South Allegheny’s Cameron Epps and Drew Cook are backcourt mates in basketball, football teammates and, above all else, best friends.
The two share a lot with one another, and what they accomplished together Friday night might be their most impressive feat yet.
Epps and Cook each reached 1,000 career points while leading South Allegheny to a 73-54 win at Shady Side Academy in Class 3A Section 3.
“As a coach, you rarely ever have two players on the same team that reach 1,000 points,” South Allegheny coach Tony DiCenzo said. “For it to happen in the same game is really cool.”
Reaching the milestone was an especially neat achievement for Epps, a senior who joined brothers Antonio and Bryce as 1,000-point scorers. Antonio graduated in 2021 and Bryce in 2023. They are one of just a handful of brother trios in WPIAL history to achieve the feat. Bryce is South Allegheny’s all-time leading scorer.
“It’s a really special honor to be able to coach three siblings who play at such a high level,” DiCenzo said. “It’s no real secret. All three of them are really talented and special athletes. It didn’t happen by accident. They’ve put in a tremendous amount of work.”
Coming into the game, Cook needed 8 points to reach 1,000 and Epps needed 25. Cook, a junior, finished with 15 and Epps with 29. Cook reached the milestone on a runner in the first quarter, while Epps got there via a layup in the fourth, which came on a dish from Cook. Cook now has 1,007 points and Epps 1,004.
“They’ve been best friends since they were kids in elementary school, and they’ve been playing together since a really young age,” DiCenzo said. “I remember seeing them play as middle school kids. For them to accomplish this, it’s really cool to see how they’ve grown up, not only as basketball players, but as young men.”
South Allegheny improved to 14-2 overall and 5-0 in section play, while Shady Side Academy fell to 4-12, 2-4.
Other boys games
• Caden Kaiser scored a career-high 32 points and Fox Chapel (13-4, 8-2) rallied from 16 points down to defeat visiting Woodland Hills, 52-46, in Class 6A Section 1. Kaiser scored all 13 of his team’s points in the third quarter. The Foxes outscored Woodland Hills, 22-11, in the fourth. Scoop Smith had 17 points for Woodland Hills (7-10, 3-7), which raced to a 19-4 first-quarter lead.
• Zach Pollaro banked in a 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer to give North Hills (6-11, 5-5) a 44-43 win against visiting Seneca Valley (11-7, 8-2) in Class 6A Section 1. Pollaro scored 8 of North Hills’ 10 points in overtime and finished with a game-high 21. Owen Congdon scored 11 points to lead Seneca Valley, which had won 10 in a row.
• Kai Cox and Damien Harrison scored 14 points apiece to lead a quartet of New Castle players scoring in double figures in a 69-46 win against visiting Butler (11-6, 4-6) in Class 6A Section 1. New Castle (13-3, 7-3) led, 29-22, at the half before outscoring Butler, 32-23, in the third quarter. Andrew Gettinger led Butler with 17 points.
• Isaac Ellsworth connected on eight 3-pointers among his game-high 30 points to push Uniontown (15-3, 10-0) to a 100-85 home win against Penn-Trafford (8-8, 5-5) in Class 5A Section 1. Calvin Winfrey added 29 points, Notorious Grooms 21 and Kelan Milsom 20 for Uniontown, which scored 49 points in the first half. Tyler Anthony led Penn-Trafford with 21 points, and Brayden Stone added 19.
• Class 5A Section 2 leader Penn Hills (8-7, 8-1) held off Armstrong (4-11, 0-8), the last-place team in the section, 44-42. Penn Hills led, 26-11, at the half before Armstrong outscored the Indians, 31-18, in the second half. Amon Hawthorne led Penn Hills with 13 points, while Jaydon Oliver paced Armstrong with 11.
• Kiski Area (8-6, 6-1) led by 6 points at the half and held on for a 46-35 win at Hampton (9-8, 5-4) in Class 5A Section 2. Jacob Musselman (10 points) was the only player scoring in double figures for Kiski Area, which has won five in a row. Jonas Cupps scored 12 points to lead Hampton.
• Gavin Orosz scored 23 points, Tyson Wright added 21 and South Fayette (13-4, 8-1) used a 20-0 run in the first half to take down visiting Thomas Jefferson, 71-63, in Class 5A Section 3. It was the sixth consecutive win for South Fayette, which outscored Thomas Jefferson, 26-6, in the second quarter. Nick Trklja paced Thomas Jefferson (8-9, 3-5) with 23 points.
• Freshman Luca Federico scored 19 points to vault host Chartiers Valley (15-2, 7-2) to a 57-52 win against Moon (13-4, 5-3) in Class 5A Section 4. Jayden Davis added 12 points for the Colts, who beat Moon, 60-44, a month ago. Carter Tumulty led Moon with 21 points and Michael Santicola had 20.
