February 19, 2023 7:52 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nico Hischier had two goals and two assists, Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves and the New Jersey Devils breezed past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2. Dougie Hamilton, Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt also scored for the Devils. New Jersey improved to an NHL-best 21-4-3 on the road by sending the struggling Penguins to their third loss in four games. Evgeni Malkin scored twice for Pittsburgh to reach the 20-goal plateau for the 14th time in his career. Dustin Tokarski stopped 38 shots while making just his third start of the season.
February 19, 2023 7:53 am
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Grant Basile posted his fourth straight game with 20 or more points and Virginia Tech knocked Pittsburgh out of first place in the ACC with a 79-72 upset win. Pitt is now 12-4 in ACC play, in third place a full game behind first-place No. 11 Virginia and a half-game behind No. 15 Miami. The Panthers have four games left in the regular season, including a regular-season finale at Miami.
February 19, 2023 4:21 am
The WPIAL Basketball Playoffs continue over the weekend. We’ll update the daily schedule here. You can hear live coverage of four more first round games on WJPA over the next several days. All of our broadcasts will be available online as well. There are now ten teams from Washington County (5 girls, 5 boys) plus two girls teams from Greene County left in the brackets with championships set for the Petersen Events Center March 2-4. WPIAL Brackets CLICK HERE
Saturday, Feb. 18
3A Girls #4 Avonworth 48, #13 McGuffey 30
3A Girls #3 Neshannock 73, #14 Charleroi 29
3A Girls #8 Waynesburg 64, #9 Seton-La Salle 55
Avonworth led the McGuffey girls by nine at intermission, then powered in 13 straight points to open the third quarter. The Antlelopes never looked back. Alexis Ewig led the Highlanders with 9 points, most of them in the final period. Neshannock led 45-16 at the half, led by a school-record 40 points from Marian Haggerty. Bella Carroto led Charleroi with 10 points. Waynesburg advanced with a win in the 8-9 game, paced by Kaley Rohanna’s 31 points. Josie Horne added a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds).
Friday, Feb. 17
2A Girls #7 Chartiers-Houston 38, #10 Ft. Cherry 36
2A Girls #11 Aliquippa 45, #6 Wash High 39
2A Girls #5 Burgettstown 56, #12 Winchester Thurston 40
2A Girls #4 Greensburg Central Catholic 83, #13 California 23
2A Girls #1 Shenango 63, #16 Carmichaels 32
5A Boys #2 Penn Hills 38, #15 Trinity 29
5A Boys #1 Peters Township 66, #16 Penn-Trafford 55
1A Boys #4 Geibel Catholic 70, #13 Avella 33
1A Boys #5 Neighborhood Academy 70, #12 Mapletown 41
1A Boys #7 Aquinas Academy 61, #10 Jeff-Morgan 40
The winners all advance to Wednesday’s quarterfinals. The 2A girls winners also clinched berths in the PIAA tournament where the WPIAL qualifies eight teams.
Chartiers-Houston girls built a 10-point halftime lead only to see Ft. Cherry tie the game early in the fourth before the Bucs held off the upset bid. Kaydan Buckingham (11 points) and Ava Capozzoli (10) led CHHS. Cayleigh Brown’s 15 points weren’t enough for #6 Wash High girls as the Little Prexies were upset at home by Aliquippa. The Quips got 16 points from Aunesty Johnson, 11 more from Angel Henry. Kaitlyn Nease paced the Burgettstown girls with 18 points on the way to a comfortable win over Winchester Thurston. Jill Frazier’s 16 points helped the Blue Devils to a 29-8 lead at the break. Sky Still and DaShae Cochran combined for all but three of Winchester Thurston’s points.
Trinity boys hung around with #2 Penn Hills, trailing by only four with just under seven minutes to play but couldn’t pull off the upset. Daemer Kelly hit all 13 of his free throws, part of his game-high 21 points to lead the Indians. Jonah Williamson and Jacob Dunkle each had 8 points for the Hillers. Brendan McCullough and Jack Dunbar combined for 30 points for the Peters Township boys as the #1 Indians went up big early and held Penn-Trafford at arms length the rest of the way. Tyler Freas score 18 for the Warriors. Avella boys trailed 21-6 after the first quarter and never recovered despite Westley Burchiant’s 22 points.
February 18, 2023 4:25 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Zach Parise scored the tiebreaker late in the third period and Brock Nelson added two goals as the New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4. Anders Lee had two goals and an assist, Ilya Sorokin finished with 40 saves and the Islanders snapped a three-game skid that included two overtime losses. Mathew Barzal added two assists. Rickard Rakell scored twice and Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist as the Penguins lost for the second time in three games. Casey DeSmith made 23 saves. The Pens take on the New Jersey Devils this evening at 5:30 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena. (Photo: AP)
February 18, 2023 4:22 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh finds itself atop the ACC with just two weeks left in the regular season. The Panthers are 19-7 overall and 12-3 in the league heading into a visit to Virginia Tech. Guard Greg Elliott says Pitt has used bleak preseason expectations as motivation. The Panthers were picked to finish 14th in the 15-team league last fall. Instead, Pitt is in the mix for its first ACC title since joining the league in 2013 and its first NCAA tournament berth since 2016.
February 16, 2023 2:53 am
The WPIAL Basketball Playoffs got underway Thursday night. We’ll update the daily schedule here. You can hear live coverage of seven first round games on WJPA over the next five days, including Friday Ft. Cherry at Chartiers-Houston girls and Trinity at Penn Hills boys games. All of our broadcasts will be available online as well. There are now 18 teams from Washington County (10 girls, 8 boys) plus another five teams from Greene County (3 girls, 2 boys) left in the brackets with championships set for the Petersen Events Center March 2-4.. WPIAL Brackets CLICK HERE
Thursday, Feb. 16
2A Boys #16 Laurel 56, #17 Bentworth 46
2A Boys #15 South Side Beaver 69, #18 Carmichaels 47
Bentworth grabbed an early eight-point lead but Laurel scored the next 12 points and never trailed again, eliminating the Bearcats. Senior Landon Urcho led Bentworth with 18 points in his final game. Freshman Chris Harper scored 13 for the Bearcats. Laurel had lost 10 of its previous 11 games. Carmichaels was also eliminated from the 2A Boys bracket.
