Tuesday basketball rundown: North Catholic boys battle past Beaver for big road win

Everybody is already pointing to the Lincoln Park boys as the de facto Class 4A Section 2 champion, but not if North Catholic has anything to say about it.

The Trojans (9-5, 5-1) traveled to Beaver on Tuesday night in a battle for second place in the loaded section, with the winner putting itself in prime position to challenge the Leopards for the section title. North Catholic led by one entering the final quarter, then used stifling defense to pull away for a crucial 66-57 win.

“I think what helps is that so many of our guys have played in such tense moments,” Trojans coach Jim Rocco said. “Our schedule has been really difficult. We went out to Archbishop Wood on the road and went toe-to-toe. We played Devon Prep and West Philadelphia and almost won. … I think these guys are seasoned because of that.”

Andrew Maddalon led the way with 24 points for North Catholic to go with 18 from Max Hurray. Sawyer Butler led four double-digit scorers for the Bobcats (11-2, 4-2) with 18 points along with 13 from Aiden Townsend, 11 from Brady Mayo and 10 from Ty Butler.

“Andrew Maddalon was awesome tonight,” Rocco said. “I thought he was going to score 40. I don’t know how many he had in the first half, but I don’t think he hit the rim.

“The first time [Hurray] scored might have been late in the third. He was struggling. He just wasn’t able to get any rhythm and score. But he played super well at the end of the third and fourth. He was strong at the rim and made a couple big shots.”

The Trojans have a must-see matchup with Lincoln Park Jan. 27 at home.

Other boys games

• In a marquee matchup of Class 5A title contenders, North Hills (11-2, 5-0) escaped from Chartiers Valley with a 78-74 road win in a thrilling back-and-forth battle. Indians big man Royce Parham accounted for half of his team’s offensive output with a game-high 39 points, while Jayden Thomas added 24 in the win. Jayden Davis led four players in double figures for the Colts (12-3, 2-3) with 24 points.

• Tasso Sfanos scored a team-high 24 points and surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for his career, but it wasn’t enough to bring Mars (10-3, 3-2) a victory against Moon. The host Tigers (7-5, 3-2) earned a 67-52 win thanks to a game-high 26 points from Elijah Guillory.

Girls games

• Two of the premier players in the WPIAL went head-to-head, but it was the Eagles (12-2, 6-0) who emerged with a 59-51 road win over the Tigers (12-2, 5-1) to take over sole possession of first place in Class 5A Section 3. McKeesport standout Rachael Manfredo and Oakland Catholic‘s Alexa Washington scored 19 points apiece

• Eden Williamson scored a game-high 25 points while doing all of her work almost exclusively from the free-throw line, knocking down 19 of 23 foul shots to lead Trinity (8-5, 4-1) to a 58-46 win at Lincoln Park (12-2, 3-2). Maddy Roberts pulled in 22 rebounds for the Hillers, while Sarah Scott led the Leopards with 13 points in defeat.

Three stars

*** — Braylon Littlejohn scored a game-high 28 points and did so in extremely efficient fashion, converting 10 of 13 field goals for Butler in an 86-73 win against visiting Pine-Richland.

** — Vinnie Cugini scored 47 points for Aquinas Academy in an 81-54 home win against St. Joseph, inching closer to the WPIAL’s all-time scoring record. Cugini is 179 points away from tying the record of 2,838 held by Tom Pipkins.

* — Julz Mohrbacher finished with 21 points and surpassed 1,000 points for her career as Freedom earned a dominant 68-11 home win against New Brighton.

Hot from deep

Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Nate Girod, Mt. Lebanon, 6; Andrew Maddalon, North Catholic, 5; Rowan Carmichael, Avonworth, 4; Tyler Pepin, Seneca Valley, 4; Jerome Mullins, Rochester, 4; Bella Urso, Fox Chapel, 4; Sawyer Butler, Beaver, 3; Donovan Carney, Butler, 3; Tasso Sfanos, Mars, 3; Aiden Townsend, Beaver, 3; Donovan Turner, Moon, 3; Alexa Washington, Oakland Catholic, 3.

Boys scores

Ambridge 55, Beaver Falls 51

Aquinas Academy 81, St. Joseph 54

Armstrong 50, Plum 29

Belle Vernon 78, Elizabeth Forward 54

Bishop Canevin 87, Winchester Thurston 40

Burrell 55, Valley 44

Butler 86, Pine-Richland 73

Carlynton 72, Cornell 22

Central Valley 60, Hopewell 45

Chartiers-Houston 53, Carmichaels 50

Deer Lakes 53, Shady Side Academy 51

Derry Area 63, Ligonier Valley 28

Eden Christian 64, Propel Braddock Hills 50

Fort Cherry 81, Burgettstown 49

Fox Chapel 66, Shaler 45

Frazier 73, Beth-Center 61

Freeport 80, Indiana 42

Gateway 85, Latrobe 70

Geibel Catholic 66, Jefferson-Morgan 46

Greensburg Central Catholic 78, Springdale 37

Hampton 74, Greensburg Salem 17

Highlands 82, Knoch 63

Jeannette 54, Riverview 49

Keystone Oaks 62, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 54

Kiski Area 62, Penn-Trafford 45

Lincoln Park 81, Blackhawk 42

Mapletown 58, West Greene 42

McGuffey 70, Waynesburg 31

McKeesport 59, Franklin Regional 53

Mohawk 67, Neshannock 49

Monessen 69, California 39

Moon 67, Mars 52

Mt. Lebanon 62, Canon-McMillan 41

Nazareth Prep 63, Propel Montour 18

New Castle 54, Seneca Valley 47

North Allegheny 62, Central Catholic 46

North Catholic 66, Beaver 57

North Hills 78, Chartiers Valley 74

Norwin 47, Hempfield 46

Penn Hills 66, Woodland Hills 34

Peters Township 75, Bethel Park 68

Quaker Valley 47, Montour 43

Rochester 70, Western Beaver 58

Serra Catholic 79, Leechburg 76

Seton LaSalle 71, Sto-Rox 56

South Allegheny 59, East Allegheny 46

South Fayette 59, West Allegheny 36

South Side 42, Sewickley Academy 21

Steel Valley 77, South Park 63

Thomas Jefferson 80, Connellsville 20

Trinity 58, Ringgold 19

Union 83, Avella 34

Uniontown 61, Laurel Highlands 57

Upper St. Clair 47, Baldwin 46

Washington 62, Mount Pleasant 39

West Mifflin 57, Avonworth 50

Yough 81, Charleroi 38

Girls scores

Fox Chapel 44, Shaler 38

Frazier 55, Beth-Center 39

Freedom 68, New Brighton 11

Geibel Catholic 44, Jefferson-Morgan 17

Kiski Area 38, Penn Hills 33

Latrobe 68, Hempfield 54

Oakland Catholic 59, McKeesport 51

Peters Township 66, Canon-McMillan 50

Propel Braddock Hills 33, Neighborhood Academy 19

Rochester 44, South Side 37

Shady Side Academy 62, Ligonier Valley 20

Trinity 58, Lincoln Park 46

Union 52, Eden Christian 16

Waynesburg 50, Brownsville 25

Woodland Hills 55, Gateway 42