One of the WPIAL’s top quarterbacks used a putback to lead his basketball team to a giant road win Friday.
Jake Wolfe followed up his own miss just before the buzzer to lift Class 4A Montour to a 55-54 non-section win at Class 6A Upper St. Clair in a battle of two of the area’s top teams.
Wolfe’s basket came not long after his turnover nearly cost Montour (2-1) the game. Upper St. Clair’s Brett Meinert turned Wolfe’s errant pass into a layup that gave the Panthers (2-1) a 54-53 lead with 17 seconds left.
“He’s pretty much unflappable,” Montour coach Bill Minear said of Wolfe. “He never changes his expression and just continues to play the game. [The turnover] was so out of character for him, but he made up for it.”
Wolfe, who ranked among the WPIAL leaders in passing yards and touchdowns his senior season, finished with 19 points. Montour trailed Upper St. Clair, 50-47, with two minutes left before Wolfe and Kaleb Platz connected on consecutive 3-pointers to surge the Spartans into the lead with 1:32 remaining. Platz finished with 10 points.
The game featured a terrific matchup of lengthy post players with Montour 6-11 junior Ama Sow going up against Upper St. Clair 6-9 junior Tyler Robbins. Sow finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Robbins had 14 points.
“It was a different style of bigs,” Minear said. “Ama is pushing the ball on the break. And when Robbins gets the ball on the block, it’s a basket.”
Upper St. Clair was led by Christian Ito’s 17 points, and Kaamil Jackson chipped in 10.
Other boys games
• Mars coach Rob Carmody picked up his 400th career win while guiding the Planets (2-1) to a 65-46 non-section win against visiting Plum (1-3). Ryan Ceh scored 27 points for Mars, while Plum got seven 3-pointers and 28 points from Max Grice.
• In a four-overtime thriller, host Baldwin (3-1) outlasted Fox Chapel (2-2), 67-56, in non-section play. Nate Wesling poured in 29 points for Baldwin, which outscored Fox Chapel, 12-1, in the fourth overtime. Jefferson Moorefield-Brown led the Foxes with 28 points.
• Kaden Orga’s layup at the overtime buzzer helped host Shaler (4-0) pull out a 55-53 non-section win against South Fayette (2-2). Orga scored a team-best 14 points, while Brandon London added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Michael Plasko scored 30 for South Fayette.
• Uniontown (3-0) led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter before holding on for a 74-70 non-section win at Thomas Jefferson (3-1). Notorious Grooms scored 25 points and Jamire Braxton 23 for Uniontown. Evan Berger scored 24 for Thomas Jefferson.
• Jared Astorino scored 33 points to propel Ambridge (2-3) to a 95-82 non-section win at Ellwood City (1-3). Astorino connected on six of Ambridge’s 13 3-pointers. Joseph Roth scored 33 for Ellwood City. The Wolverines were outscored by Ambridge, 31-19, in the final quarter.
• Aiden Reesman scored 20 points and Elijah Guillory added 15 to pace Moon (1-1) in a 56-41 win at Central Catholic (0-1) in the Jack Twyman Tournament. Moon led, 26-20, at the half. Vernon Settles scored 12 points for Central Catholic.
• Gateway (3-1) jumped to a nine-point halftime lead and went on to defeat Penn Hills (0-1), 57-51, in the Jack Twyman Tournament at Central Catholic. Bryson Pavlik paced Gateway with 16 points, while Robert Thomas led Penn Hills with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• Liam Sheely and Nate Girod each connected on four 3-pointers to push Mt. Lebanon (2-0) to a 54-39 non-section win at Pine-Richland (1-2). Sheely finished with 21 points and Girod 18. Emery Moye and Doolin Stoner scored 10 points apiece for Pine-Richland.
Girls games
• Bethel Park (2-2) led by 13 points after three quarters and held on for a 56-54 non-section win against visiting South Fayette (2-1). Ella Sabotas led Bethel Park with 15 points, and Julia Benlock added 13.
• Norwin (2-1) suffered its first loss, 51-46, to Spring-Ford (1-1) in the State College Tournament. The Knights got 18 points from Lauren Palangio and 11 from Ava Kobus.
• Rylee Kalocay scored 15 points and Olivia Terlecki added 11 to help host Upper St. Clair (3-2) claim a 45-37 non-section win against Shaler (1-3). The Panthers outscored Shaler, 12-6, in the fourth quarter. Bayleigh Perez led Shaler with 15 points.
Three stars
*** — Courtney Wallace, Neighborhood Academy. Wallace made four 3-pointers among his game-high 24 points to vault the host Bulldogs (4-0) to a 74-22 win against Pittsburgh Christian Academy (0-2).
** — Dominic Colarusso, Carmichaels. Colarusso went off for a game-high 32 points while helping Carmichaels (2-2) rally for a 65-62 non-section win at California (0-2). Colarusso went 15 of 22 from the free-throw line and made three 3-pointers.
* — Emma Larkin, Geibel. Larkin poured in 30 points to push host Geibel (3-1) to a 42-39 non-section win against Derry (2-3). Larkin averaged 23 points a game as a freshman last season.
Hot from deep
Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Max Grice, Plum, 7; Jared Astorino, Ambridge, 6; Roman Koenemund, Canon-McMillan, 5; Kai Stryhn, York Suburban, 5; Ryan Ceh, Mars, 4; Nate Girod, Mt. Lebanon, 4; Liam Sheely, Mt. Lebanon, 4; Courtney Wallace, Neighborhood Academy, 4; Jake Rynd, Neshannock, 4; Julien Hubbard, Ambridge, 3; Dominic Colarusso, Carmichaels, 3; Jayden Davis, Chartiers Valley, 3; Danny Slizik, Chartiers Valley, 3; Carter Tumulty, Moon, 3.
Boys scores
Ambridge 95, Ellwood City 82
Baldwin 67, Fox Chapel 56 (4 OT)
Canon-McMillan 63, Bethel Park 53
Carmichaels 65, California 62
Chartiers-Houston 43, Brentwood 38
Clairton 74, Brownsville 36
Deer Lakes 53, Yough 32
Franklin Regional 71, West Mifflin 44
Gateway 57, Penn Hills 51
Jefferson-Morgan 63, Waynesburg 53
Mars 65, Plum 46
McDowell 55, Chartiers Valley 52
Montour 55, Upper St. Clair 54
Moon 56, Central Catholic 41
Mt. Lebanon 54, Pine-Richland 39
Neighborhood Academy 74, Pittsburgh Christian Academy 22
Neshannock 59, Brookville 56
Northgate 70, Eden Christian 27
Penn-Trafford 55, Trinity 54
Seneca Valley 62, Laurel Highlands 54
Serra Catholic 47, Sewickley Academy 46
Shaler 55, South Fayette 53 (OT)
West Allegheny 56, Steel Valley 21
York Suburban 63, North Allegheny 58
Girls scores
Bethel Park 56, South Fayette 54
Ellis School 49, Avella 23
Geibel 42, Derry 39
Ligonier Valley 62, Valley 14
Penn-Trafford 61, Penn Hills 40
Spring-Ford 51, Norwin 46
Upper St. Clair 45, Shaler 37
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.