---- — They say home is where the heart is. But for the VisionQuest boys basketball team, home is wherever they hang their hats.

“We feel every place we go into is our home. When you hear us do our chant, ‘Who’s House? Our House!’ that’s because every place we go to is our home,” explained head coach Richard Gordon.

Which explains, at least in part, VisionQuest’s 61-56 District 10 Region 1-A victory at Kennedy Catholic Friday night.

Darrian Brown’s bucket with 15.1 ticks to play vaulted VQ to a 58-56 lead, then Nasir Mitchell pilfered the Golden Eagles’ ensuing inbounds pass and converted a traditional 3-point play.

It was vindication for VisionQuest (5-3, 9-8), which was crushed by Kennedy (73-56) in their initial meeting a couple weeks ago.

Visiting VisionQuest trailed by as many as 11 points on a handful of 1st-half occasions. But with Raymond Dickey knocking down all 4 of his floor shots, the Eagles eased to within 35-28 by the break.

And whereas Mitchell misfired on 9 of his 12 first-half floor shots and dished out just 1 assist, he scored 17 second-half points and was credited with a half-dozen helpers, usually to Brown, Kimon Roberson or Curtis Gibbs gallivanting backdoor along the baseline.

Mitchell mustered a game-high 18-point, 7-assist, 5-rebound line, while  Brown bucketed 15 points, pulled down a team-high 9 caroms and distributed 3 assists.

“That’s just a testament to what I’ve been trying to teach the boys,” related Gordon, the former Farrell High standout, “It’s easier to go against things in life as a team rather than one-on-one, and we were a little bit better about that the second half. But I’ve still gotta teach them that.”

Kennedy Catholic (6-2, 12-6) committed 18 miscues — 13 during the 2nd half — and the Golden Eagles ended 19 for 30 from the free-throw line (63.4 percent), but only 2 for 7 during the 4th frame, twice missing the front end of 1-and-1 bonus opportunities.

“As a coach I made miany mistakes with the calls, I probably could’ve done some things differently and that’s my fault,” admitted mentor Rick Mancino of KC.

“Three years in a row I tell these guys it’s just a shame to put ourselves in a position to win a game, then foul shots. ... But it’s my fault. I’ve got to do a better job preparing our team ... that rests on my shoulders.”

VisionQuest vaulted to its 1st lead with 3:21 remaining in the 3rd period. Mitchell fed Brown for a 44-42 Eagles’ edge, which they ultimately expanded to 6 on 3 occasions — the last (54-48) with 7:02 remaining in the contest.

However Kennedy copped 6 straight points, the last on a give-and-go from Mac Hartman to Kenny Fill, knotting the count at 54 with 4:42 left. But Thompkins (5:59) and Fill (2:16) both missed 1-and-1 opportunities.

Mitchell and Roberson collarborated with 92 ticks to play to vault VQ to a 56-54 lead, but with 44.4 seconds left VisionQuest committed its 5th miscue of the game. Hartman (1:07) and Fill (44.4) both converted the back end of double-bonus situations to draw the Golden Eagles even at 56.

“This hurts,” Mancino admitted. “We were hoping to compete next week (for a Region 1-A co-championship, pending games at Commodore Perry and West Middlesex). ... I think we looked ahead. VisionQuest is a good team ...

“We think we can still make the playoffs ... that’s the goal — to get to the playoffs,” Mancino concluded.

For KC, Fill finished with a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double, Thompkins tallied 18 points and Hartman had 17 points and 9 caroms, while Gerald Zachar dished out a handful of assists.

Kennedy connected on 17 of 42 floor shots (40.4), but sabotaged itself owing to the 18 turnovers. Conversley, VisionQuest converted only 4 of 5 freebies. But by sheer volume, VisionQuest ended 27 of 74 (36.4) from the field.

“That’s what we do,” Gordon said. “We’re used to having our backs against the ropes and we always fight back. The kids stuck with it and listened to me in the locker room (at halftime), and they came out and played hard. I’m proud of my boys.”

Gordon gave props to Mancino and his Kennedy club, then said of his own squad,

“I believe in them. I know they can beat anybody they step on the floor with, and I hope they now believe in themselves. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.” — By Ed Farrell, Herald assistant sports editor.

BOYS BASKETBALL

ä Sharpsville 62, Greenville 57 (OT) — At Greenville, the Blue Devils (5-3, 12-8) were up 18-8 after the opening quarter, 28-15 at halftime and 40-31 after 3, but the Trojans (3-5, 9-11) outscored Sharpsville 21-12 in the 4th to force overtime, but dropped the Region 2-AA contest to the Devils.

