March 18, 2023 1:40 am
Peters Township’s run through the PIAA playoffs came to an end Friday night, losing an overtime decision to District 3 champion Exeter. Peters led by five with 2:28 to play in regulation, then by four with 1:50 in overtime but couldn’t hold either lead. The Indians missed 15 of 33 foul shots including nine in the fourth quarter and overtime. Upper St. Clair girls managed just 10 points in the first half and only 12 in the second, falling to District 3 champion Cedar Cliff. And Carlynton’s stay in the playoffs ended at the hands of WPIAL runner-up Union.
Saturday afternoon, South Fayette girls, the WPIAL champions, trailed by 12 points with 13 minutes to play, but rallied to tie it late and win it at the buzzer on Maddie Webber’s swish three-pointer. The Lions held Cathedral Prep to just one field goal over the final 15 minutes to get the win. Freshman Juliette Leroux came off the bench with just over a minute to play and nailed a pair of foul shots to pull even, setting the stage for Webber’s bucket. PIAA Brackets
Friday, March 17, Quarterfinals (winners to Monday)
5A Boys Exeter 75, Peters Township 72 OT
1A Boys Union 75, Carlynton 55
6A Girls Cedar Cliff 39, Upper St. Clair 22
Saturday, March 18, Quarterfinals (winners to Tuesday)
5A Girls South Fayette 40, Cathedral Prep 37
2A Boys Aliquippa 67, Bishop Canevin 56
Tuesday, March 21, Semifinal (winners to PIAA Final Saturday)
5A Girls South Fayette vs. Oakland Catholic, 6:15 pm at Peters Township, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
March 17, 2023 2:25 am
WJPA-AM (1450) is your radio home for all the action, running right through the Men’s National Championship Game April 3 in Houston. You can also listen online through our partnership with Westwood One and the NCAA! Our coverage includes feature games each day with live ‘look-ins” for the 1st & 2nd Rounds, then expanded coverage through the national semifinals. And the Women’s Tournament comes back to WJPA starting March 24 with Sweet 16 action running through the Women’s National Championship Game Sunday, April 2 in Dallas. WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
Friday, March 17, First Round
#7 Michigan State 72, #10 USC 62
#3 Xavier 72, #14 Kennesaw State 67
#3 Baylor 74, #14 UC Santa Barbara 56
#5 Saint Mary’s 63, #12 VCU 51
#2 Marquette 78, #15 Vermont 61
#11 Pitt 59, #6 Iowa State 41
#6 Creighton 72, #11 North Carolina State 63
#4 Connecticut 87, #13 Iona 63
#16 Fairleigh Dickinson 63, #1 Purdue 58
#6 Kentucky 61, #11 Providence 53
#5 Miami 63, #12 Drake 56
#3 Gonzaga 82, #14 Grand Canyon 70
#9 Florida Atlantic 66, #8 Memphis 65
#3 Kansas State 77, #14 Montana State 65
#4 Indiana 71, #13 Kent State 60
#6 TCU 72, #11 Arizona State 70
Saturday, March 18, Second Round (Feature Games)
12 noon #5 San Diego State vs. #13 Furman
2:40 pm #4 Tennessee vs. #5 Duke
5:15 pm #1 Kansas vs. #8 Arkansas
6:10 pm #7 Missouri vs. #15 Princeton
7:10 pm #1 Houston vs. #9 Auburn
7:45 pm #2 Texas vs. #10 Penn State
8:40 pm #2 UCLA vs. #7 Northwestern
9:40 pm #1 Alabama vs. #8 Maryland
March 18, 2023 4:05 am
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Nelly Cummings scored 13 points and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh held sixth-seeded Iowa State to 23% shooting in a 59-41 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Jamarius Burton added 11 points and Greg Elliott had 10 for coach Jeff Capel’s Panthers, who stormed to a 22-2 lead after Iowa State missed its first 11 shots. Things didn’t get much better for the Cyclones, who had three stretches where they missed at least eight consecutive shots. Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes each had 12 points for Iowa State. Pitt moves on to Sunday’s second-round game against third-seeded Xavier in the Midwest Region.
March 18, 2023 4:06 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Penn State and Texas will present one of the most intriguing and meaningful second round games in the NCAA Tournament when the two teams meet for the first time in men’s basketball. The 10th-seeded Nittany Lions and the second-seeded Longhorns are coming off sharp debuts in Des Moines, Iowa, in the Midwest Region. Reaching the second weekend would be a source of satisfaction for each program. They’re both playing in their own way for the long-term futures of their beloved head coaches, too. No. 1 seed Houston plays No. 9 seed Auburn in the other Midwest second-round game on Saturday.
March 17, 2023 3:56 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Andrew Funk had the shooting game of his career on Penn State’s biggest stage in more than two decades. Funk made 8 of 10 3-pointers and scored 27 points in a 76-59 win over Texas A&M for the Nittany Lions’ first NCAA Tournament victory in 22 years. Funk is in his first year at Penn State after transferring from Bucknell. He led the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions to their ninth win in their last 11 games. They next play No. 2 seed Texas in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday. It will be the first meeting between Penn State and Texas in men’s basketball.
