It’s still a bit too early to tell how Hampton will stack up among the top title contenders in Class 4A, but the Talbots certainly are getting 2023-24 off to an ideal start.
Led by the top-notch tandem of 6-foot-5 senior guard Peter Kramer and 6-8 senior forward Liam Mignogna, Hampton pulled away from Plum early on and never looked back Friday night en route to a 61-43 road win. Kramer led all scorers with 21 points, while Mignogna notched his second double-double in a row with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the unbeaten Talbots (5-0).
“When [Kramer] has the ball in his hands, he makes big plays in big moments,” longtime Hampton coach Joe Lafko said. “We’ve played some really competitive teams, and he’s knocked down some shots and made some plays that were crucial during those games.”
Speaking of Mignogna’s emergence as one of the top post players in the area, Lafko said it couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Liam is having a great start to the year,” Lafko said. “I couldn’t be more proud of him and his performances.”
Max Grice scored a team-leading 20 points for the Mustangs (2-4) to go along with 11 from Will Beckner. Alex Nyilas chipped in with 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Talbots. With role players such as Nyilas taking turns stepping up in any given game, offensive balance continues to serve as Hampton’s calling card so far in 2023.
Combined with the presence of two marquee players in Kramer and Mignogna, the Talbots could have the formula to make a deep postseason run, provided they can stay healthy the rest of the way.
“I think looking at our game tonight, we had some unforced turnovers where we just have to learn to play a little bit better with a larger lead,” Lafko said. “I think we’re getting some good balance, being able to attack the interior at times and also being able to take advantage of some perimeter play.
“We have a good stretch here of very competitive games. One of the things this does is it really challenges you early in the year. We just want to keep it rolling.”
Other boys games
• Liam Sheely led all scorers with 21 points while Brody Barber and Nate Girod each chipped in with 15 and Riley Farabaugh added 14, providing a balanced scoring attack for unbeaten Mt. Lebanon (4-0) in a 69-48 triumph at Chartiers Valley (3-3). Julian Semplice led the Colts with 20 points.
• Montour held off a spirited second-half rally from Thomas Jefferson (4-2) thanks to a big block by 6-11 junior Ama Sow in the final minute, helping the Spartans (3-1) hold on for an exciting 59-57 home win. Multi-sport star Jake Wolfe scored 28 of his game-high 35 points in the first half for Montour.
• Braylon Littlejohn scored a game-high 24 points for Butler (3-1), outdueling Franklin Regional‘s Cam Rowell (23 points) in a 63-60 road win for the Golden Tornado, handing the Panthers (5-1) their first loss of the season.
• Elijah Guillory poured in 30 points for Moon (3-2) for the second time in four days, powering the Planets to a 62-50 win over host Pine-Richland (2-3). Carter Depner added 19 for Moon, while Emory Moye scored 15 to pace the Rams.
• Fresh off surpassing the 1,000-point mark earlier this week, Avonworth junior Rowan Carmichael scored a game-high 23 points to lead four players in double figures for the Antelopes (4-1) in an impressive 88-56 win over Bishop Canevin (1-4). Matt Farrah finished with 15 points for Avonworth, while Jason Cross led Canevin with 17.
• All five starters reached double figures for Ellwood City (3-4, 1-0) in a 75-33 home win over New Brighton (1-5, 0-1) in this Class 3A Section 1 opener. Joseph Roth and Colten Crizer led the way with 13 points apiece, Aaron Lake finished with 12, Chris Smiley added 11 and Nate Williams finished with 10.
• Brandon Bell scored 16 points to lead the way for unbeaten West Allegheny (6-0) in a 70-40 win at Carlynton (1-4, 0-0). Jaydin McKnight led the Cougars with 14 along with 13 from Ryan Lewis.
• Will Siegel scored a team-leading 18 points for Fox Chapel (3-3) in a 54-50 road win against Seneca Valley (2-4, 0-0), while Kai West led all scorers with 19 points for the Raiders.
• Jack Bruckner scored a team-high 16 points to lead four double-digit scorers for Bethel Park (2-3, 0-0) in a 64-58 rivalry win over visiting Upper St. Clair (2-2, 0-0).
• Jake Johnson scored 17 points to lead a trio of double-digit scorers for Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (4-1, 1-0) in a 55-54 win at Brentwood (2-5, 0-1) in the section opener for both teams. Ian Harrington led all scorers with 18 points for the Spartans.
• Taris Wooding scored a game-high 21 points for Clairton (3-3, 1-0), which raced to a 19-2 first-quarter lead and held on the rest of the way for a 69-56 home win over previously unbeaten Springdale (4-1, 0-1) in the teams’ section opener.
• Ky’mone Brown scored a game-high 27 points for Jeannette (5-2, 1-0) to lead the Jayhawks to a 57-54 win over visiting Serra Catholic (3-3, 0-1) in this Class 2A Section 3 opener. Pete Burke tallied 18 points and Isaiah Burke finished with 14 for the Eagles.
