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Vincentian ends Monessen’s PIAA run

5 min read
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Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter

Monessen players react after losing to Vincentian Academy in the PIAA Class A semifinals at Mt. Lebanon High School Monday night.

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Monessen lost to Vincentian Academy in the PIAA Class A semifinals game at Mt. Lebanon High School on Monday, March 18, 2019.

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Monessen’s Taylon Lowe defends against Vincentian Academy’s Ethan Embleton during the PIAA Class A semifinals at Mt. Lebanon High School Monday night.

Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter

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Monessen before the game against Vincentian Academy in the PIAA Class A semifinals game at Mt. Lebanon High School on Monday, March 18, 2019.

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Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter

Monessen’s Devin Whitlock against Vincentian Academy’s Angelo Reeves during the PIAA Class A semifinals game at Mt. Lebanon High School on Monday, March 18, 2019.

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Monessen’s Elijahwa Whitlock against Vincentian Academy’s Angelo Reeves and Michael Schnieder during the PIAA Class A semifinals game at Mt. Lebanon High School on Monday, March 18, 2019.

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Monessen’s Devin Whitlock against Vincentian Academy’s Michael Schnieder during the PIAA Class A semifinals game at Mt. Lebanon High School on Monday, March 18, 2019.

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Devin Whitlock

MT. LEBANON – Monessen was hoping to exact some revenge on Vincentian Academy in Monday night’s PIAA Class A boys’ basketball semifinal game at Mount Lebanon High School.

But the Royals used a strong second quarter and an early run in the third quarter for a 57-43 victory to advance to the state final on Thursday in Hershey.

Vincentian Academy (20-8) will play Sankofa Freedom Academy (17-10) for the state championship at the Giant Center. The tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. Vincentian defeated Monessen, 61-49, in the WPIAL Class A semifinals.

“For whatever reason with this young group, we historically start slow,” said Vincentian Academy coach and Monessen grad Tim Tyree Jr. “It was like that in the Elk County game. I tried to switch up the warm-ups a little bit and come back in the locker room, have them up on the floor for less time.

“They’re super athletic across the board. We knew they really weren’t great shooting from the outside so the biggest thing was really containing the paint, forcing them to be shooters and stopping Devin Whitlock.”

The Greyhounds held a 13-8 lead after the first quarter, but the Royals used outscored Monessen, 20-12, in the second to take a 28-25 halftime advantage.

Vincentian Academy used an 8-2 run in the third to take a 36-27 lead with 4:46 left in the period.

“We were a step behind today,” Monessen coach Dan Bosnic said. “We didn’t play with the same energy and intensity we had the last couple of games. They are a talented team, and we just didn’t have it today. We knew that we would have to do a great job on defense and control the boards.”

The Royals’ Alex Griggs opened the second-half scoring on a drive for a 30-25 advantage before the Greyhounds’ Dishon Howell scored inside for two of his six points to cut the deficit to three.

Vincentian Academy’s Ethan Embleton scored on a turn around jump shot for two of his 11 and teammate Alex McDoungh connected on a jumper to extend the Royals’ lead to 34-27 before Nate Cullo made a layup for two of his 13.

Embleton and teammate Angelo Reeves presented problems for Monessen because of their size. Reeves had a team-high 16 points on seven field goals and was 2 of 2 at the foul line.

“We knew going into the game that rebounding would play a huge part in the outcome,” Bosnic said. “We didn’t do a good enough job of keeping them off the boards. They got second opportunities throughout the game, and we didn’t get too many.”

Vincentian Academy held a 9-6 edge the rest of the third for a 45-33 advantage heading into the fourth.

The Royals edged the Greyhounds, 12-10, in the final period. Monessen cut the deficit to 49-41 with less than four minutes left when Whitlock made a jumper for two of his game-high 18 points, but the Bosnic’s team couldn’t get any closer. Whitlock made eight field goals, including one 3-pointer, and was 1-for-1 at the free throw line.

The Greyhounds jumped out to a 6-0 lead when Marquell Smith scored on a drive for two of his seven, Elijahwa Payne added a putback for two of his eight, and after a Vincentian Academy turnover, Payne scored inside with 4:35 remaining in the first quarter.

The Royals took the lead back when Embleton made a three, Reeves scored inside and Cullo connected on a layup and made the and-one for an 8-6 advantage with 2:30 left.

Whitlock went on a 7-0 run of his own to give Monessen a five-point lead when he scored on a layup, made a three-pointer after a steal and added another jumper. Smith scored on a putback to open the second and give Monessen its largest lead at 15-8 before the Royals stormed back.

“We never really panicked, just stayed calm and collected and getting back into the game in the second quarter,” Tyree Jr. said. “He’s (Whitlock) a tremendous athlete. When he gets going in transition or in the half court, he brings a lot of momentum to them. You’ve got to cut the head off the snake. It really starts with him. I think we were able to control the boards a little bit in the second half.”

Bosnic is happy about what his team accomplished, considering it was his first year leading the Greyhounds.

“I am extremely proud of our kids,” Bosnic said. “I don’t think anybody thought we would be here at this point, and it speaks to our players and their toughness. Their will and relentlessness put themselves in that position, but I wish we could have played a better game.

“We are going to take a break from this and let the kids heal up and recover. We are going to get back to work and try to prepare ourselves to be successful again next year.”

Monessen loses four seniors in Dishon Howell, Darnel Howell, Payne and Macus Tansmore.

“We are going to miss those guys,” said Bosnic. “I think as the season went on, you saw their senior leadership shine and we are really proud of those guys. They are going to go ahead from this and be successful young men, and that’s something we look forward to seeing.”

Tyree had many family and friends in the stands as he was coaching against his alma mater.

“You know how many people, probably every person in the stands has seen me play or has some type of relationship with myself,” Tyree said. “I watched my sister, Charel Allen, in 2004 win a state championship for Monessen. That was just a magical feeling. I’m just so blessed I get to go up there with my team and compete for a state championship.”

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