WJPA Sports

The intensity of playoff races increases as the number of remaining section play dates dwindles for area high school basketball teams. Friday presented a full slate of boys games in addition to a pair of girls games. By the end of the week, most teams in the WPIAL will have just four section games left in their quest to make the playoffs.

Friday, Jan. 24
Girls
6A Canon-McMillan 45, Upper St. Clair 38. Big Macs pull within one game of first place
1A Avella 34, Mapletown 20. Eagles are in 6th place, just a half game back of a tie for the final playoff spots. Maples are 2.5 games off the pace.

Boys
6A Mt. Lebanon 76, Canon-McMillan 45. Big Macs fall 4.5 games out of final playoff spot.
5A Baldwin 88, Trinity 58. Hillers on brink of elimination, need to sweep South Fayette, Peters Township & Ringgold.
5A Bethel Park 55, Ringgold 47. Rams are winless in the section
3A McGuffey 67, Carlynton 39. Highlanders are tied for 2nd with Keystone Oaks, now two games ahead of Wash High & Carlynton.
3A Bishop Canevin 59, Wash High 40. Crusaders have a two-game lead on McGuffey. Little Prexies are tied with Carlynton in 4th place.
3A Southmoreland 61, Charleroi 35. Cougars sit in 4th place, a half-game up on Brownsville for the final playoff berth.
3A Waynesburg 68, Brownsville 59. Raiders are in 2nd place, one game back of Southmoreland.
2A Bentworth 70, Springdale 58. Bearcats pull even with Dynamos for the 5th and final playoff berth.
2A Greensburg Central Catholic 77, California 20. Trojans are winless in the section.
2A Chartiers-Houston 49, West Greene 40. Bucs are in 1st place, One game up on Jeff-Morgan, two better than Fort Cherry & West Greene.
2A Fort Cherry 58, Beth-Center 34. Rangers pull into tie for third with West Greene, one game back of Jeff-Morgan in second. Bulldogs holds the 5th playoff spot.
2A Burgettstown 63, Carmichaels 36. Blue Devils & Mikes are tied for 6th, 3.5 games out of the playoff picture with four games left.
2A Jeff-Morgan 62, Mapletown 13. Rockets are tied with West Greene, one game back of Chartiers-Houston. Maples are 0-16.
1A Nazareth Prep 58, Avella 38. Eagles are currently fifth, 1.5 games behind Beaver County Christian for the final berth.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn each scored twice and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1. Frank Vatrano also scored and Troy Terry and Jacob Trouba each had a pair of assists as the Ducks snapped a four-game winless streak. John Gibson made 31 saves. Michael Bunting scored on a power play for Pittsburgh. Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — From Buffalo’s Josh Allen facing Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, to Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts going up against Washington’s Jayden Daniels, the NFL conference championship games are abundant with dual-threat quarterbacks. It’s a reflection of the NFL, perhaps, entering a mobile age for quarterbacks who are just as capable of winning games rushing as they are passing. The four players combined for 2,359 yards rushing during the regular season, by far the most of any final foursome of NFL quarterbacks. Former NFL quarterback and current TV analyst Matt Ryan calls it the natural progression of the position.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An injured Novak Djokovic has quit after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev. Djokovic lost the opening set 7-6 (5) in a tiebreaker Friday and immediately walked around the net to concede the match to Zverev. Fans booed as Djokovic walked off toward the locker room, and he responded by giving two thumbs-up. Djokovic, who was bidding for an 11th championship at the Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam title overall, hurt his left leg during his quarterfinal victory against Carlos Alcaraz. The No. 2-seeded Zverev reached his third Grand Slam final and first at Melbourne Park.