A regular event with a new venue will greet local basketball fans this weekend.

The Shootout at Saint Vincent — formerly the Shootout at Seton Hill — will feature four showcase games Saturday and five Sunday.

There will be two girls games and seven boys games at the Carey Center.

Saturday’s schedule has Plum vs. Greensburg Salem at 3 p.m. (boys), Ligonier Valley vs. Greensburg Central Catholic at 4:40 (boys), Bishop Guilfoyle vs. GCC at 6 (girls) and Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Latrobe at 7:30 (boys).

Sunday has Geibel vs. Eden Christian at 1:30 p.m. (boys), Armstrong vs. Burrell at 3 (boys), McKeesport vs. Franklin Regional at 4:30 (girls), McKeesport vs. Kiski Area at 6 (boys) and North Allegheny vs. Franklin Regional at 7:30 (boys).

Jeannette was initially going to play Franklin Regional in the finale but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts.

Tickets for the Shootout at Saint Vincent are $8 for students and $10 for all others. Admission is for an all-day pass.

Dunn deal

Friday’s game against Charleroi will carry greater meaning for Mt. Pleasant first-year coach Mark Katarski.

Why? Because his high school coach will be on the opposing bench.

Former Mt. Pleasant coach Joe Dunn will lead Charleroi into his old stomping grounds in a Section 4-3A game with playoff implications.

“He’s been a mentor and friend through my 23 years coaching in college and five years coaching in high school,” Katarski said. “To call him a father figure would not be enough.”

Katarski’s father, Joe, was the ninth grade coach on Dunn’s staff, so he spent many hours at summer and fall workouts. Later, as a basketball-impressionable fifth grader, Katarski later became the varsity scorekeeper until ninth grade. He penciled in points and fouls during two section title runs in 1989-90 and 1990-91.

Katarski started as a senior player.

A boys basketball coach for four decades, Dunn joined the Cougars in 2024 after stints at Seton LaSalle, Mt. Pleasant and Trinity. He has the most coaching wins in the sport at Mt. Pleasant and Trinity.

At Mt. Pleasant, Dunn was 145-129. He turned around a program that did not have a winning season to three section titles and a playoff regular.

“I truly hope we can have the first tie in high school basketball history on Friday night,” Katarski said.

Clelian Heights game

The 16th Clelian Heights Day will be 1 p.m. Friday at Franklin Regional. The event features students from Clelian Heights School for Exceptional Children, a vocational facility in Hempfield for people with developmental disabilities, playing basketball in front of the Franklin Regional student body.

Franklin Regional players also take part in the event.

There is a shooting contest at halftime.

The charity day raised $3,500 for the school last year. More than $18,000 has been donated to Clelian Heights since the event’s inception in 2011.

McGowan gets 1,000

Jeannette junior Markus McGowan became the 17th player in the program to score 1,000 points.

The 6-foot-3 guard pumped in 20 points to clear the 1,000 mark in a 61-25 win over Riverview.

He joins a list that also includes teammate Kymon’e Brown, a senior point guard who reached the milestone earlier in the season.

Others to score 1,000 for the Jayhawks include: Adam Bostick, Jermaine Morgan, David Bone, Alvin Maloy, Gabe Smith, Rob Hoffman, Mike Dent, Donnie Binda, Jordan Thomas, Davonte Shannon, Terrelle Pryor, Jordan Hall, Demetrious Cox, Julian Batts and Mike Pompei.

In-Stan-ity

Derry junior Stanley Rajkovich put his name on the shot-of-the-year ballot with a game-winning dagger last Friday against visiting Belle Vernon.

Rajkovich made a spinning, fall-away jumper at the horn in overtime to lift Derry to a 48-46 win before a spillover crowd.

“You dream about hitting a game-winning shot like that,” Rajkovich said. “I have attempted a lot in my backyard.”

What was unique about the highlight shot is that is was the only field goal by either team in overtime.

New player

Former Geibel standout guard Gary Tarbuk has joined the Derry team.

A junior who enrolled in November, he had to sit out 21 days before practicing.

Tarbuk, a double-digit scorer at Geibel, is expected to add depth to a strong rotation.

“Gary has a high basketball IQ, is active on both ends of the court and has a nice touch from the arc, which fits our style of play,” Derry coach Tom Esposito said. “He is a welcome addition. He has caught on quick with our offense and defense philosophies. He needs more practice reps to just flow with everything that we do.”

Pulling rank

Derry moved up a spot in the TribLive Class 4A top five, going from No. 5 to No. 4.

Jeannette is the only other Westmoreland team ranked. The Jayhawks, who have won 14 straight, are No. 2 in 2A.

Playoff spots

Four local boys teams have secured spots in the WPIAL playoffs, which will begin the second week of February.

Belle Vernon and Derry are playoff-bound in Class 4A, Southmoreland is a playoff team in 3A and Jeannette has clinched in 2A.

Belle Vernon and Jeannette are defending WPIAL champions.

The WPIAL pairings meeting will be Feb. 9.

Leaning on experience

Hempfield has had its share of ups and downs this season under first-year coach Austin Butler.

The Spartans, in the thick of the playoff chase in Section 2-6A, scored 83 points in one game and 18 in another.

They went from unranked to No. 5 in the TribLive Class 6A rankings by winning seven of eight games. But the stay was short as they dropped out of the top five.

Butler, who played at the Division I level and professionally overseas, understands the ebbs and flows of a season.

His goal is to mold a group that can stop and appreciate the good and swiftly move past the bad.

His advice to his players: Lean in.

“I’ve been on really good teams in high school who were a shot and a missed box-out away from a WPIAL championship,” Butler said. “And I’ve been on the other side in college on some really bad teams who are in every game but can’t win them, or getting blown out. Just using those experiences to be able to pour into this team. …. It might not be competing for a section title these next two weeks, but it’s competing for a third seed, hopefully a home game. Yes, they’re important games and yes, we’re playing for something, but if we take care of the culture, the attitude, the wins will come with it.”