WPIAL Early Week Notes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the week hits its turning point on Wednesday, it's time to look back at some news, notes and top performers of the week thusfar in the Ptitsburgh area. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tuesday night's biggest shocker came when North Allegheny dominated Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1187941' first='Joey' last='Dopirak']</strong>, a versatile player who can fight under the basket but also has the ability to draw defenders towards the perimeter to keep them honest, led the way for the Tigers with 15 points. The Vikings were led in defeat by 6'3" star senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='991365' first='Dante' last='DePante']</strong>, scoring 14. DePante has expanded his skillset quite a bit and has shown leadership abilities to facilitate to his teammates, which will be valuable at the next level, but also an expanded offensive arsenal. 6'10" junior big man <strong>Ty Iwonankiw</strong> added 14 for NA in the victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Hills outlasted Chartiers Valley in a 78-74 barnburner...Who else led the way but the top player in Allegheny County at any graduating class---<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1173989' first='Royce' last='Parham']</strong>. It was a career night for the 6'8" junior big man, scoring 39 points and grabbing nearing 20 boards in the marquee win. Parham has extended his range beyond the three point line and is also showing an ability to put the ball on the floor while facing up defenders this year. Char Val's sophomore sensation <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1188607' first='Jayden' last='Davis']</strong> tossed in 24 as they came up just short. Freshman guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1454309' first='Julian' last='Semplice']</strong> added 13 in defeat. The youngster will be a name to remember in the area the next few years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Catholic scored an impressive victory over Beaver Area on Tuesday and were led by senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1186069' first='Andrew' last='Maddalon']</strong> with nearly 25 points. Maddalon is committed to Roanoke and is a big bodied guard and a leader for the Trojans as a multi-year starter. Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1188004' first='Max' last='Hurray']</strong> scored 15 in the fourth quarter and also recently picked up a D1 offer from U-Mass Lowell. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Uniontown Area ended Laurel Highlands impressive sectional winning streak at 24 games with a hard fought 61-57 double OT win. In spite of big performances from their masterful senior duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='991354' first='Keondre' last='DeShields']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='991329' first='Rodney' last='Gallagher']</strong>, who went over 20, the Mustangs fell to their local rivals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seton LaSalle has been finding better results after the return of high scoring senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1116023' first='Connor' last='Spratt']</strong>. He had 28 in a victory over Sto-Rox last night. The Rebels had lost a number of big matchups without Spratt in the lineup but are benefitting from his ability to score from anywhere on the floor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->