Whitlock’s 33 leads BVA

By JEREMY SELLEW

jsellew@yourmvi.com

Belle Vernon Area’s Devin Whitlock was honored prior to the Leopards’ game against Yough for hitting 1,000 career points, which he did in last season’s WPIAL championship game.

Whitlock showed Tuesday he’s well on his way to increasing that mark.

The junior guard tied his career high in a Leopards’ uniform by dumping in 33 points as the Leopards hammered the Cougars, 78-45, to earn their 10th win of the season.

It was the first game for Belle Vernon (10-1, 8-0) in a week.

“I think they were ready to play,” BVA head coach Joe Salvino said. “We had a bit of a layoff there and I think they were really ready to come in here and get back on the floor to play a real game.”

The Leopards were so motivated for the game, they played the role of bad host, jumping out to a 23-6 lead after the first quarter.

Daniel Gordon hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored nine of his 13 points in the frame. 

“Daniel has shown how much he has improved as an all-around player,” Salvino said. “He shot the ball well tonight, but in every one of our games, he’s shown that he’s much more than the guy just hanging around shooting threes.

“He’s rebounding, getting steals, playing tough defense. He’s really done it all.”

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