oswayo Valley was no match for Otto-Eldred with the Terrors rolling to a 65-8 NTL win.
Landon Francis led Otto-Eldred with 20 points, Manning Splain added 16 points, Brax Caldwell scored 10 points, and Shene Thomas chipped in nine.
Oswayo Valley, which was held scoreless in the middle two quarters, got four points from Conner Resig.
KANE 55, BROCKWAY 42
KANE, Pa. – Sam Lundeen had 21 points to lead Kane to a 55-42 win over visiting Brockway.
Dane Anderson chipped in 10 points for the Wolves.
Caleb Daugherty and Reese Yahner each scored 15 points for Brockway.
