March 5 District 9 and District 10 regular-season basketball recaps
DISTRICT 9 BOYS’ BASKETBALL
ST. MARYS 37, ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 28
ST. MARYS, Pa. – Behind a historic defensive effort, St. Marys knocked off Elk County Catholic for just the fifth time in the past 20 years, 37-28, at the Dutch Oven at St. Marys High School.
The victory snapped an eight-game losing streak to their crosstown rivals for the Dutch and was just the second time St. Marys has beaten ECC since the start of the 2013 season. The Crusaders have gone 53-6 against the Dutch since the start of the 2001 season.
And to beat ECC Friday night, St. Marys had to turn in a defensive performance for the ages limiting ECC to the fourth-lowest point total in school history and its lowest since scoring 19 in a 41-19 loss to Sewickley Academy in the second round of the PIAA playoffs in 2010 when the Crusaders purposely slowed the game down trying to pull the upset. The last time ECC was held to fewer than 28 points in the regular season was in 2008 when Bradford won 42-25.
The Dutch allowed just three first-half baskets while taking a 23-13 halftime lead and limited ECC to nine total baskets in the game, including four 3-pointers, all from Mark Kraus who scored half of the Crusaders points with 14.
Holden Housler continued his strong play for St. Marys with 16 points with Bryce Walker adding 10 and Mitchell Reiter eight.
COUDERSPORT 62, BRADFORD 33
BRADFORD, Pa. – Derek Easton continued to step up in place of the injured Hayden Keck scoring 20 points and handing out five assists to lead visiting Coudersport to a 62-33 win.
Playing their third straight game without their leading scorer, Coudersport also got a career-high 17 points from Garrett Kellert, who scored 15 in the second half.
Dalton Keglovits added nine points, seven rebounds, and six steals, Brandt Kighlinger also scored nine points, and Christian Furman chipped in seven rebounds and four points.
Cam Austin led Bradford with nine points, Jarid Wilmoth added seven tallies, and Dalton Dixon had seven rebounds and three points.
CRANBERRY 57, VENANGO CATHOLIC 43
OIL CITY, Pa. – Cam Russell led a trio of Cranberry players in double figures with 19 points, as Pat Irwin’s Cranberry Berries closed out the season with a 57-43 win at Venango Catholic.
JT Stahlman and Noel Bunyak each added 14 points for Cranberry.
Andrew Burda led Venango Catholic with a game-high 23 points while adding seven rebounds. He hit the final 3-pointer of his illustrious career at the horn giving him 1,224 career points, the seventh-most in school history.
Jake Liederbach added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Vikings.
SMETHPORT 55, NORTHERN POTTER 40
ULYSSES, Pa. – Richie McDowell hit a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers to set the tone on a 15-point night, as visiting Smethport tuned up for the playoffs with a 55-40 win over Northern Potter.
Alex Ognen added nine points for the well-balanced Hubbers who also got eight apiece from Brandon Higley, who hit a pair of second-quarter 3-pointers, and Chase Burdick, and seven each from Layne Shall and John Adamoski.
Carter Anderson led Northern Potter with 15 points with Trey Slawson and Tanyon Brown each scoring eight tallies and Anthony Benway chipping in with seven points.
DISTRICT 9 GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
SMETHPORT 36, NORTHERN POTTER 32
SMETHPORT, Pa. – Elizabeth Hungiville and Danielle Nelson combined for 21 points and 13 rebounds to lift Smethport to 36-32 home win over Northern Potter.
Hungiville led the Lady Hubbers with 11 points while adding six rebounds and a steal, while Nelson had 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Courtney Martin paced Northern Potter with 13 points.
FOREST AREA 39, VENANGO CATHOLIC 36
OIL CITY, Pa. – Kaylie Rooke scored a career-high 12 points to go with 12 rebounds to help visiting Forest Area to a 39-36 win over Venango Catholic.
Jessica Wagner added six points, 14 rebounds, and five assists for the Fires who also got 10 points from Amber Guzzi and seven from Tori Brown.
Kennedy Liederbach and Mariah Wessell each scored 13 points for Venango Catholic.
ST. MARYS 51, CAMERON COUNTY 45
EMPORIUM, Pa. – Tying her career-high with 21 points, Kyla Johnson led visiting St. Marys to a 51-45 win over Cameron County.
Jayssa Snelick added seven points for the Lady Dutch.
Kaelee Bresslin led Cameron County with 16 points, while Hailey Hilfiger had another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Mallory McKimm chipped in five points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
DISTRICT 9 AND 10 GIRLS’ BASKETBALL INTERDISTRICT
EISENHOWER 33, SHEFFIELD 28
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Eisenhower outscored Sheffield 12-6 in the fourth quarter en route to a 33-28 victory over the host Wolverines.
Delaney Chase led the way for Eisenhower, scoring 10 points while filling up the stat sheet with six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Bella Marino added eight points, six blocks, and four steals for Eisenhower.
Annabel Sheldon had 13 points to pace Sheffield, while Emily Foster chipped in with nine.
DISTRICT 10 BOYS’ BASKETBALL REGULAR SEASON
GENERAL MCLANE 73, CONNEAUT (Pa.) 39
EDINBORO, Pa. – Eli Bruce scored a game-high 21 points to lead General McLane to a 73-35 win over Conneaut.
Carson Seneta added 11 points and Zach Williams 10 for the Lancers, who had 10 different players make their way into the scoring column.
Mason Kroniser paced Conneaut with 11 points.
