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Butler junior Devin Carney ranks among the top scorers in the WPIAL with 30.9 points per game.
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Junior Devin Carney putting up big numbers for defending WPIAL champ Butler

Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette

Junior Devin Carney putting up big numbers for defending WPIAL champ Butler

Devin Carney poured in 28 points for Butler against North Hills last Saturday, a performance his coach called his best of the season.

And to think, that was Carney’s lowest point total against a Class 6A team in the last four weeks.

If you’re keeping score, Carney is one of the top scorers in the WPIAL. He averages a robust 30.9 points a game, which ranks second. But it’s not just the volume of points that makes Carney special. It’s his ability to score at an elite level in so many different ways and the fact that he’s doing it in the largest classification.

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“I think he does it at as high of a level that I’ve seen, especially from 15 feet and out,” Butler coach Matt Clement said.

Carney’s point totals over his past six Class 6A Section 1 games read like this: 31, 39, 34, 41, 28 and 41. That’s 35.7 points per game against North Hills, Seneca Valley, Pine-Richland, North Allegheny and North Hills twice more.

And it’s not like Carney is jacking up 30 to 35 shots a game. He has been efficient. In Wednesday’s 87-60 win against North Hills, he was 17 of 23 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line.

“He can score at all three levels,” said Pine-Richland coach Bob Petcash. “I think at the high school level, he has one of the best mid-range jump shots around.”

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Clement added, “I don’t know if I’ve seen a better jump shot maker.”

A 6-foot junior, Carney’s pull-up jumper might get the most praise, but he’s lethal scoring so many different ways, whether it be on 3-pointers (many from deep into NBA range), on drives to the basket, or at the free-throw line.

For the first time in his high school career, Carney is playing without Ethan Morton by his side. The two played large roles in bringing Butler its first WPIAL title in 29 years last season. Morton, now at Purdue, averaged 22 points a game and Carney 21.

“I think it’s been more a learning process, trying to be more of a leader and getting my teammates involved more, but I don’t think it’s been a huge transition,” said Carney, who has more than 1,300 career points.

Butler, which has had two starters miss significant time due to injuries, is 7-7 overall and 2-6 in the section. It has section games remaining against Pine-Richland, North Allegheny and Seneca Valley.

Carney is one of the top college prospects in the WPIAL’s junior class. He has offers from Robert Morris, Saint Francis and Bryant, and said he is hearing from high-majors, mid-majors and Ivy League schools.

“He’s really just scratching the surface,” Clement said. “He’s still young. He keeps on figuring out things. Every week it’s something different. But having that one thing [jump shooting] in his back pocket, that’s always a great jumping off point.”

Pine-Richland

Before the season even tipped off, Pine-Richland coach Bob Petcash and his staff were busy instilling a philosophy in the minds of their players.

“We said that we have to compete one possession at a time and try to win each quarter. It’s a compound effect,” Petcash said. “We have to keep getting better as we progress and have to peak at the end of the season.”

With the regular season winding down, Petcash said he doesn’t believe his team has peaked yet, a promising sign considering the Rams might be playing as well as anyone in Class 6A.

Since starting the season 1-3, Pine-Richland (8-4, 5-3) has won six of its past seven games and is ranked No. 5 in the class. They have also ascended to the No. 2 spot in Section 1 behind North Allegheny (12-3, 8-1), which handed the Rams their previous loss on Feb. 2. The Rams host the Tigers on Friday.

Pine-Richland doesn’t have a premier scorer, but it does have balance, regularly placing four players in double figures. Junior guard-forward Joey Dudkowski averages a team-best 17.8 points a game, and he has gotten a lot of scoring help from senior guard Joey Petcash and junior guard-forward Luke Shanahan. In an 87-72 win against Butler, Petcash made five 3-pointers among his 22 points and Dudkowski added 20.

“On our team, there’s a role for every player,” said Petcash, who is in his first season as head coach after spending the previous six as an assistant. “We have 14 kids on the team. If we can stay within the system and stay within our roles, we’re going to do well.”

Quaker Valley

For 16 days in a row, Quaker Valley did not play a game. COVID difficulties forced the Quakers to put their program on pause, resulting in a long layoff that eventually ended Feb. 5. Since then, their star point guard is playing like he’s making up for lost time.

Junior Adou Thiero has been on a scoring binge, averaging 27.1 points in Quaker Valley’s past seven games. The Quakers are 5-2 in that stretch. The highlight was his 41 points against Hopewell, which were the second most in program history. Thiero poured in 32 points Wednesday at Beaver.

Colleges have apparently taken notice because on Monday, Thiero picked up his first Division I offer from Long Island. He and Butler’s Devin Carney are the only WPIAL juniors with Division I offers.

Quaker Valley (8-3, 7-2) is fighting with Lincoln Park, Montour and Central Valley for the Class 4A Section 2 title.

Streaking

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, the WPIAL’s only unbeaten team, has won 31 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the WPIAL. On the other end of the board, Freedom owns the longest losing streak at 16 games.

Brad Everett: beverett@post-gazette.com and Twitter: @BREAL412.

First Published: February 18, 2021, 10:30 a.m.

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Butler junior Devin Carney ranks among the top scorers in the WPIAL with 30.9 points per game.  (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
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