WEST SUNBURY, Pa. – Slippery Rock held off a frantic Moniteau comeback attempt to win the inaugural Moniteau Holiday Tournament with a 47-45 win over the hosts.
The Rockets (6-3) led by 17, 40-23, late in the third quarter, by 16, 41-25, going to the fourth quarter, and by nine, 45-36, with a minute to play before watching Moniteau (4-4) have a chance to tie or win the game when Max Kovacik missed a pair of free throws with 3.7 seconds left.
But, despite getting the ball within the 3-point arc, the Warriors weren’t able to get a final shot off giving the tournament title to Slippery Rock.
Moniteau’s fourth-quarter comeback was fueled by the long ball with Chason Rugg and Andrew Zepeda each hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
Threes by Zepeda, Rugg, and Zepeda again in the first 3:21 of the fourth quarter closed the gap to 41-34, and a pair of Zepeda free throws with 4:09 left made it 31-36.
Anderson Franco stopped the bleeding for a moment for Slippery Rock with a leaning-away jumper with 2:44 to go, and a wild layup by Levi Prementine with 1:02 to play put the Rockets ahead, 45-36,
But Zepeda scored with 55.1 to go, and Rugg hit two free throws with 37.8 left to make it 45-40.
Zepeda then came away with a steal on the inbounds, and the ball ended up in the hands of Rugg, who buried another triple to make it 45-43 with 31.3 left.
Two free throws by Franco pushed the Slippery Rock lead back to four, 47-43, with 16.2 to play, but Zepeda scored again with 9.6 left to make it 47-45.
Out of timeouts, Moniteau was able to foul Kovacik with 3.7 to play, and Kovacik missed both.
But the Warriors made one too many passes after getting the rebound, and the clock ran out.
Josh Book led Slippery Rock with 18 points with Prementine adding 12 and Franco nine.
Rugg had 16 for Moniteau with 12 coming on four 3-pointers while Zepeda hit three triples and scored 15 points.
SHARON 65, WARREN HARDING (OHIO) 63
SHARON, Pa. – Derek Douglas’ breakaway layup with 37 seconds left gave Sharon a 64-63 lead in what was ultimately a 65-63 win over Warren Harding (Ohio).
The layup was actually blocked, but the officials ruled goaltending, giving Douglas and the Tigers (8-0) the two points.
It was part of a rally that saw Sharon climb out of a 40-24 halftime hole, including outscoring Harding 26-13 in the fourth quarter.
Harding had a pair of chances sandwiched in between Lamont Austin splitting a pair of free throws to give Sharon a 65-63 lead with 19 seconds left, but both were off the mark.
Douglas led the way for the Tigers, pouring in 23 points while also dishing out seven assists. Levi Hailstock had 15 points for Sharon and Lamont Austin was also in double figures with 13 points.
Chaz Coleman, who had the block on Douglas that was ruled a goaltend, finished with 22 points for Harding (4-3), while Gummy Hart had 16 points
GROVE CITY 57, NORTH HILLS 51
ALLISON PARK, Pa. – Grove City built a 13-point halftime lead, then held off a second-half charge to pick up a 57-51 win over North Hills at the Hampton Christmas Tournament.
The Eagles (3-5) led 38-25 at the half. Brett Laughry and Nathan Greer combined for 25 of the 38 first-half points.
Laughry finished with a team-high 22 points, while Greer had 18 points.
Eric James paced North Hills (3-4) with a game-high 24 points. Jackson Long and Nathan Schawbacher had 10 points each.
UNION 53, SHARPSVILLE 42
WEST SUNBURY, Pa. – In the consolation game of the Moniteau Holiday Tournament, Trey Fleming scored 21 points and came away with five steals to lead Union to a 53-42 win over Sharpsville.
Dawson Camper added a 12-point, 16-rebound double-double for the Golden Knights (5-5) while Owen Bish chipped in eight points and six rebounds, and Trent Fleming added seven points.
Dom Tarnoci paced Sharpsville (1-8) with 11 points while hitting three 3-pointers, Carter DeJulia added 10 tallies, and Keiran Scullin chipped in with eight points.
KANE 61, SMETHPORT 29
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Dane Anderson led a trio of Kane players in double digits with 19 points, as the Wolves ran past Smethport, 61-29, in the opening round of the Sheffield Sports Boosters Christmas Tournament.
Chris Yates hit four 3-pointers and added 16 points for the victors, while Sam Lundeen knocked down three triples on his way to 11 points.
Kane (5-3) hit eight 3-pointers in the game.
Colin Okerlund paced Smethport (1-9) with 12 points.