Dallas Klenke tickled the twine for 17 points to lead Sharpsville, Kevin Yarabinec collected 13 markers and Tyler Luchey and Luke Vasconi had 10 points each.

Tyler Fattman rifled in a game-high 21 points for the Trojans and Sean McErlane bucketed 10.

ä Hickory 62, George Junior Republic 50 — At Grove City, the Hornets (14-6) flew out to a 10-4 lead after the opening quarter, led 28-18 at the break and went on to grab the non-region win over the Tigers (8-11).

Matt Votino fired in 20 points to lead Hickory, Anthony Cannone bucketed 15, Vinnie Mastrian registered 12 points and Mike Nardone added a 10-point, 14-rebound double-double.

Omar Harrington scored 18 to pace GJR, Jamal Swinton posted 15 points and Marlon Richardson added 11 markers.

ä Farrell 53, Slippery Rock 42 — On Senior Night at E.J. McCluskey Gymnasium, the Steelers (7-8, 10-11) trailed 11-4 after 8 minutes of play, 17-14 at the break and 32-29 after 3, but outscored the Rockets 24-10 in the 4th quarter to earn the Region 6-AAA victory.

William Murray bucketed 11 points to lead Farrell and Josh Jennings and Jason Page had 10 each.

Ryan Thompson scored a game-high 13 for Slippery Rock (3-11, 5-14) and Caleb Whitney added 10 points.

ä Sharon 71, Titusville 52 — At Titusville, the visiting Tigers clawed their way to the Region 6-AAA road rout on the strength of a 25-point opening canto.

’Dray Jefferson was joined by Marlin Sanders in scoring double figures with 24 and 21 points, respectively, while Khalil Hopson hit for 10 for Sharon (10-4, 13-6).

Corey Ciccarelli checked in with 11 tallies for Titusville (1-13, 6-14).

ä Reynolds 47, Mercer 42 — At Transfer, the Raiders moved to 3-5 in Region 2-AA and 10-9 overall with a hard-fought 5-point win over the Mustangs (1-7, 5-14).

Tanner Greenfield had 11 points for Reynolds and Cory Woods and Caleb Peters collected 10 each.

Logan Clarke was the leading point-getter for Mercer with 11 markers.

ä Meadville 61, Grove City 57 — At “The Eagle’s Nest” in Grove City, the hosts let one get away as they dropped the Region 6-AAA contest to the Bulldogs (9-5, 14-6).

GC (10-4, 15-5) led 18-9 after the 1st quarter, 29-20 at halftime and 43-33 after the 3rd quarter, but Meadville outscored GC 28-14 over the final 8 minutes.

Trevor Clune fired in a game-high 18 points for Meadville, Zak Price scored 13 and Donte Hollingsworth and Fred Epps had 10 points each.

Matt Thrasher fired in 4 treys en route to 16 points to lead Grove City, Donte Robinson bucketed 14 and Torin Smith registered 10 markers.

ä Lakeview 56, Wilmington 45 — At New Wilmington, coach Gary Burke’s Sailors improved to 7-1 in Region 2-AA and 15-5 overall with the 11-point win over the Hounds (5-3, 8-11).

Casey Greggs scored 15 and Coty Gander bucketed 14 to lead Lakeview. Also, Dalton Boggs fired in 13 points and Derek Giovengo registered a dozen.

Anthony Derrick scored a game-high 17 for Wilmington.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

ä Hickory 49, Central Tech 23 — At The Hive in Hermitage, Senior Night was a success for the host Lady Hornets.

Holly Grober garnered a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double, Nikki Arbanas added 12 points, 3 assists and 3 steals, and Jenna Placzek produced 9 points, 9 caroms and 4 steals for Hickory (18-2).

Veteran head coach Jeanette Whitehead cited seniors Allison Zreliak, Macy Horvath and Alexis McBride.

Central Tech, which scored just 5 first-half points, fell to 5-13.

ä Greenville 54, Mercer 23 — At Mercer Thursday, the Lady Trojans improved to 10-1 in Region 2-AA and 17-3 overall with the win over the Lady M’s (4-6, 6-14).

Jessica Burnett scored 13 to lead the Lady Trojans and Brooklyn Taylor added 12 points. Ashley Ryder led Mercer with 7 points.

