Plum senior guard William Beckner announced his commitment to Saint Vincent College on X Friday afternoon. Beckner averaged 12 points, four rebounds and three assists per game for the Mustangs. 

Beckner was selected second-team all-section by the Big 56.

The 5-foot-9 guard will be heading to a program that has had strong run of season in the past few seasons. The Bearcats went 20-6 this season, but were eliminated by the Washington & Jefferson in the Presidents' Athletic Conference semifinals. Two years ago, Saint Vincent lost in the PAC championship game to Geneva.
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Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and College. Story ideas can be submitted at [email protected] or on X @J_oshrizzo.

Kiski set up a first-place Section 2-5A showdown with Penn Hills next week by beating Plum 57-30. The Cavaliers were dominant defensively, limited the Mustangs to 11 points in the first half. 

Jacob Musselman led Kiski with 16 points, while Colin Keller had 14. Max Grice and Mekhi Samuels each scored 10 points for the Mustangs.

Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshrizzo

By Josh Rizzo
Penn Hills boys basketball coach Chris Giles would love for all of his adjustments to work out like they did Tuesday night during a Section 2-5A matchup with Plum. The Indians played with an impeccable flow that allowed them to bury the Mustangs from the outside during the first quarter of a 79-57 win.

"We've made some changes to our philosophy offensively and defensively to put our guys in a better position," Giles said. "That's what you are supposed to do as a coach. You've got to make adjustments and you have to change your system based on your personnel. Quite frankly, it took me a while to figure out what we were going to do."

The fruits of Giles and his staff's labor reflected in how they played against the Mustangs (6-5, 2-2). Penn Hills shot 67 percent (10-of-15) from the 3-point line in the first half. Amon Hawthorne led the Indians with 20 points and made six 3-pointers.

Calix Clark finished with a double-double for the Indians, putting up 17 points and 11 rebounds. Cam Glenn (14 points), Aiden Thompson (13) and Cato Womack Call (10) also scored in double figures.

Plum coach Dave Pucka said it was an impressive shooting display to witness.

"I, personally, have never seen a team shoot like that in the first half of a basketball game," Pucka said. "All the credit to Penn Hills, they shot very well. But I'm still going to give credit to our team. We didn't stop fighting until the last buzzer went off. We have to get back to work for sure."

Will Beckner led the Mustangs with 15 points, while Owen Proskin added 11. The Indians (5-6, 5-0) are in sole possession of first place and will look to carry that momentum forward.

Giles said he knew the Indians shot well, but doesn't get into the numbers during games.

"I don't know the numbers," Giles said. "I'll have to look at the stats after the same. When you are on the sideline, you see it happening, but you don't appreciate it like you do like when you see it in the stands."

Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or at @J_oshrizzo

By Josh Rizzo
Riley Stephans got stuck with what inflicts many of us around the holidays. An illness kept the guard for the Plums girls basketball team longing for more time in the gym.

"Over Christmas break, I was sick," Stephans said. "I was out for a week straight, so I didn't get back in the gym until I think it was (last) Thursday. This is my first game back since probably two weeks ago."

The Mustangs looked a little tired and weary at the start of their Section 1-5A girls basketball game at Penn Hills Tuesday night. But Plum found a way to battle to a 39-29 win. Stephans finished with a game-high 23 points and knocked down six 3-pointers.

Stephans believed it was a career-high for 3-pointers she made in one game. She puts a lot of effort into being able to make those types of shots.

"I stay after practice every day and shoot until I make five to seven shots out of 10 from each spot that I go to," Stephans said.

One of Stephans' most important makes came at the first-quarter buzzer. Stephans shook free and made a trey to cut their deficit to 9-7. Plum (3-7, 2-2) felt fortunate to have the game be so close after the first quarter. The Mustangs struggled to defend Penn Hills forward Cara Crawford.

​Crawford scored seven of her 12 points in the first quarter. The Indians (1-9,1-3) also missed five layups that could have extended the lead. 

"We're really struggling at rebounding and making layups," Penn Hills coach Robert Cash said. "There's a couple of games where I thought the game would have been out of reach if we made a few layups in the first quarter and we got teams to chase us. We're allowing them to stay in the game by missing layups."

During the first quarter, Plum seemed to settle too often for long jump shots. 

"We weren't patient," Mustangs coach Rich Mull said. "We were pressing a little too much. Maybe part of it was the fact we haven't played since the Saturday before last."

Plum took the lead toward the end of the first half. Stephans completed a three-point play to put the Mustangs ahead 18-15. During the second half, Stephans made three more 3-pointers in the third quarter to stretch the lead out. Tamia West helped pick up the scoring for Plum.

West was the only other Mustang to score, contributing 16 points. Penn Hills would cut the lead to six, 35-29, with around 2 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game. Milani Oliver, who finished with 13 points, scored five in the third quarter to help the Indians rally.

But turnovers on the next few possessions stalled the momentum Penn Hills had momentarily built.

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The Shaler girls basketball team improved to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in Section 1-5A with a 61-40 over Plum. Jorja Bernesser led the Titans with 20 points.

The Mustangs (2-5, 1-2) are tied for fourth place with Penn Hills.