• Rowan Carmichael went over 2,000 career points while leading host Avonworth (13-2, 6-0) to an 85-71 win against Hopewell (6-10, 1-5) in Class 4A Section 2. Carmichael, the school’s all-time leading scorer, scored 36 points to increase his career total to 2,021. Noah Goetz chipped in with 25 points for Avonworth, while Hopewell got 18 from Zach Kovell and 17 from James Armstrong.
• Brady Mayo pumped in 29 points and host Beaver (13-4, 4-2) won for the sixth time in seven games, 59-55, against Central Valley (13-3, 4-2) in Class 4A Section 2. Mayo made three 3-pointers and was 12 of 14 from the free-throw line. Beaver held a 29-18 halftime advantage. Isaiah Jeter scored 17 points for Central Valley, which topped Beaver Dec. 20, 54-49.
• Zion Moore poured in 32 points and Belle Vernon (13-4, 8-1) took over the lead in Class 4A Section 3 with a 78-52 win against visiting Derry (10-6, 7-2). Moore scored 11 of his points in the third quarter when the Leopards outscored Derry, 19-11, to up their lead to 16. Stanley Rajkovich led Derry with 16 points. Derry beat Belle Vernon, 67-61, in overtime Dec. 20.
• Despite coach Nick Lackovich and several Aliquippa players serving suspensions, the Quips (11-3, 8-0) rolled to an 87-18 win against visiting Freedom (1-13, 1-6) in Class 3A Section 1. Josh Pratt poured in 35 points and Qalil Goode added 22 for the Quips, who outscored Freedom, 27-2, in the first quarter. The suspensions stemmed from an incident that happened during Aliquippa’s game Saturday against Imani Christian.
• Nolan Donnelly scored 19 points and Sewickley Academy (13-2, 9-0) won its fourth game in a row, 70-40, at Winchester Thurston (10-4, 5-2) in Class 2A Section 2. The Panthers led by 8 points at the half before outscoring Winchester Thurston, 21-9, in the third quarter to break open the game. Michael Hammerling led Winchester Thurston with 16 points.
• Lucas Stanley scored 29 points for Union (13-5, 7-3), but it wasn’t enough as Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (14-4, 9-1) grabbed a 70-59 road win in Class 2A Section 4. OLSH led, 25-14, after one quarter. Tiernan McCullough scored 18 points and Jake Johnson chipped in with 16 for the Chargers, who won their fifth in a row.
• Courtney Wallace’s triple-double of 20 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists propelled Neighborhood Academy (17-1, 6-0) to its seventh consecutive win, 70-55, at Monessen (9-5, 3-3) in Class 1A Section 2. Kedron Gilmore also scored 20 points for Neighborhood Academy, while Rodney Johnson led Monessen with 13.
Girls games
• Canon-McMillan (10-6, 4-2) handed visiting Upper St. Clair (12-4, 5-1) its first section loss, 45-38, in Class 6A Section 2. Lauren Borella scored 12 points for the Big Macs, who held a 42-22 rebounding edge. Rylee Kalocay led Upper St. Clair with 18 points and Meredith Huzjak added 12. Upper St. Clair defeated Canon-McMillan, 66-44, Dec. 19.
• Seneca Valley (11-5, 6-0) remained perfect in section play after a 47-42 win at North Allegheny (6-9, 3-3) in Class 6A Section 1. Natalie Hambly and Gracie Cato each scored 14 points for Seneca Valley, which held a 26-19 lead at the half. Rosalia Varlotta paced the Tigers with 11 points.
Three stars
*** — Joseph Colton, Keystone Oaks. Colton’s quadruple-double (17 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists, 10 steals) fueled Keystone Oaks (12-5, 4-2) in a 67-35 win against visiting Sto-Rox (2-13, 0-6) in Class 3A Section 2.
** — Shane Cornali, Fort Cherry. Cornali scored a career-high 40 points while adding 10 rebounds and 6 steals while leading Fort Cherry (9-7, 7-3) to a 58-34 win at Beth-Center (8-9, 5-5) in Class 2A Section 3. Cornali was 19 of 24 from the field.
*— Dajuan Flenory, Beaver Falls. Flenory scored 9 of his game-high 13 points in the fourth quarter to help host Beaver Falls (1-14, 1-7) rally for its first win, 38-36, against Riverside (7-12, 2-7) in Class 3A Section 1. Beaver Falls outscored Riverside, 20-11, in the fourth quarter.