WRESTLING

ä Greenville 48, Grove City 27 — At Grove City Thursday, the Trojans won 9 of the 13 contested bouts to beat the Eagles.

Joseph Safner (106), Blake Horne (145), Randy Perkins (160), Justin Reynolds (170), Tyler Landfried (195), Tyler Gentile (220) and Braden Gladysz (285) notched falls for Greenville.

Jesse Rivera (120), Cole Cameron (138) and Wes Phipps (182) earned pins for Grove City.

SWIMMING

Titusville Boys 97, Hickory 70;

Titusville Girls 106, Hickory 54

The Hornets had numerous 1st-place finishers, including:

ä 200 individual medlay — Aubriel Cromartie, Ryan Elsey.

ä 500 freestyle — Breah Quatkemeyer; Kyle Hartenstein.

ä 100 breaststroke — Elsey.

ä 200 free relay — Nikita Wright, Robyn McGowen, Jordan Graves, Cromartie.

Hickory runners-up included:

ä 200 medley relay — McGowen, Wright, Quatkemeyer, Graves; Kevin Hartenstein, Jaylon Sharper, Elsey, Trand Wright.

ä 50 freestyle — Trand Wright.

ä 100 freestyle — Trand Wright, Nikita Wright.

ä 200 freestyle — Kyle Hartenstein.

ä 500 freestyle — Michael Fodor.

ä 100 butterfly — Nelson Murphy.

ä 100 backstroke — Kevin Hartenstein.

ä 200 free relay — Sharper, Derek Work, Wright, Elsey.

ä 400 free relay — Quatkemeyer, McGowen, Wright, Cromartie; Kevin, Kyle Hartenstein, Work, Murphy.

BOYS BOWLING

ä Liberty 2309, Brookfield 2026  — At Bellwick Bowl, the visiting Leopards were led by Michael Bryant (451) and Rickey Evans (425) 2-game totals.

For Brookfield, it was Bill Katko (423), TJ Hurst (327), Kyle Husnick (305), and Joe Grandon (285).

JV: Liberty, 1887-1559. Brad Bridge (297), Jacob Yereb (253), Nick Kerr (249) and Ryan Svirbly (229) for Brookfield; Alex Dilligbaugh (327) and Anthony Ramsey (317) for Liberty.

GIRLS BOWLING

ä Liberty 1655, Brookfield 1587 — Also at Bellwick Bowl, Marissa Simon rolled a 419 two-game set to lead Liberty.

For Brookfield, it was: Heather Stanick (276), DiAnna Johnson and Celine Blondeaux (256s) and Emily Lewis (250).

 JV: No match.



BOYS BASKETBALL

VISIONQUEST    8    20    24    9    61

KENNEDY    19    16    13    8    56

  VISIONQUEST — Brown 7-1-2-15, Mitchell 7-3-3-18, Roberson 4-0-0-8, Lloyd 0-0-0-0, Henderson 1-0-0-3, Gibbs 4-0-0-9, Goldwire 0-0-0-0, Almore 0-0-0-0, Munzal 0-0-0-0, Dickey 4-0-0-8. 3-pt. goals: Gibbs 1, Mitchell 1, Henderson 1. Totals: 27-4-5-61.

  KENNEDY CATHOLIC — Fill 4-4-7-13, Thompkins 8-2-5-19, Hartman 3-11-15-17, Zachar 1-0-0-2, D’Onofrio 1-2-3-5, Jennings 0-0-0-0, McPhatter 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Fill 1, Thompkins 1, D’Onofrio 1. Totals: 17-19-30-56.

  JV — VisionQuest, 52-22. Tyree Almore 14, Raymond Dickey 11 Gumma Munzal 9 points for VQ; Sam Crow 9 for Kennedy Catholic.

———

HICKORY    10    18    23    11    62

GEORGE JUNIOR    4    14    22    10    50

HICKORY — Votino 6-6-10-20, Mastrian 5-0-0-12, Sonoga 1-2-2-5, Nardone 5-0-0-10, Cannone 4-5-6-15, Green 0-0-2-0. 3-pt. goals: Votino 2, Mastrian 2, Cannone 2, Sonoga 1. Totals: 21-13-20-62.

GEORGE JUNIOR REPUBLIC — D. Jones 0-3-4-3, Harrington 7-1-1-18, Thomas 1-1-2-3, Richardson 5-1-1-11, Swinton 5-3-4-15. 3-pt. goals: Harrington 3, Swinton 2. Totals: 18-9-12-50.

