Mt. Lebanon looked to be a bit vulnerable heading into its section opener Tuesday at Baldwin.
The Blue Devils were coming off of their first loss of the season, had practiced just once since returning home Saturday morning from a tournament in Florida, and had several players who were fighting through illnesses.
No worries.
A Blue Devils team that had some fun in the sun last week kept the good times going as they rolled to a 73-50 win against Baldwin in Class 6A Section 2.
Sophomore Liam Sheely scored a career-high 30 points for Mt. Lebanon (9-1, 1-0), which ran its lead to double digits early in the second quarter and never looked back. The Blue Devils shot 54% from the field (25 of 46) while holding Baldwin (7-3, 0-1) to 42% shooting (20 of 47).
“I think they responded really well. It’s one of those things where if you can get by it really helps you because now the legs get some rest,” said Mt. Lebanon coach Joe David, who picked up his 400th career win last week a day before the team was handed a 57-55 defeat by Royal Palm Beach, Fla.
Mt. Lebanon hit its season average by connecting on 10 3-pointers, five of which came in the first quarter when it raced to a 20-13 lead. Brody Barber and Sheely combined to make all five of those early 3s and had 29 of Mt. Lebanon’s 34 points in the opening half. Sheely finished with six 3-pointers.
“We’re tough to guard,” David said. “We have four guys who are knocking 3s down pretty consistently. Even the games where we don’t knock 3s down, I think defensively we do a great job. Obviously it helped out and opened it up a little bit. It’s always a battle here. The crowd never got into it, which was good.”
In addition to Sheely’s 30 points, Mt. Lebanon got 18 points from Barber and 12 from Nate Girod. Caden Cherico paced Baldwin with 15 points.
Other boys games
• Central Catholic (5-3, 1-0) led by 10 points at the half and hung on for a 55-48 home win against Pine-Richland (4-5, 0-1) in Class 6A Section 1. Payton Wehner led Central Catholic with 15 points and Carson Baer paced Pine-Richland with 18.
• Mars (6-4, 1-0) knocked down 17 3-pointers on its way to an 85-73 home win against North Hills (4-5, 0-1) in Class 5A Section 4. Austin Wroblewski connected on five 3-pointers, while Ryan Ceh, Austin Campbell and Drew Navetta each made four. Ceh finished with a career-high 34 points and 18 rebounds. Eric James led North Hills with 24 points and Zach Pollaro had 22.
• Chartiers Valley (6-5, 1-0) dealt West Allegheny (8-2, 0-1) its second loss in a row, 66-51, in Class 5A Section 4. Jayden Davis scored 24 points for Chartiers Valley, which outscored West Allegheny, 26-13, in the third quarter. Brady Miller led West Allegheny with 15 points.
• Peter Kramer’s 16 points vaulted host Hampton (8-2, 1-0) to a 49-41 win against visiting Highlands (5-4, 0-1) in Class 4A Section 1. Alex Nyilas added 13 points and Liam Mignogna 12 for the Tablots, while Jordan Tavarez scored a team-high 13 points for Highlands.
• Ty Butler scored 26 points and Brady Mayo added 23 to propel host Beaver (6-5, 2-1) to a 67-55 win against Central Valley (6-3, 1-1) in Class 4A Section 2. Butler tallied 12 points in the fourth quarter. Isaiah Jeter pumped in 33 points for Central Valley.
• Behind career highs of eight 3-pointers and 34 points from sophomore Zach Washington, Quaker Valley (6-3, 1-0) ran to a 73-47 home win against East Allegheny (3-8, 0-1) in Class 4A Section 4. Washington made six of his 3s and scored 22 of his points in the second half.
• Montour (7-1, 1-0) won its section opener, 70-60, against visiting West Mifflin (6-4, 0-1) in Class 4A Section 4. Jake Wolfe (25) and Ama Sow (23) combined to score 48 points for Montour, which led, 40-24, at the half. David Fleming led West Mifflin with 17 points.
• Rowan Carmichael’s 35 points and 14 rebounds vaulted Avonworth (7-3, 1-0) to a 67-57 overtime win against visiting South Allegheny (8-2, 0-1) in Class 4A Section 4. Avonworth outscored South Allegheny, 17-7, in the extra period. Jeston Beatty and Drew Cook scored 16 points apiece for South Allegheny.
Girls games
• Norwin (8-2, 1-0) used a dominant second quarter to top previously unbeaten North Allegheny, 47-42, in Class 6A Section 1. Norwin outscored the host Tigers, 19-4, in the second quarter. Ava Kobus led Norwin with 15 points and Lauren Palangio had 13. North Allegheny (6-1, 0-1) was led by Caroline Henderson’s five 3-pointers and 17 points.
• Lilah Turnbull scored 16 points and Rachel Boehm added 12 to propel Chartiers Valley (7-1, 2-0) to a 50-42 win at Bethel Park (3-8, 0-3) in Class 6A Section 2. The Colts held a 23-21 lead at the half. Ella Sabatos paced the Black Hawks with 14 points.
• Payton Collins made seven 3-pointers and poured in 29 points to drive Mt. Lebanon (5-5, 2-1) to a 47-44 win at Baldwin (6-4, 0-3) in Class 6A Section 2. Laci Bernotas led Baldwin with 14 points and Lynsey Bernotas had 12.
