Some teams settle for 3-pointers. Mt. Pleasant uses them as its primary weapon.
The Vikings’ offense is thick with them.
Through 15 games, they made 121 of 469 3s. That is an average of 31.2 attempts.
The message is simple to the players: When ball comes to you, be ready to shoot it.
“Three is greater than two,” Vikings’ first-year coach Mark Katarski said. “You can’t rebound a turnover.”
Katarski referred to his team one night as “MP3.”
Katarski’s women’s teams at Seton Hill developed a reputation for being long bombers. The kick-out mentality remains at his high school alma mater.
The Vikings made 14 3s against Yough, 13 versus Apollo-Ridge and 11 more at Ligonier Valley.
Mt. Pleasant (5-12), which went winless last season (0-22), has the second-most wins in the program since 2020-21.
Thousand Island
Derry 6-foot-7 junior Stanley Rajkovich became the sixth boys player in program history — the second Stanley — to score 1,000 career points Tuesday at Greensburg Salem.
He is the first Trojans player to achieve the milestone since current assistant coach Nate Papuga in 2024.
The other members of Derry’s 1,000-point club are: Ryan Demary (1,328), Papuga (1,184), Daniel Schall (1,149), Stanley Falinski (1,061) and Richard Falinski (1,022).
Three of the six played for current Trojans coach Tom Esposito.
“Stanley is getting better at understanding team chemistry,” Esposito said. “It’s tough for a lot of guys to break that AAU mentality. He has really matured as a person off the court.”
Rajkovich said he has heard from a number of Division I programs, including Pitt, Colgate, Mercyhurst, LaFayette and Navy.
McGowan nears 1,000
Jeannette junior guard Markus McGowan needs nine points to become the 16th Jayhawks boys player to score 1,000 in a career.
McGowan would become the second Jeannette player to reach the milestone this season, joining teammate Kymon’e Brown.
Jeannette hasn’t had two 1,000-yard scorers in the same lineup since Jordan Thomas and Donnie Binda in 2005.
Upset alert
Penn-Trafford pulled the upset of the night Wednesday with a 57-43 victory over visiting Thomas Jefferson, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 5A.
Zach Feldman tied a game high with 17 points, and Jake Briggs added 11 for the Warriors.
“Guys played really hard and with confidence,” Warriors coach Doug Kelly said. “It all started with our point guard (Tyler) Boss getting a good pace and limiting them to one shot. It was an overall great team performance. Big Briggs hitting three 3s was a nice boost.”
Felentzer climbs list
Southmoreland senior guard Noah Felentzer has moved into third place in the program’s all-time scoring list.
Felentzer has 1,432 points, with only two players ahead of him in Eric Roslonski (2,192) and Ty Keffer (1,575).
Felentzer recently passed Russ Grimm (1,297) for third.
Derry ranked
Derry (11-6) has three straight wins, including a brow-raising 72-66 win over Elizabeth Forward. The Trojans’ momentum has earned them a spot in the Class 4A rankings.
They began the season at No. 3 but dropped out earlier in the schedule.
Friday night special
Friday’s schedule isn’t short on impressive matchups.
Take Belle Vernon (11-7, 7-1) at Derry (11-6, 6-2) in Section 3-4A. Belle Vernon won the first matchup 81-61, but upstart Derry is expecting a sellout crowd for the rematch for first place.
In the same section, Greensburg Salem (8-8, 3-5) visits Elizabeth Forward (8-7, 5-2) and former standout Nolan Larry, the EF coach.
Another top matchup features two of the top teams in Section 1-5A with Franklin Regional (10-4, 6-2) visiting rival Gateway (10-5, 8-1). When they met last month, the Panthers held on for a 56-54 win, with the difference being a goaltending call against Gateway’s Mykel Bruce-McCrommon on Webber Rankin’s shot in the final seconds.
Laurel Highlands (8-6, 3-5) at Latrobe (5-10, 3-6) and Uniontown (9-7, 5-4) at Penn-Trafford (5-9, 4-4) are other Section 1-5A games of note.
Section 2-6A has two rematches with No. 3 Central Catholic (14-2, 8-1) at Hempfield (11-5, 4-4) and No. 2 Upper St. Clair (14-1, 7-1) at Norwin (9-7, 4-4). Hempfield and Norwin will look for upsets on their home floors.
Charleroi (9-8, 3-2) at Southmoreland (9-7, 5-0) and Ligonier Valley (8-7, 3-2) at Mt. Pleasant (5-12, 1-4) are important games in Section 4-3A.