Wednesday basketball rundown: Beaver boys take down unbeaten Norwin in holiday tournament

If it wasn’t clear earlier, it certainly should be now — the Beaver boys are for real.

Less than two weeks after nearly pulling off a stunning upset in a two-point loss to Lincoln Park, the Bobcats handed Class 6A contender Norwin (6-1) its first loss this season Wednesday with a 60-52 win in Day 1 of the Peters Township/USC tournament. After beating the Knights at Peters Township, Beaver (7-1) will have a quick turnaround Thursday against Peters Township at Upper St. Clair.

The Bobcats have not finished above .500 since the 2012-13 season, but second-year coach Casey Kaiser has them thinking big.

“I knew this group would be special. I didn’t know how special, because on paper, it doesn’t matter until you execute,” Kaiser said. “I was confident we would take a big step this year. We’re a few steps ahead of where I thought we would be, but the door is busted open, and we can’t put it back.”

Brady Mayo had a quiet night by his standards with only 9 points, but Ty Butler and Aiden Townsend picked up the slack with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Adam Bilinsky led all scorers with 26 points for Norwin, which had four players hit three or more 3-pointers.

“These guys are battle-tested. We just had to keep countering them and hit them with some inside game,” Kaiser said. “It’s good for these guys to see that as a [Class] 4A school, to compete at the [Class] 6A level and see where we truly are as a program.”

Other boys games

• Upper St. Clair cruised past host Peters Township (6-2) with a 68-52 triumph in the featured matchup at the Peters Township/USC tournament. The Panthers (5-4) got 20 points from Julian Dahlem and 17 from Nick Sukernek.

• Most teams would be lucky to score 74 points in a game, but Uniontown (8-1) achieved the feat in the first half of its 109-49 dismantling of Waynesburg (2-9). The Red Raiders scored 37 points in each of the first two quarters and four players reached double figures in scoring, led by Jeremiah Hager with 20 points.

• Vinnie Cugini turned in another stellar performance in his pursuit of the WPIAL’s all-time scoring record, recording a game-high 43 points for Aquinas Academy (6-0) in an 84-76 win against Trinity Christian.

Girls games

• Katie Luccarelli was on fire from beyond the arc for Baldwin (4-6), converting seven 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 25 points in a 54-52 win against North Hills (4-6).

• Quinn Borroni brought her best stuff for Blackhawk (6-0) against Hoover, Ohio, scoring a game-high 28 points to go along with 21 from Alena Fusetti in a 59-39 win for the Cougars.

• Tiffany Zelmore has established herself as one of the most consistent players in the WPIAL and a legitimate contender to earn the scoring title, and she proved it once again with 37 points for Mount Pleasant (8-2) in a 53-39 win against Uniontown (0-9).

Three stars

*** — Kaley Rohanna poured in a game-high 27 points to help Waynesburg improve to 8-1 this season with a 64-34 win against Brentwood.

** — Jayden Davis tallied 30 points to help Chartiers Valley remain undefeated, leading the Colts to a second quality win in as many nights with a 67-47 triumph over Grove City.

* — Owen Norman continued his terrific season for Fort Cherry with a 32-point performance at the Avella tournament, powering the Rangers to a 77-50 win against Western Beaver.

Hot from deep

Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Katie Luccarelli, Baldwin, 7; Kyliegh Donnelly, Seton LaSalle, 5; Teegan Finnegan, Knoch, 5; Emma Paul, Armstrong, 5; Jayden Arnett, North Hills, 4; Peyton Collins, Mt. Lebanon, 4; Jayden Davis, Chartiers Valley, 4; Ryan Edwards, Norwin, 4; Ashlan Price, Greensburg Salem, 4; Adam Bilinsky, Norwin, 3; Riley Collins, Mt. Lebanon, 3; Collin Gunzberger, Norwin, 3; Justin Weaver, Norwin, 3

