Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Teams plan fundraiser for late referee’s family

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, February 8, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Yough and Mt. Pleasant are doing their best to remember late basketball referee Michael Roebuck.

Yough set up a collection this week to raise money for the family of Roebuck, who collapsed and died last Friday while working the Yough at Mt. Pleasant junior varsity game.

Roebuck, 45, was a Yough graduate in his first year officiating basketball games.

Mt. Pleasant also is joining in with a fundraiser, which will take place during the games that were postponed as a result of Roebuck’s medical emergency.

On Saturday, in the make-up games between Yough and Mt. Pleasant, admission will be free, and there will be a collections table for those wishing to donate to the Roebuck family.

The JV game will start at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity at 7.

Mt. Pleasant co-athletic director Bob Gumbita said 100% of the proceeds will go to the Roebucks.

Before the game, Roebuck, known for his love of sports and coaching, will be recognized with a moment of silence.

“This reflective pause will serve as a collective expression of sympathy and solidarity for the Roebuck family,” Gumbita said in a statement. “The Mt. Pleasant School district and our athletic department share in the grief for the Roebuck family as they navigate through this tremendous loss. Our thoughts and condolences are with them, and we hope that the support from our community provides some comfort during these difficult times.”

Latrobe, GS still in hunt

Section 3-5A isn’t done spinning yet.

While the cream has risen to the top with upstart Franklin Regional clinching the section title, there still is work to be done for remaining teams who are playing for positioning, including one that is going for a final spot.

Friday marks the final night of section play.

Franklin Regional (18-2, 8-1), Gateway (14-6, 6-3), Penn-Trafford (11-10, 5-4) and Kiski Area (13-7, 4-5) have clinched WPIAL playoff spots, but Latrobe (8-12, 3-6) still is fighting for a berth.

If Latrobe beats Gateway and Kiski Area loses to Penn-Trafford on Friday, Latrobe also will qualify to break a two-year playoff drought.

One other county team also is on the playoff bubble. Greensburg Salem (4-16, 2-7) is tied for fourth in Section 1-4A with Indiana (8-12, 2-7) and Freeport (5-14, 2-7).

Greensburg Salem has to upset first-place Hampton (17-3, 9-0) on Friday to clinch.

Other county teams already headed to the postseason are Belle Vernon (12-6) and Southmoreland (15-6) in 4A, Yough (16-4), Derry (12-6), Mt. Pleasant (8-10) and Burrell (12-5) in 3A, Greensburg Central Catholic (19-2) and Jeannette (13-7) in 2A and Monessen (16-3) in A.

Record breaker

After breaking the school record for 3-pointers in a game last week, Ligonier Valley’s Parker Hollick etched his name in the record book for 3s made in a season.

Hollick connected on five 3s in a 76-61 loss to Albert Gallatin, with his fourth one marking the 55th of the year to break Matthew Marinchak’s record of 54.

Hollick made 11 3s in an 83-73 win over Valley to set a team record. His 43 points that night were one off of Michael Marinchak’s single-game mark of 44 points.

Dornin for 2

Hempfield gave senior RW Dornin a special moment Tuesday during a home game against Baldwin.

Dornin is on crutches and has not been able to play for the Spartans because of an injury. Hempfield won an uncontested opening tap and got the ball to Dornin under the basket and he made the layup to start the game.

Hempfield gave Baldwin a free basket on the other end to reciprocate.

“RW has not played in two years because he has kneecap issues,” Hempfield coach Bill Swan said. “Our guys love him and were so happy to enjoy senior night with him.”

Alvarez nears 1,000

Greensburg Central Catholic senior Franco Alvarez is on the cusp of reaching the 1,000-point scoring milestone.

The 6-foot-5 forward needs only seven points to hit the mark after he tallied 18 against Clairton on Tuesday.

His teammate, senior point guard Tyree Turner, reached 1,000 earlier in the season.

Something unique about Alvarez is that he is an aspiring photographer who shoots pictures at some Norwin events. He is from North Huntingdon.

Record for Moore

Belle Vernon junior guard Zion Moore, who has more than 1,400 career points, is known for scoring in different ways.

He can go off the dribble, pull up or shoot 3-pointers, the last of which was evident Saturday in a 73-63 loss to Gateway.

Moore scored 37 points and made nine 3-pointers, tying the program record set by Cam Nusser in 2020.

Teslovich gets 1,500

Shady Side Academy senior point guard Eli Teslovich, who has Westmoreland County ties, recently topped the 1,500-point mark for his career. Teslovich, who is from Belle Vernon, is quietly one of the top backcourt players in Class 3A.

He missed five games last year with an ankle injury.

Teslovich had 30 points in a 73-56 win over Derry on Tuesday.

Layups

Greensburg Central Catholic moved into the TribLive HSSN state rankings this week, finding the No. 5 spot in 2A behind Constitution (1), Aliquippa (2), Otto-Eldred (3) and Mahanoy Area (4). … Franklin Regional jumped to No. 2 in the TribLive HSSN WPIAL 5A rankings. Yough, meanwhile, is back in the 3A top 5, in the No. 5 spot. … Monessen stretched its WPIAL-record streak of playoff appearances to 43. Jeannette has the second-longest postseason streak among local playoff teams at 22. … Yough senior Terek Crosby has surpassed 1,900 career points.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Jeannette, Kiski Area, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland, Yough