Jan 29, 2026 By the Herald-Standard 4 min read

Max Dieudonne blocked a potential game-tying shot with five seconds left and Brownsville held off visiting Mount Pleasant for a 41-40 win in a Section 4-3A boys basketball battle on Wednesday night.

The game was tied 8-8 after the first quarter before the Vikings (1-6, 5-14) surged to a 21-15 halftime lead. The Falcons (1-6, 2-13) fired back with a 16-11 advantage in the third quarter to tie it at 32-32.

The Vikings took a three-point lead in the fourth quarter but Jaiden Praster tied it for Brownsville with a 3-pointer at around the three-minute mark. The Falcons went on to out-score Mount Pleasant 10-8 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

Praster led Brownsville with a game-high 18 points and Jalen Blair added six points.

Gage Valone was the top scorer for the Vikings with nine points.

CONNELLSVILLE 65, ALBERT GALLATIN 40 — Christian Thomas scored a game-high 18 points as the Falcons triumphed over the host Colonials in a non-section clash.

Connellsville led 14-9, 29-17 and 46-27 at the quarter breaks.

Darius Prinkey added 16 points for the Falcons (5-12) in a balanced attack. Jayden Mickens and Lucas Harwood followed with 11 points each and Tyler Burkus chipped in with 10.

Darrin Ford led Albert Gallatin (2-16) with 11 points.

ELIZABETH FORWARD 75, BELLE VERNON 71 — Tyler Basic hit five 3-pointers in racking up 33 points and Daniel Spence added 24 as the visiting Warriors held off a fourth-quarter rally by the Leopards to secure a key Section 3-4A win.

The win moved Elizabeth Forward (7-2, 11-7) into sole possession for second place Belle Vernon (7-3, 11-9) dropped into third.

The Warriors led 18-12, 40-33 and 62-52 at the quarter breaks. The Leopards out-scored EF 18-13 in the final frame but fell four points short.

Kyden Allen chipped in with 10 points for Elizabeth Forward.

Luca Ghilani, Dane Daugherty and AJ Watson tallied 12 points apiece for Belle Vernon, which also got 11 points each from Cam Jenko and Elijah Majors and 10 from Jude Minniti as the hosts put six players in double figures.

FORT CHERRY 86, MAPLETOWN 20 — Connor Vansickle scored 22 points and Gavin Grace had 20 in the visiting Rangers’ Section 3-2A victory at Mapletown.

Landon Trnavsky added 14 points for Fort Cherry (8-3, 10-7).

Kaleb Evosevich paced the Maples (0-11, 0-18) with 13 points.

AVELLA 76, BETH-CENTER 71 — Bryce Wright scored 24 points and the visiting Eagles used a 12-7 advantage in overtime to defeat the Bulldogs in a non-section game.

In a back-and-forth battle, Beth-Center led 19-17 after the first quarter, Avella led 39-37 at halftime and the scored was tied 50-50 after thee and 64-64 at the end of regulation.

Nate Cilia added 16 points and Cam Ullom had 15 for the Eagles (13-4).

Brayden Hull made four 3-pointers and tallied 23 points for the Bulldogs (10-9), who also got 17 points from Jason Zellie.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

BALDWIN 69, ALBERT GALLATIN 14 — Lynsey Bernotas scored 16 points in the Lady Highlanders’ Section 4-5A win at Albert Gallatin.

Julianne Ott added 11 points for Baldwin (7-2, 15-3) and Kelsey Meyer had 10.

Mikayla Shea led the way for the Lady Colonials (0-10, 0-16) with six points.

BELLE VERNON 55, ELIZABETH FORWARD 53 — Abby Russell scored a career-high 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and made all eight of her free throws as the host Lady Leopards edged the Lady Warriors to take over sole possession of first place in Section 3-4A.

Belle Vernon (10-1, 16-3) also got 10 points and 10 rebounds from Aubrey Brown and nine points and seven boards from Isis Almyty.

The Lady Leopards led 11-8 after the first quarter but Elizabeth Forward (9-2, 13-5) rallied to take a 28-21 halftime advantage. Belle Vernon regrouped and out-scored EF 18-7 in the third quarter to go up 39-35. The Lady Warriors held an 18-16 edge in the fourth quarter.

Mia Sostaric tallied a game-high 20 points for Elizabeth Forward, which also got 11 points from Kaelynn Settles.

BETH-CENTER 51, JEFFERSON-MORGAN 40 — Violet Trump poured in 21 points to help the Lady Bulldogs top the visiting Lady Rockets in a Section 3-2A clash.

Beth-Center, which moved into third place with the win, led 16-11, 27-20 and 40-27 at the quarter breaks.

Alexia Fischer contributed seven points and four steals for the Lady Bulldogs (4-3, 8-9), who also got seven assists from Bailey Bornot and four steals from Elliana Revi.

Brelynn Wood scored 14 points for Jefferson-Morgan (1-6, 8-11) and Bailey Cervone had 10 points.