• Megan Marston scored 25 points, including the 1,000th of her career, while leading Plum (7-3, 3-0) to a 53-43 win at Woodland Hills (0-7, 0-2) in Class 5A Section 1. Marston joins her mother as a 1,000-point scorer. Colleen (Connors) Marston scored more than 1,000 points at Gateway before going on to play at Saint Francis. Megan is a Case Western Reserve recruit.
• Ruby Morgan’s 15 points helped Trinity (8-1, 1-0) extend its win streak to seven after a 48-44 win at Montour (4-5, 0-1) in Class 5A Section 4. Jordyn Wolfe scored 21 points for Montour, which held a 24-21 halftime lead before Trinity held an 18-11 edge in the third quarter.
• Brooke Paylo tallied a game-high 19 points to help South Park (5-3, 1-0) hand host McGuffey (9-1, 0-1) its first loss, 62-46, in Class 3A Section 4. The Eagles led by 19 points at the half. Taylor Schumacher paced McGuffey with 15 points.
• In a rematch of the 2023 WPIAL Class 1A final, Kylie Fruehstorfer’s 17 points drove Union (7-5, 1-0) to a 51-37 win at Aquinas Academy (9-2, 0-1) in Section 1. Kelly Cleaver added eight points and 15 rebounds for the Scotties, while Emily Fisher led Aquinas with 11 points.
Three stars
*** — Alayna Rocco, North Catholic. A Harvard recruit, Rocco knocked down seven 3-pointers among her 31 points to lead North Catholic (4-4, 3-0) to a 66-23 win at Derry (4-7, 1-2) in Class 4A Section 1.
** — Adah Fuller, Knoch. Three-pointers must have been contagious in that section, as Fuller made five of them and scored 25 points to lead Knoch (5-4, 1-1) to a 46-30 win at Freeport (4-7, 1-2).
* — Braylon Littlejohn, Butler. Littlejohn, a Miami of Ohio football recruit, scored 27 points in leading Butler (8-1, 1-0) to a 72-60 home win against Seneca Valley (3-9, 0-1) in Class 6A Section 1.
Hot from deep
Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Zach Washington, Quaker Valley, 8; Payton Collins, Mt. Lebanon, 7; Liam Sheely, Mt. Lebanon, 6; Kaley Rohanna, Waynesburg, 6; Sam Miller, Canon-McMillan, 5; Bella Urso, Fox Chapel, 5; Adah Fuller, Knoch, 5; Caroline Henderson, North Allegheny, 5; Kaylee DeAngelo, Oakland Catholic, 5; Bobby Fadden. Mohawk, 4; Jackson Long, North Hills, 4; Aaron Smith, West Mifflin, 4; Emma Paul, Armstrong, 3; Stainton Forbes, Butler, 3; Braylon Littlejohn, Butler, 3; Isaiah Jeter, Central Valley, 3; Ike Moser, Fox Chapel, 3; Asher White, Fox Chapel, 3; Parker Hollick, Ligonier Valley, 3; JJ Nail, Mohawk, 3; Jake Wolfe, Montour, 3; Brody Barber, Mt. Lebanon, 3; Zach Pollaro, North Hills, 3.
Boys scores
Beaver 67, Central Valley 55
Bethel Park 70, Ringgold 52
Burrell 55, Derry 35
Butler 72, Seneca Valley 60
Canon-McMillan 57, Norwin 50
Central Catholic 55, Pine-Richland 48
Chartiers Valley 66, West Allegheny 51
Clairton 65, Serra Catholic 59
Fox Chapel 61, Penn Hills 52
Franklin Regional 69, Penn-Trafford 51
Gateway 62, McKeesport 46
Hampton 49, Highlands 41
Ligonier Valley 70, Apollo-Ridge 58
Mars 85, North Hills 73
Mohawk 77, Ellwood City 64
Montour 70, West Mifflin 60
Mt. Lebanon 73, Baldwin 50
Quaker Valley 73, East Allegheny 47
Trinity 64, Connellsville 47
Uniontown 73, Albert Gallatin 40
Upper St. Clair 57, Hempfield 25
Yough 73, Waynesburg 34
Girls scores
Armstrong 67, New Castle 29
Avonworth 55, South Allegheny 14
Beaver Falls 53, Riverside 33
Canon-McMillan 65, Beaver 47
Chartiers Valley 50, Bethel Park 42
Fort Cherry 63, Carlynton 20
Freedom 56, Sewickley Academy 37
Knoch 46, Freeport 30
Latrobe 54, Penn Hills 42
Ligonier Valley 58, Deer Lakes 43
Mars 66, Fox Chapel 57
McKeesport 62, Connellsville 28
Mohawk 44, Laurel 38
Monessen 54, Geibel 42
Mt. Lebanon 47, Baldwin 44
Neshannock 61, Ellwood City 54
North Catholic 66, Derry 23
Norwin 47, North Allegheny 42
Oakland Catholic 81, Albert Gallatin 19
Peters Township 53, Upper St. Clair 46
Plum 53, Woodland Hills 43
Riverview 51, Leechburg 22
Seneca Valley 51, Butler 44
South Park 62, McGuffey 46
Trinity 48, Montour 44
Union 51, Aquinas Academy 37
Waynesburg 56, Charleroi 29
West Mifflin 61, Ringgold 28
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.