March 17, 2023 3:59 am
NCAA Tournament brackets were busted early Thursday. No. 13 seed Furman beat fourth-seeded Virginia and No. 15 Princeton defeated second-seeded Arizona. The NCAA March Madness Twitter account posted that only .065% of brackets remained perfect as the first round was still being played. In ESPN’s Tournament Challenge bracket game, 18,078 perfect brackets remained. Just more than 20 million had suffered at least one loss.
Thursday, March 16
#8 Maryland 67, #9 West Virginia 65
#13 Furman 68, #4 Virginia 65
#7 Missouri 76, #10 Utah State 65
#1 Kansas 96, #16 Howard 68
#1 Alabama 96, #15 Texas A&M Corpus Christi 75
#5 San Diego State 63, #12 College of Charleston 57
#15 Princeton 59, #2 Arizona 55
#8 Arkansas 73, #9 Illinois 63
#9 Auburn 83, #8 Iowa 75
#5 Duke 74, #12 Oral Roberts 51
#2 Texas 81, #15 Colgate 61
#7 Northwestern 75, #10 Boise State 67
#1 Houston 63, #16 Northern Kentucky 52
#4 Tennessee 58, #13 Louisiana 55
#10 Penn State 76, #7 Texas A&M 59
#2 UCLA 86,#15 UNC Ashville 53
March 17, 2023 4:02 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Kreider scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and added an empty-netter, and Igor Shesterkin made 30 saves as the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Kreider scored at 11:45 by sliding the puck past goaltender Tristan Jarry with Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin draped all over the New York forward in the crease. Kreider then scored his 30th of the season into an empty net at 19:10 to seal the win and give the third-place Rangers a 10-point lead over Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division. Mika Zibanejad and Tyler Motte also scored for the Rangers, who won for the eighth time in their last 10 home games. They are 11-4-0 in their past 15 at Madison Square Garden.
March 15, 2023 12:01 am
The 68-team NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament tips off tonight in Dayton. WJPA-AM (1450) is your radio home for all the action, starting with the First Four tonight and Wednesday, and running through the National Championship Game April 3 in Houston. You can also listen online through our partnership with Westwood One and the NCAA! Our coverage includes full broadcasts of the First Four, feature games with live ‘look-ins” throughout the day for the 1st & 2nd Rounds, then expanded coverage through the national semifinals. And the Women’s Tournament comes back to WJPA starting March 24 with Sweet 16 action running through the Women’s Championship Game Sunday, April 2 in Dallas. We’ll have all three area teams (Pitt, Penn State and WVU) in live coverage for the First Four/First Round. WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
First Round Feature Games
Thursday, March 16
12 noon #9 West Virginia vs. #8 Maryland
3:50 pm #15 Princeton vs. #2 Arizona
7:00 pm #12 Oral Roberts vs. #5 Duke
9:45 pm #10 Penn State vs. #7 Texas A&M
Friday, March 17
12 noon #10 USC vs. #7 Michigan State
3:50 pm #11 North Carolina State vs. #6 Creighton
7:00 pm #11 Providence vs. #6 Kentucky
9:45 pm #13 Kent State vs. #4 Indiana
March 15, 2023 2:06 am
The two remaining Washington County teams in the PIAA Basketball playoffs hit the courts Tuesday in second-round matchups. The Peters Township boys lost a 10-point first-half lead but rallied late in the third then never trailed again, earning the school’s second trip to the state quarter finals. Six different Peters players had points in the fourth quarter. A turnover with seven seconds to play gave Lampeter a chance but the Pioneers missed two shots including a three-pointer at the buzzer. Jack Dunbar led Peters Township with 14 points. Jake Ziegler added 11 points, all in the second half. Peters Township will face District 3 champion Exeter Friday night.
Burgettstown hung around against perennial power Kennedy Catholic, trailing by two at the half but Bella Magestro got hot from beyond the arc, ending the Blue Devils most successful season ever. The Kennedy Catholic freshman led all scorers with 29 points, move from beyond the three-point line.
WPIAL 5A girls champion South Fayette and Bishop Canevin boys teams see Sweet 16 action Wednesday. PIAA Brackets
Tuesday, March 14, Second Round (winners to Friday)
5A Boys Peters Township 58, Lampeter-Strasburg 56
2A Girls Kennedy Catholic 56, Burgettstown 39
1A Boys Carlynton 49, Elk County Catholic 44
6A Girls Upper St. Clair 42, Pennsbury 31
6A Girls North Allegheny 57, Mt. Lebanon 34
Friday, March 17, Quarterfinals (winners to Monday)
5A Boys Peters Township vs. Exeter, 5:45 pm at Bald Eagle Area HS, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
March 16, 2023 3:55 am
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton handed Mitch Keller the opening day assignment and a celebratory bottle of bubbly. Shelton broke the news to the 26-year-old right-hander that he’ll get the nod when Pittsburgh begins the season at Cincinnati on March 30. In a video posted on the Pirates’ Twitter feed, Shelton and Keller sat down in the manager’s office and began discussing the right-hander’s side session. Shelton asked how many pitches he threw, and then asked Keller how many he thinks he’ll throw on the 30th. Keller asked what the 30th was and the manager replied, “opening day.”