• Eamon O’Donoghue led all scorers with 20 points to go with 15 from Roman Koenemund in a 62-45 win for Canon-McMillan (2-2) over visiting Ringgold (1-3).
• Macky Bennis led unbeaten Burrell (5-0, 1-0) with 18 points to keep the Buccaneers’ perfect start intact with a 46-41 win against visiting Shady Side Academy (2-4, 0-1).
• Bobby Fadden scored a game-high 29 points for Mohawk (1-3) to lead the Warriors to their first win of the season with a 64-43 road victory at Rochester (2-2). Xavier Rigby led the Rams with 18 points.
• Michael Hammerling finished with a game-high 22 points and Matt Southers contributed 18 to help Winchester Thurston (4-1, 0-0) cruise to a 62-32 win at Cornell (3-2, 0-0).
• Joey Dopirak scored 18 points to lead North Allegheny (2-4, 0-0) to a 43-40 win over Pass Christian, Miss., at the KSA Classic in Orlando, Fla.
Girls games
• Na’Jaziah Carter scored a game-high 17 points and Sidney Campbell finished with 16 for Monessen (2-1) in a 61-24 road win at Sto-Rox (2-4).
• Rihanna Boice led all scorers with 19 points for New Castle (0-7, 0-1), but it wasn’t enough to pull off the victory against Hopewell (4-3, 0-0) as Caylee Sundy scored 17 points in a 37-33 home win for the Vikings.
Three stars
*** — Nadia Davis, Canon-McMillan. Davis was the catalyst behind the Big Macs’ 53-42 win against Mt. Lebanon, finishing with a game-high 23 points in the section opener for both teams.
** — Vita Vargo, Mars. Vargo put up 29 points to lead the Planets to a 52-51 comeback win over Kiski Area, knocking down five 3-pointers while finishing 8 of 10 from the free throw line.
* — Nathan Garrett, Eden Christian. The cross-country standout was hitting shots from all across the court, finishing with 29 points while draining seven 3-pointers in a 76-61 win over South Side.
Hot from deep
Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Nathan Garrett, Eden Christian, 7; Jake Wolfe, Montour, 6; Nate Girod, Mt. Lebanon, 5; Max Grice, Plum, 5; Vita Vargo, Mars, 5; Liam Sheely, Mt. Lebanon, 4; Brody Evans, Thomas Jefferson, 3; Elijah Guillory, Moon, 3; David Kwiat, Neshannock, 3; Sam Miller, Canon-McMillan, 3; Nick Trklja, Thomas Jefferson, 3.
Boys scores
Armstrong 66, Freeport 44
Avella 73, Mapletown 39
Avonworth 88, Bishop Canevin 56
Beaver Falls 56, Riverside 52
Bethel Park 64, Upper St. Clair 58
Blackhawk 66, Hopewell 38
Burgettstown 51, Chartiers-Houston 48 (OT)
Burrell 46, Shady Side Academy 41
Butler 63, Franklin Regional 60
Canon-McMillan 62, Ringgold 45
Carmichaels 72, Geibel Catholic 42
Clairton 69, Springdale 56
Deer Lakes 63, Ligonier Valley 34
Eden Christian 76, South Side 63
Elizabeth Forward 62, Trinity 58
Ellwood City 75, New Brighton 33
Fox Chapel 54, Seneca Valley 50
Frazier 64, Bentworth 46
Greensburg C.C. 63, Riverview 30
Hampton 61, Plum 43
Jeannette 57, Serra Catholic 54
Keystone Oaks 62, Sto-Rox 55 (OT)
Kiski Area 52, Mars 50
Latrobe 64, DuBois 57
Leechburg 65, St. Joseph 64
Mohawk 64, Rochester 43
Montour 59, Thomas Jefferson 57
Moon 62, Pine-Richland 50
Mt. Lebanon 69, Chartiers Valley 47
Neshannock 64, Freedom 21
North Allegheny 43, Pass Christian, Miss., 40
North Catholic 88, Ambridge 45
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 55, Brentwood 54
Peters Township 72, Penn-Trafford 66
Seton LaSalle 52, Steel Valley 43
Southmoreland 73, Mount Pleasant 53
Valley 59, Apollo-Ridge 24
Washington 50, McGuffey 48 (OT)
West Allegheny 70, Carlynton 40
Winchester Thurston 62, Cornell 32
Woodland Hills 81, Brashear 62
Yough 59, Brownsville 37
Girls scores
Brashear 31, Trinity Christian 13
Canon-McMillan 53, Mt. Lebanon 42
Eden Christian 54, South Side 44
Hopewell 37, New Castle 33
Jefferson-Morgan 49, Carlynton 26
Mars 52, Kiski Area 51
Monessen 61, Sto-Rox 24
Mount Pleasant 38, Southmoreland 14
Plum 48, Gateway 15
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
