Herald Roundup: Week of 12/18/2017

| Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, TRIB-LIVE

Fox Chapel opened its season with a sweep against Hampton. The girls won 94-91, and the boys earned a 100-85 win. Posting wins for the Foxes were Jonah Cagley and Kate Eames (diving), Joslyn Filo (50 free), Jaclyn Filo (100 fly), Maria Luciana (100 free), Nathaniel Roe (50 free), Colin Hackwelder (100 free), the girls 200 free relay team (Joslyn and Jaclyn Filo, Grace Gackenbach and Luciana) and the boys 200 free relay team (Roe, Hackwelder, Tristan McMlelland and Brandon Brewster).

Boys basketball

Fox Chapel upped its record to 3-0 on Dec. 12 as it ran away from North Hills, 67-46. Carson Cohen and Dom McGriff paced the Foxes with 21 points each.

“Dom is an interesting story,” Fox Chapel coach Zach Skrinjar said. “He tried out his sophomore year and decided not to play. He then came back this year and has obviously been a pleasant surprise for us since Day 1. He has worked hard and fits in very well. He can score in multiple ways and can also rebound and is improving on the defensive end. Playing with a guard like Carson in screen and rolls is also a benefit to anyone.

“As far as the North Hills game, I thought we did a good job of playing with a purpose from the beginning. We had numerous good defensive stops early in the game which we converted on. We were able to get some easy hoops out of our screen and roll actions.

“Arnold Vento and Ben Kelly had nice efforts in defending, rebounding and shooting. Micah Morris did an excellent job on the inside defending along with Noah Marks. Justin Supsura and Shane Susnak came off the bench to provide us with quality minutes. It was a positive last dress rehearsal before the start of section play.”

The Foxes (4-0, 1-0) got off to a good start in the section Friday with a 61-48 win over Hempfield. They controlled the game from the start as they raced to a 40-19 halftime lead. Cohen scored 19 points followed by Kelly with 16, Vento with 13 and McGriff with 11.

“Prior to Friday’s game, we talked about establishing tempo and pace from the tip,” Skrinjar said. “And we did a very good job of doing that. We also followed a great defensive game plan, and our guys did an excellent job of taking away their offensive sets and limiting easy baskets for them. Anytime you can get balanced scoring, it puts more pressure on a defense to have to guard and be concerned about all five guys on the floor. It was a good win to open section play especially with two big section contests this week.”

Girls basketball

Fox Chapel (2-1) held off North Hills, 58-48, for its second win in a row Dec. 12. The win streak came to an end in its Section 2-6A opener against visiting Hempfield on Friday as the Spartans held on for a 46-44 win. The Foxes battled back from a 21-9 deficit after the first quarter. Claudia Guerrieri scored 12 points to lead the Foxes.