Pittsburgh Games To Follow This Week

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season has begun and we're in the midst of a host of non divisional games in the runup to Christmas break and tournaments. Today we focus on some early season games to watch and the players to follow in them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tuesday</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Allderdice at Gateway</em>: Devin Crummie is taking on a very tough slate outside the City. His charges dominated North Allegheny to open the season and bounce back with a tough one against Gateway. A balanced 'Dice side is led by junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1518798' first='Logan' last='Golle']</strong>, senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1436504' first='Ethan' last='Anish']</strong>, senior forwards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='991387' first='Sam' last='Kelly']</strong>, a versatile 6'5" wing and <strong>Antwaun Ward-Thurman</strong>, a 6'5" bruiser. They'll see their next star prospect in strong 6'4" junior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1187923' first='Major' last='Rainey'].</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Brashear at Our Lady Of The Sacred Heart:</em> Brashear gave Canevin a run, sparked by guard <strong>Titus Gillett</strong> and will look to do the same vs OLSH. OLSH counters with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186067' first='Rocco' last='Spadafora']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186068' first='Bryson' last='Kirschner']</strong> and others. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>North Allegheny at Mount Lebanon:</em> NA took it on the chin against Allderdice. NA will look to get their bigs involved frequently, with 6'5" <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1187941' first='Joey' last='Dopirak']</strong> and 6'11" <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1188064' first='Ty' last='Iwanonkiw'] </strong>leading the way. Lebo will rely on its tough defending and look to senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='991389' first='Michael' last='Pfeuffer']</strong> to drive the bus. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wednesday</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Seneca Valley at North Catholic: </em>North Catholic is coming off two impressive performances in their own tip off tournament. They'll be led by junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1188004' first='Max' last='Hurray']</strong> and seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186069' first='Andrew' last='Maddalon']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186070' first='Max' last='Rottman']</strong>. Seneca has a trio of 3 year starters in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186049' first='Luke' last='Lawson']</strong>, <strong>Aiden Lyczek</strong> and <strong>Connor Oros</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Latrobe at Giebel Catholic: </em>Another "small school" vs "big school" game sees Geibel's electric <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395922' first='Jaydis' last='Kennedy'] </strong>go against Latrobe's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186412' first='Landon' last='Butler']</strong> in a battle of two of the top players in the WestmorelandFayette region of the WPIAL. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Serra Catholic at Seton LaSalle:</em> Serra will compete at their level but the question of the night will be, "How many does <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1116023' first='Connor' last='Spratt']</strong> score?" He has 81 points in two games, divided nearly in half, torching Upper Saint Clair and Pine-Richland in close defeats. 6'1" senior J<strong>oey DeMoss</strong> leads Serra.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thursday</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Upper Saint Clair at Montour: </em>USC brings <strong>Nick Sukernek</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1187947' first='Devin' last='Hall']</strong> and <strong>Matt Gaither</strong> to the table in the backcourt. They topped Seton LaSalle and were taken down by a surprising Fox Chapel side on the weekend. Montour battled Lincoln Park and will be coming in off a test against South Fayete, who's 2-0 with some decent margins. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Erie High at Shady Side Academy:</em> In spite of losing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1188036' first='Peter' last='Kramer']</strong> to Hampton, SSA has rolled out to a 2-0 start. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1187942' first='Eli' last='Teslovich']</strong> is the player to watch in this one. Erie is pretty big in the front court, with a host of players 6'4" or taller, and is 2-0 as of Tuesday afternoon. It's a marquee matchup for SSA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Friday</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Gateway at Central Catholic:</em> Our first look at the Vikings is against the always tough Gators. We'll get our first chance to see<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='991365' first='Dante' last='DePante']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1284792' first='Debaba' last='Tshiebwe']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1483892' first='Tommy' last='Kristian']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186402' first='Randy' last='Wilkerson']</strong> and <strong>Payton Wehner</strong>. PCC are the favorites to win 6A. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Imani Christian at Allderdice: </em>Both teams are not ducking anyone this year and it'll be a battle on Squirrel Hill on Friday Night. We covered 'Dice earlier in the piece, but Imani brings its own solid five with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1188604' first='Dame' last='Givner']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1621402' first='RJ' last='SLEDGE']</strong>, <strong>Virgil Hall</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1147707' first='Bez' last='Abdul']</strong> and elite recruit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1188606' first='Alier' last='Maluk']</strong>. Imani comes off two strong performances in the North Catholic Tip-Off Tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Carlynton at Franklin Regional: </em>New head coach Jake Trombetta takes the now Class A Cougars and their four returning starters: <strong>Chase Jones</strong>, <strong>Jaiden McClure</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186055' first='Austin' last='Milliner']</strong> and <strong>Simon Shriver</strong>, out to Monroeville to take on 2-0 Franklin Regional. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Laurel Highlands at McKeesport:</em> The Mustangs come in led by [player_tooltip player_id='991354' first='Keondre' last='DeShields'] and WVU Football commit [player_tooltip player_id='991329' first='Rodney' last='Gallagher']. McKeesport counters with 6'5" forward [player_tooltip player_id='991340' first='Travarese' last='Rowe'] as their key player. Laurel has come out the gate with wins over Lebo and Erie McDowell, while McKeesport split their first two and takes on Woodland Hills before this marquee tilt. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Saturday</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Penn Hills at Central Catholic:</em> Their second test in two days sees the Vikings welcome Quinnipiac commit [player_tooltip player_id='991332' first='Daemar' last='Kelly'] and an athletic Penn Hills team to The Castle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->