BROOKVILLE 53, BROCKWAY 27
DUBOIS, Pa. – Ten different Brookville players scored to lead the Raiders to a 53-27 win over Brockway in the opening round of the DuBois Holiday Tournament.
Carter Macknis led the balanced effort with 10 points, while Jack Pete and Pierson Ruhlman each added eight tallies for the Raiders (3-4).
Kolton Kahle and Brady Hughes each scored five points for Brockway (1-6).
Brookville will face DuBois in the title game Thursday, while Brockway will take on DuBois Central Catholic in the consolation game, also Thursday.
CATHEDRAL PREP 69, AUSTINTOWN FITCH 58
ERIE, Pa. – Trailing 47-40 in the third quarter, Cathedral Prep went on a 23-4 run to take control in a 69-58 win over Austintown Fitch, 69-58.
Spencer Kanne had 18 points to lead the Ramblers (3-5), while Nando Mirarchi had 15 and Michael Thompson 12.
Kanne had eight of his points during the 23-4 surge.
Marcel Finkley had 15 points for Austintown Fitch (5-2).
ELLWOOD CITY 77, REDBANK VALLEY 71
MERCER, Pa. – Ellwood City outscored Redbank Valley 43-33 in the middle two quarters to pick up a 77-71 win on the opening day of the Mercer Christmas Classic.
The Wolverines (4-5) trailed 16-14 at the end of the first quarter but took a 37-33 halftime lead that they then expanded to 57-49 by the end of the third quarter.
Joe Roth had a monster game for Ellwood Ciy with a game-high 31 points, including 17 in the middle two quarters.
Aaron Lake also added 22 points, including 10 in the second quarter for the Wolverines, while Colten Crizer chipped in with 12 points.
Owen Clouse, Kieran Fricko, and Breckin Minich each scored 15 points for Redbank Valley (5-1) while Braylon Wagner added 13 points and Mason Clouse chipped in with 11 tallies.
DUBOIS 66, DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC 35
DUBOIS, Pa. – Maddox Bennett drained five 3-pointers on his way to 17 points, as DuBois beat visiting DuBois Central Catholic, 66-35, in the opening round of the DuBois Holiday Tournament.
The Beavers (5-3) hit 10 3-pointers in the game and also went 12 of 14 from the free-throw line.
One of those triples came from Cam Thompson, who finished with 11 tallies, while Rudy Williams and Noah Farrell each scored nine points. Tyson Kennis chipped in with eight points.
Brayden Fox and Andrew Green each scored 11 points for DCC (4-4).
DuBois will face Brookville in the title game on Thursday, while DCC will take on Brockway in Thursday’s consolation round.
SHEFFIELD 58, YOUNGSVILLE 31
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Outscoring visiting Youngsville 24-7 in the fourth quarter, Sheffield pulled away for a 58-31 win in the opening round of the Sheffield Sports Boosters Christmas Tournament.
The Wolverines (3-6) led 34-24 going to the fourth quarter before Leihden Wotorson scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in the quarter to help them pull away.
Dylan Harwick added six of his 11 points in the final eight minutes, while Colby Barr chipped in nine tallies.
Carson Chase led Youngsville (4-4) with 11 points with Nathan Lucks adding eight.
Sheffield will face Kane in Thursday’s title game, while Youngsville will battle Smethport in the consolation game the same night.
TRINITY 64, HICKORY 57
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Kaden Hathaway led four Tainity players in double figures with 15 points in a 64-57 win over Hickory in the Trinity Christmas Tournament.
Trinity, which led 32-27 at halftime, also got 14 points each from Tyler Johnson and Jonah Williams, while Jacob Dunkle had 12.
Rylan Dye scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half for Hickory (4-3) and also had four assists and three rebounds.
Ryan Robich matched Dye with 16 points for the Hornets, while also adding three steals and three assists.
Hickory will meet Albert Gallatan in the consolation game.
MERCER 60, MAPLEWOOD 17
MERCER, Pa. – Cole Cunningham led a balanced Mercer effort with 14 points in a 60-17 win over Maplewood.
Bubba Palmer had 10 points for Mercer (6-1), while Dae Mattocks and Tristan McCracken had nine points each.
Kyle Jordan had eight points for Maplewood (0-8).
NESHANNOCK 73, GREENVILLE 29
NEW CASTLE, Pa. – David Kwait scored 17 points to help Neshannock to a 73-29 win over Greenville.
Jake Rynd was also in double figures for Neshannock (8-1) with 15 points, while Talan Anderton added eight.
Noah Philson had 12 points for Greenville (5-4) and Mason Vannoy added eight.
