Boys' Basketball Game Summaries

The North Allegheny boys’ basketball team dropped its fourth straight game to cap the 2022-23 season on Saturday night with a 74-46 defeat to Class 4A Highlands in non-section play.

As they did on Friday night against Central Catholic, the Tigers got off to a great start and were deadlocked 20-20 after one period of play. Junior Joe Marquis netted seven of his team-high 12 points in the opening stanza, while junior Anthony Sciote buried a pair of treys in the first in an 11-point performance.

Despite scoring 20 points in the first period, the Golden Rams limited the Tigers to just 26 points over the final 24 minutes and invoked the mercy rule by the early stages of the fourth quarter. Highlands was paced by Braydon Foster with a game-high 18 points. Landon Signarella followed with 16 points and Timmy Kunst added 11 points for the playoff-bound Golden Rams.

North Allegheny’s Joey Dopirak was a steady presence on both ends of the floor and finished with 11 points. Seniors Jack MacMurdo and Varun Kaveti were named the Wright Automotive Players of the Game for their contributions to the NA program during their tenure.

North Allegheny concludes the season with an 8-13 record, while Highlands improves to 19-3 on the year.

Boys Basketball vs. Highlands, 2-11-23

The North Allegheny boys’ basketball team wrapped up the section slate on Friday night with a 59-42 loss at Central Catholic.

The Tigers hung tough with the playoff-bound Vikings in the early going and trailed by just one point, 20-19, at the end of the first quarter. Junior forward Joey Dopirak helped led the charge with all of his 11 points coming in the opening stanza.

Central Catholic regained its footing in the second period and built a 35-26 advantage by intermission. From there, the Vikings pulled away in the second half to solidify their second place position in the Section 1-6A standings. Randy Wilkerson paced PCC with a game-high 21 points and four makes from beyond the arc.

Joining Dopirak in double figures for the Tigers was junior guard Anthony Sciote with 11 points and three 3-pointers.

North Allegheny falls to 8-12 overall and finishes section play in fifth place with a 3-7 mark. Central Catholic improves to 13-8 overall and 7-3 in the section. The Tigers will round out the season on Saturday night with a home date against Highlands at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Boys Basketball vs. Central Catholic, 2-10-23

With the final playoff berth in Section 1-6A at stake on Tuesday night, Seneca Valley dealt the North Allegheny boys’ basketball team a 70-49 defeat at UPMC Court. The loss breaks a streak of four consecutive playoff appearances for the Tigers, while the Raiders punch their ticket to the playoffs for the second time in the last four seasons.

North Allegheny took an early 7-4 lead on a 3-pointer by sophomore Carter Melzer, but Seneca Valley answered with an 11-0 run to take a 15-7 lead by the late stages of the opening stanza. From that point on, the Raiders held the lead for the remainder of the night.

While the Tigers trailed, they kept things close in thanks to a 15-point first half by junior forward Joey Dopirak. Finishing the night with a game-high 19 points, Dopirak was tabbed the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

Seneca Valley led 29-25 coming out of halftime before North Allegheny cut the deficit to one point on a 3-pointer by junior Joe Marquis, bringing the score to 29-28, Raiders. That’s as close as NA would come, however, as the visiting Raiders pulled away in the second half for a 70-49 win. Seneca Valley was paced by junior Kai West with a team-best 18 points. Senior Luke Lawson netted 14 points, while Connor Oros and Tyler Pepin totaled 13 and 12 points, respectively.

North Allegheny falls to 8-11 overall and 3-6 in Section 1-6A. Seneca Valley locks up the final playoff position with a 9-10 record and 4-5 mark in the section. The Tigers will visit Central Catholic in the section finale on Friday night.

Boys Basketball vs. Seneca Valley, 2-7-23

The North Allegheny boys’ basketball team fell at Butler on Friday night, 66-55, in a Section 1-6A contest.

The Tigers stormed the Golden Tornado in the first quarter and held a 16-13 lead after one period of play. Junior Joey Dopirak scored eight of his team-high 22 points in the opening stanza and senior forward Varun Kaveti added a pair of buckets in the first quarter as well.

Led by Brandon Littlejohn, Butler bounced back to grab a 29-25 lead at intermission. Littlejohn, who had only two points in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 32 points and helped the Tornado pull away in the second half for the section win. Ryan Porch also totaled double digits with 14 points.

For North Allegheny, Ty Iwanonkiw finished in double figures with 13 points and two 3-pointers to go along with Dopirak’s 22-point effort. Senior Jack MacMurdo added eight points off the bench in the second half.

North Allegheny sits at 8-10 overall and 3-5 in section play, tied for fourth place with Seneca Valley. Butler improves to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Section 1-6A. The Tigers will host Seneca Valley on Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. for a pivotal section contest. The game will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.

The North Allegheny boys’ basketball team earned an important section win in thrilling fashion, beating rival Pine-Richland on the road in triple overtime, 61-54.

Trailing 36-30 after three quarters, the Tigers forced overtime by outscoring the host Rams in the fourth period, 12-6. Junior guard Ty Iwanonkiw kept NA afloat and was a consistent force through the first three periods with a team-high 19 points. In the fourth period and overtime, junior forward Joey Dopirak carried the load with 14 of his 18 points coming after the third quarter. North Allegheny outscored Pine-Richland, 19-12, in the three overtimes combined to sweep the season series.

Sophomore guard Carter Melzer also made significant contributions down the stretch with all seven of his points coming in the fourth quarter and OT. Along with Iwanonkiw and Dopirak, junior guard Joe Marquis finished in double figures with 11 points and three 3-pointers.

For Pine-Richland, senior Owen Luellen tallied 14 points and sophomore Emery Moye led the team with a game-high 22 points.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 8-9 overall and 3-4 in Section 1-6A. Pine-Richland remains in last place with a 5-13 overall record and 1-6 mark in the section. The Tigers, who have won four of their last six games, will visit Butler on Friday for another section matchup.

Boys Basketball vs. Pine-Richland, 1-31-23