Hot from deep
Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Isaac Ellsworth, Uniontown, 8; Kaleb Platz, Montour, 5; Carter Tumulty, Moon, 5; Tyler Anthony, Penn-Trafford, 5; Markus McGowan, Jeannette, 4; Drew Navetta, Mars, 4; Will Wilson, Mars, 4; Carter Gould, Mt. Lebanon, 4; Talan Anderton, Neshannock, 4; David Kwiat, Neshannock, 4; Brady Mayo, Beaver, 3; John Wasnick, Derry, 3; Maykel Cuevas, Ellwood City, 3; Chris Smiley, Ellwood City, 3; Jonas Cupps, Hampton, 3; Liam Sheely, Mt. Lebanon, 3; Jacob Zaber, Mt. Lebanon, 3; Leah Skweres, North Allegheny, 3; Nic Cohen, Quaker Valley, 3.
Scoreboard
Boys scores
WPIAL Class 6A
Section 1
Fox Chapel 52, Woodland Hills 46
New Castle 69, Butler 46
North Allegheny 41, Pine-Richland 36
North Hills 44, Seneca Valley 43 (OT)
Section 2
Central Catholic 68, Hempfield 27
Imani Christian 73, Connellsville 60
Mt. Lebanon 76, Canon-McMillan 45
Upper St. Clair 81, Norwin 59
WPIAL Class 5A
Section 1
Gateway 64, Franklin Regional 53
Latrobe 68, Laurel Highlands 40
Uniontown 100, Penn-Trafford 85
Section 2
Kiski Area 46, Hampton 35
Penn Hills 44, Armstrong 42
Shaler 60, Plum 59
Section 3
Baldwin 88, Trinity 58
Bethel Park 55, Ringgold 47
South Fayette 71, Thomas Jefferson 63
Section 4
Chartiers Valley 57, Moon 52
Mars 58, West Allegheny 41
Montour 79, Blackhawk 39
WPIAL Class 4A
Section 1
Deer Lakes 71, Burrell 49
Knoch 81, Highlands 45
North Catholic 83, Valley 49
Section 2
Avonworth 85, Hopewell 71
Beaver 59, Central Valley 55
Quaker Valley 71, Ambridge 39
Section 3
Belle Vernon 78, Derry 52
Elizabeth Forward 87, Greensburg Salem 55
West Mifflin 71, Yough 31
WPIAL Class 3A
Section 1
Aliquippa 87, Freedom 18
Beaver Falls 38, Riverside 36
Ellwood City 74, New Brighton 66
Section 2
Keystone Oaks 67, Sto-Rox 35
McGuffey 67, Carlynton 39
Bishop Canevin 59, Washington 40
Section 3
Apollo-Ridge 60, Steel Valley 59 (OT)
South Allegheny 73, Shady Side Academy 54
South Park 41, Seton LaSalle 33
Section 4
Ligonier Valley 74, Mount Pleasant 36
Southmoreland 61, Charleroi 35
Waynesburg 68, Brownsville 59
WPIAL Class 2A
Section 1
Bentworth 70, Springdale 28
Clairton 43, Frazier 36
Greensburg Central Catholic 77, California 20
Jeannette 63, Riverview 26
Section 2
Brentwood 70, Propel Braddock Hills 42
Northgate 78, Eden Christian 56
Sewickley Academy 70, Winchester Thurston 40
Section 3
Burgettstown 63, Carmichaels 36
Chartiers-Houston 49, West Greene 40
Fort Cherry 58, Beth-Center 34
Jefferson-Morgan 62, Mapletown 13
Section 4
Neshannock 82, Rochester 35
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 70, Union 59
Shenango 50, Laurel 46
South Side 80, Western Beaver 49
WPIAL Class 1A
Section 1
Beaver County Christian 52, Cornell 47
Nazareth Prep 58, Avella 38
Section 2
Neighborhood Academy 71, Monessen 55
St. Joseph 57, Environmental Charter 51
Serra Catholic 80, Geibel Catholic 49
Non-section
Freeport 55, East Allegheny 44
Girls scores
WPIAL Class 6A
Section 1
North Hills 54, Butler 28
Pine-Richland 50, Woodland Hills 14
Seneca Valley 47, North Allegheny 42
Section 2
Canon-McMillan 45, Upper St. Clair 38
WPIAL Class 5A
Section 1
Penn Hills 44, Armstrong 26
Section 2
Indiana 48, McKeesport 23
Section 3
Chartiers Valley 44, Moon 33
Mars 53, West Allegheny 44
South Fayette 79, Montour 33
WPIAL Class 4A
Section 2
Blackhawk 70, Lincoln Park 23
Section 3
South Park 49, Yough 8
WPIAL Class 3A
Section 2
Greensburg Central Catholic 76, California 15
WPIAL Class 1A
Section 2
Avella 34, Mapletown 20
Non-section
Freedom 59, Western Beaver 47
Keystone Oaks 51, Chartiers-Houston 46
Plum 43, Burrell 31
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.