Boys scores

Avonworth 74, Knoch 67

Beaver 60, Norwin 52

Bishop Canevin 57, Sto-Rox 45

Bishop Guilfoyle 64, Greensburg C.C. 56

Brownsville 48, Bentworth 41

Burgettstown 57, Avella 41

Burrell 46, Plum 43

California 55, Frazier 48

Canon-McMillan 74, Albert Gallatin 60

Chartiers-Houston 65, South Side 50

Ellwood City 58, Mercer 37

Fort Cherry 77, Western Beaver 50

Freeport 69, Brashear 64

Gateway 71, Erie 51

Geibel Catholic 86, Ligonier Valley 60

Greensburg Salem 55, Mount Pleasant 44

Hampton 55, North Hills 48

Hempfield 56, Connellsville 17

Hickory 52, Trinity 41

Jefferson-Morgan 57, Carmichaels 41

Keystone Oaks 51, Nazareth Prep 45

Laurel 49, Eden Christian 43

Mapletown 55, Beth-Center 25

Mohawk 61, Shenango 51

Monessen 60, Propel Braddock Hills 49

Montour 62, West Allegheny 51

Neighborhood Academy 83, Hillcrest Christian Academy 40

New Castle 56, Farrell 44

North Allegheny 55, Franklin Regional 53

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 51, Mercyhurst Prep 39

Riverside 34, Hopewell 26

Shaler 67, Sharon 34

Slippery Rock 45, Obama Academy 43

South Fayette 66, Bethel Park 61

Southmoreland 69, Charleroi 49

Springdale 59, Propel Andrew Street 30

St. Edward, Ohio, 84, Mars 67

Steel Valley 62, Deer Lakes 61

Summit Academy 66, Leechburg 63

United Faith Christian, N.C., 75, Allderdice 62

Washington 64, South Park 33

West Greene 50, Carrick 48

Yough 47, Jeannette 42

Girls scores

Apollo-Ridge 78, East Allegheny 9

Armstrong 62, Avonworth 33

Baldwin 54, North Hills 52

Baltimore Polytechnic, Md., 73, Woodland Hills 41

Beaver 47, Ellwood City 21

Belle Vernon 54, Aquinas Academy 42

Bethel Park 62, Indiana 56

Blackhawk 59, Hoover, Ohio, 39

Burgettstown 48, Keystone Oaks 44

Burrell 63, Valley 38

Butler 52, Obama Academy 35

Canon-McMillan 50, Thomas Jefferson 48

Carlynton 49, Hillel Academy 8

Carmichaels 53, Jefferson-Morgan 11

Carrick 40, Neighborhood Academy 31

Charleroi 61, Preston, W. Va., 51

Clovis West, Fresno, Calif., 51, North Allegheny 22

Derry 51, Leechburg 10

Elizabeth Forward 60, Greensburg C.C. 52

Greensburg Salem 54, Brownsville 23

Greenville 48, Neshannock 44

Hempfield 60, Yough 23

Highlands 54, Mars 46

Hopewell 45, Eden Christian 26

Hundred, W.Va., 59, Mapletown 50

Latrobe 47, Plum 35

Laurel 47, Grove City 31

Laurel Highlands 59, Beth-Center 17

McGuffey 33, Fort Cherry 32

Mohawk 51, Wilmington 33

Mount Pleasant 53, Uniontown 39

Mt. Lebanon 57, New Lexington, Ohio, 42

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 55, Southmoreland 15

Peters Township 71, McLean, Va., 44

Propel Montour 45, Bentworth 32

Quaker Valley 38, Chartiers-Houston 21

Ringgold 35, Geibel Catholic 34

Seton LaSalle 51, Franklin Regional 50

Sewickley Academy 37, Northgate 20

Shaler 55, Deer Lakes 8

Shenango 58, Portersville Christian 41

South Park 43, South Allegheny 29

South Side, Jackson, Tenn., 58, Hampton 43

St. Joseph 56, Freeport 55

St. Thomas Aquinas, N.J., 50, South Fayette 49

Turkeyfoot Valley 52, Jeannette 41

Union 53, New Castle 23

Waynesburg 64, Brentwood 34

West Allegheny 63, Avella 33