Balance leads Cougars to third-place finish at Classic

By JOE SABOLEK

MVI Sports

Charleroi used a balanced scoring attack to hold off Southmoreland, 64-58, Saturday to claim third place in the CFSBank Holiday Classic.

Four Cougars finished in double figures, led by Joe Caruso and Zach Usher who scored 17 and 16, respectively.

“I think one of the reasons for our lack of intensity was because of how much energy we expended last night,” Charleroi coach Bill Wiltz said of his team’s narrow loss to Belle Vernon Area. “Three games in a row, I’m sure we were a little sore and a little tired. They may have had the mentality that we hung with Belle Vernon so we should blow these guys out. When you go in with that mentality, it’s always a struggle and that was half of our problem tonight.”

For Southmoreland (2-7, 1-0), the offensive output was the exact opposite. Senior guard Riley Comforti scored a game-high 27 points, including the first 15 for the Scotties.

The first quarter kicked off with the Cougars (6-4, 2-1) rattling off a quick 10-4 run in the first three minutes, but Comforti would not let Charleroi pull away as he single-handedly kept Southmoreland close, but the Cougars led 18-15 after one.

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