Friday, Feb. 17
2A Girls #10 Ft. Cherry at #7 Chartiers-Houston, 6:50 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
2A Girls #12 Winchester Thurston at #5 Burgettstown, 7 pm
2A Girls #13 California vs. #4 Greensburg Central Catholic, 7 pm at Gateway
2A Girls #16 Carmichaels at #1 Shenango, 7 pm
2A Girls #11 Aliquippa at #6 Wash High, 7 pm
5A Boys #15 Trinity at #2 Penn Hills, 6:50 pm WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
5A Boys #16 Penn-Trafford at #1 Peters Township, 7 pm
1A Boys #13 Avella vs. #4 Geibel Catholic, 6 pm at Charleroi
1A Boys #12 Mapletown vs. #5 Neighborhood Academy, 8 pm at Charleroi
1A Boys #10 Jeff-Morgan vs. #7 Aquinas Academy, TBD at Peters Township
February 17, 2023 3:51 am
DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) – Commissioner Rob Manfred says Major League Baseball can produce games digitally in conjunction with MLB.TV if Bally Sports regional networks are no longer broadcasting them. He says this is a chance to address the game blackouts that inspire so much anger among fans. Diamond Sports Group is the parent company of 19 Bally Sports networks. It skipped about $140 million in interest payments due Wednesday, starting a 30-day grace period that could be the prelude to a bankruptcy filing. Manfred acknowledged some teams could be at risk of losing revenue. He says MLB is prepared to help those teams.
February 17, 2023 2:36 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The famed broadcaster and former St. Louis Cardinals star Tim McCarver has died. He was 81. During 60 years in major league baseball, McCarver played in two All-Star games and on two World Series championship teams. He was the preferred catcher for Bob Gibson in the 1960s and Steve Carlton in the 1970s. He later had a long run as one of the country’s most recognizable, incisive and talkative television commentators. For years, he teamed with Joe Buck on Fox sports telecasts. The Baseball Hall of Fame honored his on-air work in 2012.
February 17, 2023 3:50 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Tiger Woods had a loud and successful return to PGA Tour competition. Woods finished with three straight birdies for a 69 in the Genesis Invitational. That leaves him five shots behind co-leaders Max Homa and Keith Mitchell. Woods is playing for the first time against the world’s best since he missed the cut in the British Open last July at St. Andrews. He looked to be losing ground with two bogeys in three holes, leaving him over par through 12 holes. And then he was flawless at the end. Woods says he hasn’t heard such noise in a long time.
February 15, 2023 2:23 am
The WPIAL unveiled the 2023 basketball playoff tournaments Monday afternoon. Burgettstown, Wash High and Waynesburg girls won section championships. Ft. Cherry, Peters Township and Wash High boys claimed section titles. The 12 playoff brackets (6 girls, 6 boys) will feature 25 Washington & Greene County teams, including both girls & boys teams from Avella, Burgettstown, Carmichaels, Chartiers-Houston, Ft. Cherry, McGuffey, Peters Township, Trinity and Wash High. WPIAL Brackets CLICK HERE
Thursday, Feb. 16
2A Boys #17 Bentworth at #16 Laurel, 6:50 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
2A Boys #18 Carmichaels at #15 South Side Beaver, 7 pm
Friday, Feb. 17
2A Girls #10 Ft. Cherry at #7 Chartiers-Houston, 6:50 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
2A Girls #12 Winchester Thurston at #5 Burgettstown, 7 pm
2A Girls #13 California vs. #4 Greensburg Central Catholic, 7 pm at Gateway
2A Girls #16 Carmichaels at #1 Shenango, 7 pm
2A Girls #11 Aliquippa at #6 Wash High, 7 pm
5A Boys #15 Trinity at #2 Penn Hills, 6:50 pm WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
5A Boys #16 Penn-Trafford at #1 Peters Township, 7 pm
1A Boys #13 Avella vs. #4 Geibel Catholic, 6 pm at Charleroi
1A Boys #12 Mapletown vs. #5 Neighborhood Academy, 8 pm at Charleroi
1A Boys #10 Jeff-Morgan vs. #7 Aquinas Academy, TBD at Peters Township
Saturday, Feb. 18
3A Girls #13 McGuffey at #4 Avonworth, 11:50 am WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
3A Girls #14 Charleroi at #3 Neshannock, 12 noon
3A Girls #9 Seton-La Salle at #8 Waynesburg, 12 noon
Monday, Feb. 20
3A Boys #16 McGuffey at #1 Steel Valley, 6:50 pm WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
3A Boys #9 Seton-La Salle at #8 Wash High, 6:50 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
1A Girls #10 Avella at #7 Riverview, 7 pm
1A Girls #9 Leechburg at #8 West Greene, 7 pm
6A Girls #9 Butler at #8 Peters Township, 8 pm
Tuesday, Feb. 21
2A Boys #12 Burgettstown vs. #5 Eden Christian, 5:50 pm at Mt. Lebanon WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here
2A Boys #9 Chartiers-Houston at #8 Shenango, 6:50 pm WJPA-AM (1450) Listen Here
2A Boys #3 Ft. Cherry vs. #14 Clairton, 6 pm at South Fayette
5A Girls #13 Latrobe at #4 Trinity, 7 pm
