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Monessen presses hard, flattens Bishop Canevin

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MONESSEN – Monessen used its pressure defense to force Bishop Canevin into 27 turnovers Friday night and defeated the Crusaders, 65-44, and to win its 54th straight section game.

“We want to be really aggressive on defense and we set out that way from the very start,” said first-year Monessen coach Dan Bosnic. “As the game wore on, you could see that our pressure affected them.

“It led to them missing shots and us getting opportunities.”

The Greyhounds, who are 2-0 in Class A Section 2 and 3-3 overall, limited the Crusaders (2-1, 4-2) to five second-half baskets.

“We are still adjusting and learning, but over the last couple of games we are playing the way we need to play to be successful,” Bosnic said. “We are doing a lot of things now that will help us win games.”

Freshman point guard Devin Whitlock led the way for the Greyhounds with 18 points, six assists and four steals while Dishon Howell and Darnell Howell each scored 12 points and DeWayne Howell added 10.

Dishon Howell grabbed 11 rebounds, DaWayne Howell had 10 rebounds and Elijahwa Payne, who was plagued all game with foul trouble, finished with seven points and nine rebounds.

“We have depth that can give us good minutes and that is what happened when Elijahwa went to the bench with two quick fouls,” said Bosnic. “He stayed engaged while he was out and played good basketball when he came back in.”

Bosnic liked the play of Whitlock, who along with Jalen Brice, harassed the Bishop Canevin backcourt all night.

“He played well, and for a young kid he is out there all 32 minutes playing hard the whole time,” Bosnic said. “Devin is giving a great effort, and as a result he is having success.”

The Greyhounds jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the first quarter, but the Crusaders (4-2, 2-1) went on a 9-2 run to take a 12-8 lead halfway through the quarter.

Bishop Canevin extended its lead to 17-10, but Monessen closed the quarter on a 9-0 run and took a 19-17 lead into the second when Whitlock made a 10-foot jumper just before the buzzer.

Monessen held the Crusaders to only a pair of baskets in the second quarter and the Greyhounds outscored them 15-7 as five different players made shots. The Greyhounds took a 34-24 lead into halftime.

Bishop Canevin remained within striking distance in the third quarter that ended with Monessen leading 44-32, but the Greyhounds put the game away early in the fourth.

Nevan Crossey led the Crusaders with 14 points.

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