Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Franklin Regional rises in rankings

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, January 11, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Surging Franklin Regional found its way into the TribLive HSSN Class 5A rankings this week.

The Panthers (11-1, 3-0), who have won six straight following a two-point loss to Class 6A Butler, took over the No. 4 spot.

They are tied for first place in Section 3 with No. 1 Gateway (10-1, 3-0), a team they will play Friday night in Murrysville.

Gateway is ranked No. 4 in the state by TribLive HSSN.

The rest of the top five are Moon (No. 2), Shaler (3) and Thomas Jefferson (5).

Slam dunk

Franklin Regional senior guard Cam Rowell has turned heads with his slam dunks this season, many that seem to come out of nowhere.

Like the one he threw down against Penn-Trafford last week, for instance. Rowell led a 2-on-1 break and delivered a leaning, two-handed jam with a slight hang on the rim as a defender went under him.

The slam was the No. 3 best on Hudl’s top-five “Wild Dunks” of the week.

Burkart’s big night

Greensburg Salem’s Ryan Burkart pumped in a career-high 37 points in Tuesday’s 78-64 loss to Highlands.

The senior guard made seven 3-pointers, also a career best mark.

What a game, you say? More like, what a half.

The most impressive part of the performance was he scored 32 of the Golden Lions’ 35 points in the second half. That means he had five points at halftime.

Golden Lions coach Cam Auld said Burkart had been misfiring and was looking for a breakout game.

“He hasn’t really shot it great from 3, but he finally got it rolling,” Auld said. “He has the green light. He just had to stay confident.”

Burkart has learned to live with Tourette Syndrome, a condition of the nervous system that causes repeated involuntary and uncontrollable movements, twitches or sounds.

Everybody out

Norwin had an interesting night Tuesday at Baldwin.

When officials discovered a leak in the roof during the second quarter, the gym was cleared and everyone moved to the school’s auxiliary gym.

The game was stopped with 5 minutes, 11 seconds left in the half, at which point the referees declared it halftime.

The teams played the second half in the other gym. Baldwin won 74-53.

Big game postponed

Southmoreland was hoping to test its mettle against the top team in Section 3-4A on Tuesday night, but the Scotties (11-1, 1-1) will have to wait to play Uniontown (11-0, 2-0).

Their game was postponed because of high winds that caused power issues at Southmoreland. A make-up date has not been announced.

Friday spotlight

Gateway at Franklin Regional isn’t the only intriguing matchup Friday night. Another good game from Section 3 is Penn-Trafford (7-6, 1-2) at Latrobe (6-6, 2-1).

And in Section 3-2A, No. 2-ranked Greensburg Central Catholic (11-2, 4-0) hosts Clairton (7-7, 4-1).

Layups

Yough’s Terek Crosby (28.4 ppg) and Zion Moore of Belle Vernon (26.0) are the top two scorers in the WPIAL. … Norwin has been without leading scorer Chris McKnight, who has missed three straight games with an injury. … Burrell (5-0), Southmoreland (4-0), Belle Vernon (3-0) and Greensburg Central Catholic (4-0) are undefeated at home. … Tommy Davis (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Alonzo Wade (12 points, 11 rebounds) each had a double-double in an 81-52 win over Laurel Highlands.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Southmoreland