Monday basketball rundown: Moon takes down Mt. Lebanon in battle of No. 1 seeds; Central Catholic rallies to beat North Catholic; Thomas Jefferson outlasts Belle Vernon in shootout

A pair of teams seeded No. 1 in their respective classes for the WPIAL playoffs met on the final night of the regular season Monday.

And while Moon and Mt. Lebanon might both win titles a few weeks from now, Moon is the one that will enter the playoffs on a higher note.

Aiden Reesman’s 20 points helped Class 5A Moon win at Class 6A Mt. Lebanon, 55-51, in a non-section clash of WPIAL championship hopefuls.

It was the seventh win in a row for Moon (19-3), which has won its past 12 games played on the road or at neutral sites. Meanwhile, Mt. Lebanon (18-4) saw its six-game win streak come to an end. Its previous loss had come to Peters Township, also a Class 5A team.

Elijah Guillory added 17 points for Moon, while Liam Sheely led Mt. Lebanon with 21 points and Nate Girod added 10.

Moon led, 23-21, at the half and 34-32 after three quarters.

Mt. Lebanon won’t play its playoff opener until Feb. 23 when the Blue Devils host Pine-Richland. Moon will get started next Monday when it hosts the winner of Friday’s preliminary-round game between Trinity and Woodland Hills.

Other boys games

• Central Catholic (14-8) rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat visiting North Catholic (13-8), 62-54. Enzo Khalil scored 16 points and Payton Wehner chipped in 15 for the Vikings, who outscored North Catholic, 18-5, in the fourth quarter. Max Hurray led the Trojans with 18 points.

• In one of the highest-scoring games of the season, host Thomas Jefferson (19-3) got 23 points from Noah Prosser and 21 from Nick Trklja to outlast Belle Vernon (12-8), 99-90. Prosser and teammate Brody Evans (19 points) each made five 3-pointers. Belle Vernon got 38 points from Zion Moore.

• Alex Lowry scored 17 points and Gateway (16-6) used a dominant second quarter to roll to a 70-47 win at Butler (16-5). Gateway outscored Butler, 23-2, in the second quarter and led by 26 points at the half. Braylon Littlejohn led Butler with 13 points.

• Trinity didn’t hold the Mayo (Brady Mayo connected on seven 3-pointers among his 35 points for Beaver), but it was OK because Jonah Williamson scored 28 points and Jacob Dunkle 27 to help the Hillers (10-12) outlast the Bobcats (12-10), 74-72.

• Greg Mineard connected on seven 3-pointers among his game-high 29 points to propel host Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (18-4) to a 71-59 win against Rochester (15-6). The Chargers outscored Rochester, 18-2, in the fourth quarter.

• Fueled by 28 points from Gavin Orosz and 22 from Michael Plasko, South Fayette (14-8) went on the road and handed host Seton LaSalle (16-6) an 85-66 defeat. The Lions led, 45-27, at the half. Hayden Merchant paced Seton LaSalle with 22 points.

• Eli Teslovich poured in 24 points to lead Shady Side Academy (15-7) to its ninth win in 10 games, 62-58, against visiting Knoch (14-8). Ryan Frohlich chipped in 22 points for the Bulldogs, while Brody Bauman led Knoch with 24.

• Peters Township (17-5) won its fifth game in a row, 69-56, at Baldwin (16-6). The Indians led by four points at the half before outscoring Baldwin, 19-12, in the third quarter. Jack Dunbar, Nate Miller and Mickey Vaccarello each scored 12 points for the Indians, while Matt Schenk led Baldwin with 13.

• Isaiah Jeter scored a school-record 36 points while leading host Central Valley (14-8) to a 76-37 win against Beaver Falls (7-14). All of Jeter’s points came in the first three quarters, including 14 in the opening quarter.

• Eric James pumped in 20 points to help North Hills (12-9) hand host Pine-Richland (7-15) its fourth consecutive loss, 70-48. Zach Pollaro chipped in 18 points for the Indians, who led by 16 points at the half. Eli Catalano paced Pine-Richland with 10 points.

Seton LaSalle’s Nick Sikorski (33) and Patrick Weldon (5) denied this shot attempt by South Fayette’s Michael Plasko, but South Fayette went on to hand the Rebels an 85-66 loss Monday. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Girls games

• In a matchup of championship contenders, Gemma Walker scored 22 points and Natalie Wetzel tallied 20 to help host Peters Township (21-1) bounce back from its only loss with a 70-52 win against visiting Greensburg Central Catholic (16-6). Erica Gribble scored 28 points for the Centurions, the No. 1 seed in Class 2A. Peters Township is the No. 2 seed in Class 6A.

• Sarah Scott’s 15 points helped Lincoln Park (20-2) deal visiting Aliquippa (19-3) its second loss in a row, 54-42. Lincoln Park led, 25-22, at the half before outscoring Aliquippa, 20-9, in the third quarter. The Quips were led by Aunesty Johnson’s 23 points.

• Grace Heliger scored 18 points and Caroline Henderson added 14 to vault host North Allegheny (20-2) to its sixth win in a row, 61-55, against Woodland Hills (9-11). Hope Hawkins paced Woodland Hills with 24 points.

• Chartiers Valley (15-6) led by 25 points at the half and never looked back on its way to a 58-44 win against visiting Plum (13-9). Emma Reynolds scored 23 points for Chartiers Valley, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Megan Marston led Plum with 17 points.

• Mallory Daly (23 points, four 3’s) and Addie Lonergan (21 points, five 3’s) combined for 46 points and nine 3-pointers while helping Seton LaSalle (13-8) post a 72-24 home win against Steel Valley (0-22). The Rebels outscored Steel Valley, 43-0, in the first quarter.

Three stars

*** — Lane Allison, West Greene. Allison knocked down an early 3-pointer to bring his career point total to 1,000 and finished with 17 points in the game to help host West Greene (15-7) claim a 40-29 win against Bentworth (4-17).

** — Iyanna Wade, Clairton. Wade, the WPIAL’s leading scorer, scored 44 points to help Clairton (17-4) capture a 61-51 win against visiting West Mifflin (10-9).

* — Garang Garang, Sewickley Academy. A freshman, Garang poured in a team-high 25 points to lead the host Panthers (12-9) to an 80-57 win against Aquinas Academy (14-8).

Hot from deep

Players with 3 or more 3-pointers: Brady Mayo, Beaver, 7; Greg Mineard, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 7; Brady Sullivan, Freeport, 5; Zach Washington, Quaker Valley, 5; Addie Lonergan, Seton LaSalle, 5; Brody Evans, Thomas Jefferson, 5; Noah Prosser, Thomas Jefferson, 5; Jonah Williamson, Trinity, 5; Emma Paul, Armstrong, 4; Isaiah Jeter, Central Valley, 4; Caroline Henderson, North Allegheny, 4; Eric James, North Hills, 4; Mallory Daly, Seton LaSalle, 4; Aaron Smith, West Mifflin, 4; Nick Brown, Bethel Park, 3; Adah Fuller, Knoch, 3; Liam Sheely, Mt. Lebanon, 3; Kellie McConnell, North Allegheny, 3; Logan Johnson, North Hills, 3; Zach Pollaro, North Hills, 3; Jayden Norman, Rochester, 3; Joe Campoli, Shenango, 3.