Aaron Webb certainly isn’t a household name yet in WPIAL basketball circles, but that might not be the case much longer.
A talented 6-5 freshman with freakish leaping ability and a smooth shooting touch, Webb put his unique skill set on full display for Indiana (5-4, 1-0) in a 65-64 win Wednesday night at Greensburg Salem to open up Class 4A Section 1 competition. The lengthy swingman poured in a team-leading 26 points while knocking down a trio of 3-pointers to put the Little Indians back over .500 with a much-needed victory.
“Being just a freshman, [Webb] plays in spurts,” said Indiana coach Greg Lezanic. “Tonight was his most complete game of the season, by far. Aaron is just extraordinary and so much fun to watch play. He has so much skill, so much ability — jumping ability, rebounding ability.
“When the lightbulb turns on, he can be quite the player.”
The Little Indians built a 14-point lead after three quarters before the Golden Lions (2-9, 0-1) began chewing away at the deficit. Greensburg Salem cut it to one point with a basket in the final seconds, but Indiana managed to run out the clock and hang on for the nail-biting win. Ryan Burkart led all scorers with 27 points for the Golden Lions.
“We built a nice lead after three quarters,” Lezanic said. “We weren’t just leaking oil — we were out of oil.”
With a burgeoning talent like Webb leading the way, the future looks bright for the Little Indians after a few down years. It’s still too early to pencil them in for the postseason, but Lezanic likes what he sees so far from his young squad.
“This was a big win for us, because our goal is to make the playoffs,” Lezanic said. “We have three behemoths in our section with Hampton, Highlands and Knoch. Our goal is to make the playoffs and see what happens.”
Other boys games
• Elijah Guillory scored a team-leading 22 points for Moon (8-2, 1-0) in a dramatic 54-52 overtime victory against visiting South Fayette to open up Class 5A Section 4 play. Michael Plasko led all scorers with 26 points for the Lions (4-5, 0-1), who also got 15 from Nico LaMonde. Aiden Reesman added 15 points for Moon.
• Evan Berger tallied a team-high 24 points while Noah Prosser chipped in 23 for Thomas Jefferson (7-2, 1-0) in a 90-74 win against visiting Peters Township (6-4, 0-1) in the teams’ Class 5A Section 1 opener.
• Scoop Smith scored a game-high 23 points for Woodland Hills (3-8, 0-1), but the Wolverines’ offense fell flat with only 23 points over the final three quarters in a 58-49 loss at Armstrong in the Class 5A Section 2 opener. Jack Valasek led a trio of double-digit scorers for the River Hawks (8-3, 1-0) with 18 points.
• Carlynton snapped a seven-game losing skid with a 52-50 home win over returning WPIAL Class 1A finalist Union (3-8, 0-1) in the Section 1 opener. Jake Moldovan led the Cougars (2-7, 1-0) with 16 points while Braylon Thomas tallied a game-high 19 points for the Scotties.
• California came back from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to beat West Greene (5-5, 0-1), 66-63, for its first win of the season. Jacob Ziolecki led the way with a game-high 20 points for the Trojans (1-9, 1-0), including five 3-pointers, in the Class 1A Section 2 opener.
• Xavier Rigby finished with a game-high 19 points to go with 16 from Jayvin Hemer as Rochester (4-5, 1-0) rolled to a 66-33 win at Cornell (3-6, 1-0) in the Class 1A Section 1 opener.
• Jase Bedillion and John Woodward scored 13 points apiece for Jefferson-Morgan, propelling the Rockets (8-3, 1-0) to a 40-36 win over visiting Mapletown in Class 1A Section 2 action. Roger Gradek scored a game-high 16 points for the Maples (1-6, 0-1).
Girls games
• Following in the footsteps of her older sister, Juliette Leroux tallied a game-high 18 points for South Fayette (6-3, 1-0) in a 65-38 win at Moon (7-2, 0-1) in the Class 5A Section 4 opener for both teams. Erica Hall added 16 points to go with 15 from Haylie Lamonde, while Jaedin Griggs led the Tigers with 16 points. Leroux’s older sister, Ava, recently returned home from the hospital after a life-threatening car accident last month.
• Olivia Waters put up a game-high 18 points for North Hills (6-6, 3-0) in a 45-37 win at Shaler (4-7, 1-1) to snap a three-game losing skid. The Indians remain unbeaten in Class 5A Section 2.
• Kayla Larkin led all scorers with 20 points for Jefferson-Morgan (2-9, 0-1), but it wasn’t enough as the Rockets fell in their Class 1A Section 2 opener at Mapletown, 46-38. Isabella Garnek led a trio of double-digit scorers for the Maples (4-6, 1-0) with 15 points.
Three stars
*** — Jackson Bauman, Knoch. Bauman was the man for the Knights in a 65-48 win at Class 4A Section 1 foe Freeport, scoring a game-high 27 points.
** — Joey Dopirak, North Allegheny. One of the top scorers in Class 6A, Dopirak had another productive night for the Tigers with a game-high 32 points in a 57-45 win at Section 1 rival New Castle.
* — Madison Zavasky, Pine-Richland. The senior shooting guard lit up the scoreboard for a game-high 32 points in the Rams’ 59-23 win at Class 6A Section 1 foe Hempfield.
Hot from deep
Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: David Kwiat, Neshannock, 5; Jacob Ziolecki, California, 5; David Zaharko, Aquinas Academy, 4; Ralphie Blundo, New Castle, 3; Ryan Burkart, Greensburg Salem, 3; Damian Harrison, New Castle, 3; Braedon Leatherman, Greensburg Salem, 3; Aaron Webb, Indiana, 3.
Boys scores
Aliquippa 90, South Side 44
Ambridge 53, Hopewell 45
Aquinas Academy 74, Summit Academy 60
Armstrong 58, Woodland Hills 49
Avella 66, Western Beaver 62
Belle Vernon 59, Southmoreland 57
Beth-Center 61, Carmichaels 55
Brentwood 53, Steel Valley 44
California 66, West Greene 63
Carlynton 52, Union 50
Greensburg Central Catholic 74, Leechburg 23
Imani Christian 80, Neighborhood Academy 51
Indiana 65, Greensburg Salem 64
Jefferson-Morgan 40, Mapletown 36
Keystone Oaks 53, South Park 50
Knoch 65, Freeport 48
Monessen 73, Geibel Catholic 48
Moon 54, South Fayette 52 (OT)
Neshannock 59, Beaver Falls 51
North Allegheny 57, New Castle 45
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 57, Sto-Rox 52
Riverside 69, New Brighton 58
Rochester 66, Cornell 33
Shady Side Academy 69, Valley 39
Shaler 71, Plum 55
Shenango 66, Laurel 46
Springdale 67, Riverview 50
Washington 61, Brownsville 48
Thomas Jefferson 90, Peters Township 74
Girls scores
Blackhawk 66, Central Valley 18
Clairton 78, Steel Valley 12
Keystone Oaks 60, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 57
Kiski Area 49, Gateway 31
Mapletown 46, Jefferson-Morgan 38
North Hills 45, Shaler 37
Pine-Richland 59, Hempfield 23
Quaker Valley 63, Ambridge 37
South Fayette 65, Moon 38
South Side 62, New Brighton 10
Thomas Jefferson 48, Penn-Trafford 36
Winchester Thurston 51, Ellis School 26
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
