Friday basketball rundown: Laurel Highlands wins thriller; Chartiers Valley’s Davis scores 40; Mt. Lebanon hits 17 3-pointers

Laurel Highlands’ opponent Friday is nicknamed the Speedboys.

As fast as they may be, Keondre DeShields was just a bit quicker.

DeShields scored on a layup at the buzzer to give Laurel Highlands a dramatic 43-42 win against West Philadelphia in the Central Valley Roundball Classic at the Community College of Beaver County’s Golden Dome.

DeShields (20 points) and Rodney Gallagher (16) led the way for Laurel Highlands (7-1), which bounced back from its first loss, to Lincoln Park, a day earlier. DeShields is averaging 23.8 points a game and Gallagher 21.4.

West Philadelphia, which plays in the Philadelphia Public League, dropped to 4-9. The Speedboys fell to Aliquippa, 45-40, Thursday.

Other boys games

• Also at the Golden Dome, Jayden Davis put up a golden performance to help Chartiers Valley (10-0) remain unbeaten after a 52-49 win against Aliquippa (3-2). Davis, a sophomore, scored 40 points and is averaging 25.1 points a game. Quentin “Cheese” Goode led the Quips with 16 points.

• Mt. Lebanon (5-4) drilled 17 3-pointers on its way to an 88-50 win against Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Va. in the Parkersburg South, W.Va., tournament. Lucas Garofoli connected on nine of them and finished with a game-high 33 points. Brody Barber added 14 points and Nate Girod 10.

• Zach Oliver knocked down the winning shot in the closing seconds of overtime to lift Blackhawk (6-3) to a 53-51 victory against Pine-Richland (2-6) in the Central Valley Roundball Classic. Jake Patton led Blackhawk with 20 points and Oliver had 18. Josh Gimbel scored 23 points for Pine-Richland.

• Isaiah Gonzalez poured in 22 points to help Kiski Area (4-6) beat Fox Chapel (7-3), 67-64, in the Peter Sauer Memorial Tournament at Shady Side Academy. Fox Chapel led, 56-44, heading into the fourth quarter before the Foxes sliced into that advantage. Will Siegel scored a career-high 20 points for the Foxes.

• Allderdice (8-3) closed out its trip to South Carolina on a high note by beating Virginia Episcopal, Va., 64-59, in the Carolina Lowcountry Invitational. Sam Kelly scored 19 points and Logan Golle chipped in 15 for the Dragons, who went 1-2 at the three-day tournament. 

• The Wesling brothers propelled Baldwin (5-4) to a 73-48 non-section triumph against visiting Brashear (2-7). James Wesling tallied 28 points and Nate Wesling chipped in 20. Brashear got 24 points from Titus Gillett.

Girls games

• Aliquippa (3-3) rallied from eight points down after three quarters to defeat Rochester (1-8), 55-51, in the Central Valley Roundball Classic. Aunesty Johnson led the Quips with 18 points and Angel Henry added 16 behind a 10-of-10 performance from the free-throw line. Aleaya Mercier paced Rochester with 16 points.

• Nina Shaw and Naturelle Ewing scored 11 points apiece to propel Knoch (4-4) to a 34-32 win against Seneca Valley (3-6) in the Peter Sauer Memorial Tournament. It was a much closer result for the Knights, who beat Ellis School, 63-4, the previous day.

Three stars

*** — Lucas Garofoli, Mt. Lebanon. Garofoli knocked down nine 3-pointers among his 33 points in Mt. Lebanon’s 88-50 win against Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Va., in the Parkersburg South, W.Va. tournament.

** — Braylon Thomas, Union. The star of Union’s WPIAL championship football team, Thomas showed he’s also a talented basketball player, scoring a game-high 24 points to help the Scotties improve to 7-0 with a 57-39 win against Neshannock.

* — Elise Smith, Fox Chapel. Smith scored 23 points to push Fox Chapel past Pine-Richland, 48-37, in the Peter Sauer Memorial Tournament. The Foxes (7-3) had lost their past two games.

Hot from deep

Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Lucas Garofoli, Mt. Lebanon, 9; Madden Clement, Butler, 4; Tasso Sfanos, Mars, 4; Josh Gimbel, Pine-Richland, 4; Elsie Smith, Fox Chapel, 3; Catherine Gentile, Pine-Richland, 3.

Boys scores

Allderdice 54, Virginia Episcopal, Va. 59

Baldwin 73, Brashear 48

Blackhawk 53, Pine-Richland 51 (OT)

Butler 81, Bethel Park 66

Carlynton 59, Sewickley Academy 30

Central Catholic 80, John Carroll, Md., 74

Chartiers Valley 52, Aliquippa 49

Franklin Regional 75, Plum 48

Kiski Area 67, Fox Chapel 64

Laurel Highlands 43, West Philadelphia 42

Lincoln Park 72, Archbishop Wood 64

Mars 64, Farrell 55

McKeesport 59, Kennedy Catholic 46

Mt. Lebanon 88, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Va. 50

Union 57, Neshannock 39

Western Beaver 54, Avella 41

Girls scores

Aliquippa 55, Rochester 51

Fox Chapel 48, Pine-Richland 37

Kiski Area 53, Ellis School 11

Knoch 34, Seneca Valley 32

Moon 56, Central Valley 36

Penn Hills 64, Riverview 29