JV — Hickory, 60-50. Aaron Conley 18, Ross Passalinqua 13, Donte Green 11 for Hickory.

———

SLIPPERY ROCK    11    6    15    10    42

FARRELL    4    10    15    24    53

SLIPPERY ROCK — Bertozzi 2-0-0-4, Thompson 6-0-3-13, Whitney 4-2-4-10, Currie 1-0-0-2, Udy 3-0-0-6, White 2-0-0-5, Mellot 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Thompson 1, White 1. Totals: 19-2-7-42.

FARRELL — Hughes 4-0-2-8, Murray 5-1-3-11, Stewart 1-1-2-4, Jennings 4-2-2-10, Peterson 1-0-0-2, Burns 0-2-2-2, Page 4-0-0-10, Pierce 1-2-4-4, Hyman 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Page 2, Stewart 1. Totals: 18-3-8-15-53.

JV — SR, 50-40. Bobby Paczkowski 21 for Slippery Rock. Dequan Pratt 10 for Farrell.

———

SHARON    11    25    16    19    71

TITUSVILLE    14    5    17    16    52

SHARON — Sanders 8-5-9-21, Jefferson 10-4-5-24, Rice-Woods 1-0-0-2, Hopson 5-0-0-10, Henry 0-0-0-0, Crawford 0-0-0-0, Stovall 2-2-5-6, Ripley 3-1-2-8, Jacoway 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goal: Ripley 1. Totals: 29-12-21-71.

TITUSVILLE — Corklin 2-2-2-6, Neely 2-5-5-9, Ciccarelli 5-0-0-11, Johnson 0-3-4-3, Kline 3-1-2-8, Speer 4-0-0-8, Rickerson 3-0-0-7. 3-pt. goals: Ciccarelli 1, Kline 1, Rickerson 1. Totals: 19-11-13-52.

JV — Sharon, 40-29. Smith-Austin 11 for Sharon.

———

MERCER    9    6    13    14    42

REYNOLDS    7    15    10    15    47

MERCER — McCullough 3-0-0-6, Guiler 3-1-2-8, Fowler 2-0-3-4, Miller 1-0-1-2, Clarke 3-4-5-11, Selders 0-2-2-2, Rymniak 3-3-4-9. 3-pt. goals: Guiler 1, Clarke 1. Totals: 15-10-17-42.

REYNOLDS — Davenport 0-1-2-1, Torok 0-0-1-0, Peters 3-3-5-10, C. Woods 4-0-1-10, Greenfield 3-4-5-11, McConnell 1-0-0-2, K. Woods 1-1-2-3, Frable 2-2-4-6, Jones 2-0-0-4. 3-pt. goals: C. Woods 2, Peters 1, Greenfield 1. Totals: 16-11-20-47.

JV — Mercer, 45-40. Trent Fowler 11, Danny Miller 10 for Mercer. Kellen Gursky 15, Kyle McConnell 13 for Reynolds.

———

MEADVILLE    9    11    13    28    61

GROVE CITY    18    11    14    14    57

MEADVILLE — Price 5-0-1-13, Gregor 1-0-0-2, Hollingsworth 3-4-6-10, Foster 3-2-4-8, Epps 5-0-1-10, Clune 5-7-9-18. 3-pt. goals: Price 3, Clune 1. Totals: 22-13-21-61.

GROVE CITY — Goodwin 3-3-3-9, Robinson 7-0-2-14, Smith 4-0-0-10, Hall 1-2-4-4, Thrasher 5-2-2-16, Patterson 2-0-0-4. 3-pt. goals: Thrasher 4, Smith 2. Totals: 22-7-11-57.

JV — GC, 62-43. Derek Turner 19, Danny Torok 14, Mac Young 10 for GC. Jamar Moody 12, Jake Jageman 12 for Meadville.

———

SHARPSVILLE 18     10    12    12    10    62

GREENVILLE    8    7    16    21    5    57

SHARPSVILLE — Yarabinec 5-3-4-13, Luchey 5-0-0-10, Henwood 1-0-0-2, Klenke 5-5-7-17, Lenzi 3-0-0-9, Vasconi 4-2-4-10, Popatak 0-1-2-1. 3-pt. goals: Lenzi 3, Klenke 2. Totals: 23-11-17-62.

