SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Damon Curry scored a game-high 19 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career in the process as Franklin knocked off Fairview, 52-40.
The Knights avenged an earlier loss to Fairview back on Dec. 29, 53-51. Since then, Franklin (20-4) has rattled off 15-straight wins.
Curry came into the game with 999 career points and hit the mark early, as the Knights jumped out to a 10-0 lead.
Fairview got us close as four, 31-27 in the second half before Franklin extended the lead back to 10, 40-30 after the third quarter.
Cole Buckley was also in double figures for Franklin with 14 points, while Jalen Wood added 10.
Jeremy Fazao led three Fairview players in double figures with 12 points, while Vinny Campoli had 11 and Archie Murphey 10.
The win sets up a coaching matchup between brothers, Franklin’s Jason Fulmer and Oil City’s Bundy Fulmer in the D10 title game on Friday.
Fairview, meanwhile, will battle Seneca in the third-place game with a trip to the PIAA playoffs on the line.
(3) OIL CITY 38, (7) SENECA 36
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – After a convincing win against North East in the quarterfinals, Oil City proved it could come through in the clutch, outlasting No. 7 Seneca in the semifinals, 38-36.
Jake Hornbeck’s late jumper gave the Oilers a 38-36 lead, and the Oilers’ survived a late 3-point attempt from Seneca’s Logan Kibbe, who finished with a game-high 26 points and surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in the process.
The game was tight throughout, with Oil City holding a one-point lead after each of the first three quarters.
Hornbeck poured in a team-high 20 points for Oil City (19-5), which will be making its second-straight appearance in a District 10 championship game, having done so in 4A last year, falling to Fairview in the finals.
Cam VanWormer added eight points for Oil City, while Sayyid Donald finished with six.
CLASS 4A SEMIFINALS
(2) GROVE CITY 57, (3)HARBOR CREEK 43
EDINBORO, Pa. – Grove City outscored Harbor Creek, 16-4, in the third quarter to turn a 6-point halftime deficit into a big lead and never looked back on its way to a 57-43 win in their District 10 Class 4A semifinal.
The Huskies led 24-18 at halftime, but the Eagles’ Brett Loughrey scored 12 of his game-high 25 points in the frame and Grove City clamped down to take a 34-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
Grove City pushed the lead to 13, 46-33, with just under three minutes remaining. Harbor Creek coach Ryan Smock, unhappy with a call, got a double technical and was ejected. That seemed to breathe life into the Huskies, but they were unable to cut the lead to single digits.
Brady Rzodkiewicz led the Huskies with 17 points and Nick Krahe added 13.
Nathan Greer had 16 points for the Eagles and Gavin Lutz added seven in the win.
Grove City will take on Hickory, a 51-44 winner over Warren, for the D10 4A championship on Friday at a time and location to be announced.
(4) HICKORY 51, (1) WARREN 44
EDINBORO, Pa. – Hickory used a 7-0 run at the end of the first quarter to take the lead and never trailed again on its way to a 51-44 win over Warren in their District 10 Class 4A semifinal.
Rewatch the game:
Warren led 12-8 with 1:30 to play in the first when Devin Daniels knocked down a 3-pointer to start the run. Aidan Enoch ended it with a mid-range jumper just before the buzzer and Hickory led 15-12.
The Hornets played at a deliberate pace whenever they could, forcing the Dragons out of the up-tempo, transition offense they like to run.
“They pushed the ball a lot, and we knew they were going to get the ball a lot so we knew we had to get back on ‘D’ and slow it up,” Enoch said.
See Enoch’s full postgame interview:
The strategy worked as Hickory held three Warren players who averaged double-figures to six points or less for the game.
Warren cut the lead back to two at multiple points in the second quarter, but Hickory scored the final six points of the half to take a 28-20 lead into the locker room.
The Hornets pushed the lead to 13, 38-25, midway through the third quarter, but the Dragons ended the quarter with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 41-39 heading to the fourth.
Hickory’s defense was up to the task again, holding Warren scoreless for the first 3:54 of the fourth quarter.
Parks Ordiway hit a corner three with 2:12 to play to cut the Hornets’ lead to 47-44. It proved to be the final field goal of the game.
Enoch and Rylan Dye each made a pair of free throws down the stretch to put the game out of reach.
Dye and Enoch each finished with 16 points for the Hornets.
Brady Berdine had a team-high 13 points, all in the first half, for the Dragons. Owen Becker had 11 points.
Hickory will face Grove City, a 57-43 winner over Harbor Creek, for the District 10 Class 4A championship on Friday at a site and time to be announced.
CLASS 2A SEMIFINALS
(1) MERCER 61, (4) EISENHOWER 53
Top-seed Mercer closed the game on an 11-1 run to top No. 4 Eisenhower, 61-53 in the District 10 Class 2A semifinals.
The night was also a historic one for Eisenhower (14-10) senior Wyatt Lookenhouse, who surpassed the 1,000-point milestone with a corner three with two minutes to play in the first quarter.
Eisenhower’s Wyatt Lookenhouse with head coach Ryan Mangini.
Lookenhouse had 11 points in the first quarter and finished with a team-high 19 for the game.
Mercer’s (20-4) Jake Mattocks, also a 1,000-point career scorer, was instrumental in the Mustangs’ comeback, scoring 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Dae Mattocks also scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for Mercer, which will play Erie First Christian for the District 10 title on Friday.
Kris Bunk and Kael Hunt added nine points each for Eisenhower, while Kyler Black and Johnny Palmieri had eight each.
The Knights’ season isn’t over, however, as they will play Cambridge Springs in the third-place game on Friday with a trip to the PIAA playoffs on the line.
CLASS 1A SEMIFINALS
(1) FARRELL 64, (4) ROCKY GROVE 55
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Farrell started off strong and ultimately held on for a 64-55 win over Rocky Grove.
The Steelers (19-4), who owned a pair of lopsided wins over the Orioles in the regular season, led 32-13 at halftime and 47-31 after three quarters.
Nasir O’Kane led Farrell with 16 points and was also 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Outside of O’Kane, the Steelers were 6-of-22 from the charity stripe.
James Harrison was also in double figures for Farrell with 11 points, while Danny Odem added nine.
Landon Carter connected on a game-high 14 points for Rocky Grove, while D’Andre Whitman finished with 11 and Alex Zinz 10.
Farrell moves on to face rival Kennedy Catholic for the D10 title. The Steelers won both regular season meetings, 53-32 and 45-33.
Both teams will move on to the PIAA championships.
(2) KENNEDY CATHOLIC 44, (3) JAMESTOWN 27
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Kennedy Catholic allowed just nine points in the first half, building a 13-point advantage on its way to a 44-27 semifinal win over Jamestown.
Thorsten Hart led Kennedy Catholic with 15 points, while Max Southwell added 10.
Cam Keyser finished his brilliant high school career with 10 points for the Muskies, who were held to their lowest point total of the season.
Keyser departs as Jamestown’s all-time leading scorer.
Lucas Popielarcheck and Seamus Ford had four points each for the Muskies.
CLASS 6A SUBREGIONAL
(10-1) ERIE 62, (8-1) ALLDERDICE 58
ERIE, Pa. – Erie staged a big rally to knock off City League champion Allderdice in their Class 6A subregional.
Allderdice led 36-23 at halftime and 51-43 after three quarters before Erie (16-8) rallied to beat the Dragons (21-4) for the second time this season.
Erie moves on to play State College in their subregional on Friday, with both teams moving on to the PIAA playoffs.
Jay Smith led the Royals with 19 points, this after scoring 16 in the Royals’ 47-45 win over McDowell in the District 10 championships game.
