Jason Burkes turned in a career performance last night.

The junior guard scored 30 points to guide the Union High boys basketball team to a 70-41 WPIAL Section 1-A victory on the road against Western Beaver.

Burkes shot an impressive 13 of 17 from the field and 1 for 1 from the foul line. He scored 18 points in the first half alone.

“He was on fire,” first-year Union coach Dave Smialowski said. “They were good shots and he was catching a rhythm. He’s been in a zone the past three games. Hopefully he can keep that rhythm going.”

Donte Calhoun followed Burkes by scoring nine points. Calhoun and Matt Adamo each led Union (6-1 section, 10-4 overall) in rebounding with seven apiece.

Marcus Platz led Western Beaver (3-4, 5-9) with 11 points.

The Scotties entered the game ranked third in Class A by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the second straight week.

“Teams are gunning for us, so like I tell the kids, every win is a big win,” Smialowski said. “I’m really pleased with the way the kids are playing. They are playing hard on defense and that’s what we need to continue to do.

“We still have a lot of work ahead of us and we have to keep playing hard.”