GREENVILLE — McErlane 5-0-0-10, Zahniser 3-2-2-8, Ferguson 2-0-0-5, Addison 3-0-0-9, Jones 2-0-0-4, Fattman 9-0-0-21. 3-pt. goals: Addison 3, Fattman 3, Ferguson 1. Totals: 24-2-2-57.

JV — Greenville, 48-44.

———

LAKEVIEW    17    19    7    13    56

WILMINGTON    7    19    13    6    45

LAKEVIEW — VanDusen 1-0-1-2, Giovengo 5-0-0-12, Greggs 7-0-3-15, Boggs 3-6-9-13, Rice 0-0-0-0, Gander 7-0-0-14. 3-pt. goals: Giovengo 2, Greggs 1, Boggs 1. Totals: 23-6-13-56.

WILMINGTON — Derrick 8-0-0-17, Pitzulo 2-0-0-6, Bowen 1-0-0-3, Hilliard 1-0-0-3, Fagan 2-0-0-4, Crawford 1-1-2-3, Smith 2-0-0-4, Tekac 2-0-0-5. 3-pt. goals: Pitzulo 2, Derrick 1, Bowen 1, Hilliard 1, Tekac 1. Totals: 19-1-2-45.

JV — Wilmington, 48-29. Jesse Hilliard 11 for Wilmington.



GIRLS BASKETBALL

CENTRAL    0    5    6    12    23

HICKORY    12    9    18    10    49   

  CENTRAL TECH — Cornelius 0-0-0-0, M.Winiarski 0-2-3-2, Wayne 3-0-0-7, C. Winarski 0-0-0-0, Sebastian 1-1-2-3, Demski 0-0-0-0, Vallimont 0-0-0-0, Klemm 1-0-0-2, Clayton 01-2-1, Tarasovich 2-0-0-6 Watson 1-0-0-2, Dixon 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Tarasovich 2, Wayne 1. Totals: 8-4-7-23.

  HICKORY — Placzek 4-1-2-9, McBride 1-0-0-2, Arbanas 4-2-2-12, Chess 1-0-0-2, Moore 0-0-0-0, Beck 0-0-0-0, Horvath 2-1-4-5, Shephard 2-0-0-5, White 0-0-0-0, McKinley 0-0-0-0, Grober 7-0-0-14, Al. Zreliak 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Arbanas 2. Shephard 1. Totals: 21-4-8-49.

  JV — Hickory, 32-30. Megan Chess 11; Janiana Wayne 11.

———

GREENVILLE    13    8    21    12    54

MERCER    6    0    8    9    23

GREENVILLE — Burnett 5-3-3-13, Taylor 3-4-6-12, Marshall 2-4-5-8, Paxson 3-0-0-6, Guerrini 2-0-0-4, Holder 1-1-2-3, McMillen 1-0-0-2, Soejima 1-0-0-2, Montalvo 1-0-2-2, Fagley 1-0-0-2, Williams 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Taylor 2. Totals: 20-12-18-54.

MERCER — Ryder 3-0-0-7, Fisher 2-0-0-5, Mills 2-0-0-5, McKinney 2-0-0-5, Whenry 0-1-3-1, Brown 0-0-0-0, Cook 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Ryder 1, Fisher 1, Mills 1, McKinney 1. Totals: 9-1-3-23.

JV — Greenville, 41-17.



WRESTLING

GREENVILLE 48, GROVE CITY 27

106 — Joseph Safner (Gv) pinned Seth Uber, 2:33; 113 — Kenny Bable (GC) forfeit; 120 — Jesse Rivera (GC) pinned Joseph Waldo, 1:03; 126 — Luke Walter (GC) dec. Derek Watt, 4-1; 132 — Jacob Brown (Gv) dec. Jared Sample, 7-0; 138 — Cole Cameron (GC) pinned Jacob Riffe, 1:46; 145 — Blake Horne (Gv) pinned Trey Maher, 3:55; 152 — Cody Copeland (Gv) dec. Chet Simoni, 10-4; 160 — Randy Perkins (Gv) pinned Ben Hoffman, 1:51; 170 — Justin Reynolds (Gv) pinned Delano Wright, :12; 182 — Wes Phipps (GC) pinned Alex Ho, 1:25; 195 — Tyler Landfried (Gv) pinned Steve Boyle, :33; 220 — Tyler Gentile (Gv) pinned Cameron Marlowe, 2:22; 285 — Braden Gladysz (Gv) pinned Devin Limberg, :53.